Jo’s 20 years in biopharma, LG Chem leadership, GMP experience for SK’s vaccine production
SK bioscience announced on the 18th that it has appointed Vice President Jo Bong-jun, who has extensive experience in biopharmaceutical production and process technology at LG Chem and other companies, as the head of bulk production.
Vice President Jo is a manufacturing expert who spent approximately 20 years at LG Chem, overseeing commercial production of biopharmaceuticals, construction of new factories, and technology transfers for production processes. Bulk pharmaceutical ingredients, the core components of vaccines or treatments, require stable maintenance of quality and safety during mass production.
During his tenure at LG Chem, he led the production of bulk biopharmaceutical ingredients using microorganisms and animal cells, primarily at the Iksan and Osong factories. Microorganism- and animal cell-based production are representative methods currently used by global pharmaceutical companies. Vice President Jo is recognized for his contributions to stabilizing commercial production by transferring new product manufacturing technologies to existing facilities and optimizing processes.
He also led the Osong Bio New Plant construction project, overseeing the establishment of large-scale commercial production facilities and process “scale-up.” Scale-up involves expanding laboratory or small-scale production processes to actual commercial scales, with quality management capabilities being critical. During this process, he gained experience in responding to GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) inspections by major global regulatory agencies, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), European Medicines Agency (EMA), World Health Organization (WHO), and Japan’s Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA).
Later, at BioNex, a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) for biopharmaceuticals, he served as head of production at the Osong plant, overseeing contract manufacturing (CMO) projects for global pharmaceutical companies and production organization operations. At JinMedicine, he was responsible for establishing a production facility for gene therapies and GMP systems, accumulating experience in next-generation treatment production.
Vice President Jo graduated from Konkuk University’s Department of Microbiological Engineering and earned a master’s degree in molecular microbiology from Sungkyunkwan University.
Through this appointment, SK bioscience aims to further strengthen the stability of bulk production for biopharmaceuticals, including vaccines, and its capabilities in responding to global regulations. The company plans to continue advancing its platform integration of production and process technologies by linking the Andong vaccine production facility, “L HOUSE,” and the Songdo Global R&PD Center.
