Celltrion announced on November 11th that it has finalized the premerger notification review by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Bureau of Competition for its acquisition of the Eli Lilly manufacturing facility located in Branchburg, New Jersey.
The completion of this U.S. merger review follows the approval from Ireland’s regulatory authorities last month on October 31st, clearing all necessary regulatory steps for the plant acquisition. With both approvals secured, Celltrion has met the required regulatory conditions to proceed with the deal.
These two merger reviews assess whether the proposed asset combination could hinder market competition, with each country conducting its own evaluation. In the U.S., the review was conducted under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act (HSR), and in Ireland, regulatory approval was required due to the plant's significant revenue contribution. The completion of these reviews means the finalization of the deal is expected to proceed smoothly within this year.
Following the closing of the deal, Celltrion plans to accelerate post-merger integration (PMI) efforts by deploying dedicated operational staff across various functions to ensure seamless business continuity. The company also intends to provide tailored support to help local employees adapt quickly to the changes.
Through this acquisition, Celltrion aims to mitigate structural tariff risks, diversify production bases to reduce geopolitical uncertainties, and expand its contract manufacturing organization (CMO) business opportunities in the U.S.
Particularly, the CMO segment is expected to benefit from the increasing demand for pharmaceutical manufacturing in the U.S., with plans to actively develop this area centered around the Branchburg facility. Leveraging its extensive experience in biopharmaceutical development and a proven track record in new drug CMO services, Celltrion intends to attract more CMO clients. The company anticipates immediate revenue generation and early investment recovery from the plant acquisition, following the CMO contract negotiations with Lilly.
The Branchburg facility, covering approximately 45,000 square meters, is part of a large-scale campus. Celltrion plans to invest over 700 billion Korean Won (approximately $600 million) into approximately 11,000 square meters of idle land post-acquisition to expand production capacity, aiming to scale up to 1.5 times the capacity of its Songdo Plant in Incheon.
A Celltrion representative stated, “Completing all regulatory reviews for the U.S. facility acquisition has laid a solid foundation for accelerating our global market expansion,” and added, “Strengthening our global drug manufacturing and supply network will drive growth and enhance shareholder value.”
