‘Choose France’ Yposkesi welcomes French Ministers to newly constructed 5,000m2 site – under government scheme

French ministers Bruno Le Maire and Roland Lescure explore new state-of-the-art bioproduction site, Yposkesi’s second viral vector manufacturing facility

Evry-Courcouronnes (near Paris), France, May 15, 2023 – Yposkesi, SK pharmteco’s clinical and commercial viral vector manufacturing arm for cell and gene therapies, today announces the visit of the French economy, finance and digital sovereignty minister, Bruno Le Maire, and deputy minister for industry, Roland Lescure, to its newly constructed industrial site. Built under the French government’s ‘Choose France’ scheme – which promotes France’s economic attractiveness, Yposkesi’s new 5,000m² (50,000ft²) industrial facility is seen as a prime illustration of the contribution foreign investment has made to a strategic sector in the reindustrialization of France.

In 2021, SK pharmteco, a portfolio company of South Korea’s SK Group, acquired a 70% stake in Yposkesi and invested €60M in building its second industrial facility for viral vector manufacturing. Today, Yposkesi has doubled its manufacturing footprint to 10,000m² (100,000ft²) at its site in Genopole, the largest biotech cluster in France.

“Yposkesi is delighted to have shown our new bioproduction site to ministers Bruno Le Maire and Roland Lescure. Their visit symbolizes the importance and dynamism that cell and gene therapy developments hold in France, as well as internationally. We are excited by the strong potential that these therapies offer in treating patients,“ said Alain Lamproye, executive chairman of Yposkesi.

As the new site is currently undergoing qualification, the two ministers, alongside Mr. Joerg Ahlgrimm (CEO of SK pharmteco), Mr. YeonTae Kim (SVP Head of Biotech Investment Center SK Inc) and local officials, received an initial tour of the viral vector manufacturing plant. Yposkesi will formally inaugurate the site on June 22.

Since its inception in 2016, Yposkesi has become one of Europe’s largest manufacturers of viral vectors, the gene delivery systems used to produce Cell and Gene Therapies (C&GT). These advanced treatments replace damaged genes with good ones in order to cure or prevent the spread of diseases and rare disorders. Yposkesi is one of a very few CDMOs (Contract Development and Manufacturing Organizations) to operate two industrial-scale bioproduction platforms for the most used viral vectors: Adeno Associated Virus (AAV) and Lentiviral Vector (LV), which represent more than 75% of viral vectors in C&GT pipelines.