SK Plasma has secured its largest technology export deal to date through a plasma-derived medicines localization project being developed with the Turkish government.
The company announced on March 5 that it signed a technology transfer and licensing agreement worth €65 million with Proturk İlaç Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. on March 3. After tax deductions, the deal is valued at approximately KRW 110 billion, making it the largest individual licensing agreement since SK Plasma was established in 2015.
Proturk is a joint venture established with the Turkish Red Crescent (Kizilay) to build a plasma fractionation manufacturing plant in Türkiye. Under the agreement, SK Plasma will grant Proturk a license to produce plasma-derived medicines at the planned facility and transfer research, development, and manufacturing technologies.
SK Plasma plans to accelerate the development of the local production infrastructure through the technology transfer process. The company will gradually transfer manufacturing, production, and quality management systems developed through its operations at the Andong plant in South Korea. Technology transfer procedures will also be standardized using a dedicated knowledge-transfer manual to ensure systematic risk management.
Once the production facility in Cubuk, near Ankara, is completed with an annual capacity of 600,000 liters, Türkiye is expected to secure a stable domestic supply of essential plasma-derived medicines such as albumin and immunoglobulin, which are currently fully dependent on imports.
Kim Seung-joo, CEO of SK Plasma, said the company is expanding cooperation with the Turkish government to improve access to essential medicines and strengthen healthcare resilience against crises such as pandemics. He added that the company aims to expand the localization solution model to other regions where domestic pharmaceutical production capabilities are needed, helping address global disparities in healthcare systems.
Kim also noted that the project goes beyond exporting individual technologies, as it involves transferring SK Plasma’s entire operational system to local partners. He said the model is expected to become a core platform for the company’s global essential medicines localization business.
Proturk was established in November last year, and SK Plasma will acquire a 15 percent stake in the joint venture for €150,000 in addition to receiving technology royalties. This structure will allow the company to benefit from dividends tied to the venture’s future performance.
SK Plasma is expanding its global business model of building local production facilities and transferring technology to countries that need to localize essential medicines. Leveraging experience gained from projects in Indonesia and Türkiye, the company plans to expand this model globally while establishing essential medicines localization solutions as a new pillar of the Korean biotechnology industry.
