Korean firms on alert over US move to favor domestic bio industry
Celltrion plant in Songdo, Incheon. / Courtesy of CelltrionBy Kim Hyun-binKorean biopharmaceutical companies are expected to face pressure from the U.S. government to set up production facilities there, as the world's largest economy is moving to favor locally manufactured drugs and other medical products, according to industry officials, Tuesday. Samsung Biologics, Celltrion and other companies, which produce a range of drugs for multinational pharmaceutical firms, could face the same fate as the makers of semiconductors, electric vehicles and secondary batteries, which have pledged to invest tens of billions of dollars in the U.S., they said. The reaction came as U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order launching the National Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative, Monday, which focuses on expanding domestic production in the bio sector to create jobs in the U.S. and substitute supply chains abroad for new medicine, chemicals and other products.Earlier, the Biden administration signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the CHIPS and Science Act, which provide ta
