S. Korea seeks closer ties with Cytiva amid pandemic

By Kang Yoon-seung

SEJONG, Aug. 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's industry minister on Tuesday offered tax benefits and other support to attract investment from Cytiva, a U.S.-based global bio-health solution provider.

Moon Sung-wook, minister of trade, industry and energy, made the proposal in a meeting with Cytiva CEO Emmanuel Ligner in Seoul.

Cytiva, which operates in 80 countries, is one of the major providers of bio-health solutions for pharmaceutical firms, including single-use cell culture bags, which are used in the process of manufacturing COVID-19 jabs.

The company already holds close ties with major South Korean pharmaceutical firms, including SK Bioscience Co. and Samsung BioLogics Co.

"South Korea is a market with a great potential, and the country is also seeking to play a bigger role in the development, production, supply and exports of vaccines based on its production capabilities," Moon said.

A local spokesman for Cytiva declined to provide details to Yonhap News Agency on the size of a potential project, adding the company is searching for sites at the current stage.

The life science unit of GE Healthcare changed its name to Cytiva in 2020 following its acquisition by Danaher Corp. Cytiva currently operates a training center in South Korea but no production facilities.

South Korea is the third-largest market for the company.

colin@yna.co.kr
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