Korean biopharma company enters into the next phase with big tech

Becoming the world’s first

South Korean biopharmaceutical company Celltrion is known for producing the world's first monoclonal antibody biosimilars approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Biosimilars are near-copies of biologic drugs for the treatment of eight autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Because of their high quality and affordability, biosimilars have enabled patients from all over the world to get treatment quickly. Celltrion’s biosimilars have been exported across the world, even as far as Europe and the United States, to treat patients with different diseases. 

Pushing the technology even further, Celltrion has begun developing a new generation of biosimilars. “We call them ‘bioinnovatives' or innovative biosimilars.” explains Soohyeon Kim, Head of IT Infra Department at Celltrion, “The company continues to develop new drugs to give patients access to affordable options, ones that were not possible ten years ago.” 

As it grows, the Korean biopharma giant wants to move from the ‘first mover’ to a ‘game changer’ in the global market. Its strong product portfolio and growing pipeline has led Celltrion to initiate a direct sales model in many of its trade regions. This change in trade arrangements likewise requires a change in how Celltrion communicates with its salespeople on the ground.

Collaboration of geographically dispersed teams

Celltrion needed a more efficient collaboration system to better coordinate with its international offices. It wanted to have a highly collaborative environment that enables seamless communication between high-tech manufacturing facilities, research labs, and marketing and sales partners in 14 countries. “Workers need to 'talk' with people across offices and plants in various geographic locations,” explains Mooyeop Yun, manager of the IT Team at Celltrion. “Our company is headquartered in Incheon Metropolitan City but our plants are running in other regions, like Jincheon and Ochang in North Chungcheong province.” 

Adding to the complexity is the company’s new 60,000-liter biopharmaceutical plant, which is still under construction as of early 2021. The plant will house a multi-type production facility, a supply system, and a one-stop research center. “We felt the need for an optimized and efficient communications platform to keep geographically dispersed teams connected from anywhere, anytime,” Mooyeop Yun explains. The team chose Microsoft 365 as the solution to their collaboration challenge. The shift created a digital workspace where employees and partners can work together remotely. 

Communication isn’t limited to people within the organization or even the country. Celltrion also needs to constantly touch base with its global partners. “We want to tap the global generics market,” Mooyeop Yun shares. “To do that, we have to coordinate with more than 30 partners around the world.” The company’s research and sales teams communicate with internationally dispersed partners on a regular basis. International communication will only increase in frequency and speed as Celltrion moves into post-geographic projects.

Mission ‘security’ for innovation

As a key player in a highly regulated industry, Celltrion needed to protect vast quantities of highly sensitive, confidential data. It needs to comply with data protection laws and strict legislative health standards while allowing its employees to work flexibly anytime, anywhere. “We needed to have very secure environments where we can store, share, and collaborate on files that can also be easily accessed while working from home during the COVID-19 outbreak,” shares Soohyeon Kim. “Unlike on-premises servers, working on the cloud is not limited to the physical office. Our data is easily available from everywhere without compromising security.” Research and development activity remains secure within the Azure cloud environment, compliant with remote work policies. 

In fact, the Celltrion team continued to work together remotely throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. It developed an antibody therapy, CT-P59, during this period in an effort to fight against COVID-19. The global biopharma pioneer won conditional approval of its antibody treatment for COVID-19 by South Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in February 2021. “With FastTrack support from Microsoft, we deployed Microsoft 365, SharePoint, and the Azure SQL database quickly and easily. This allowed us to continue focusing on product innovation even in uncertain global situations, without worrying about data security in the Celltrion’s R&D activities.” Soohyeon Kim says. 

For Celltrion, the use of Microsoft technologies goes beyond regulatory compliance. “Facing challenges of the increasingly complex local and global regulation, we outperformed regulatory mandates with Microsoft tools,” shares Soohyeon Kim. The biopharma giant believes that this is just the beginning of a mutually beneficial relationship with Microsoft.  

“With the use of Microsoft’s advanced cloud technology, we have improved efficiency, speed, and collaboration while ensuring data security,” concludes Soohyeon Kim. “This empowers us to develop new drugs and continue to make a positive impact in the competitive healthcare sector. For the next decade, our ambitions are to go beyond being the world’s first to becoming the world’s best.”