LOTTE Corporation Buys Bristol Myers Squibb’s New York Manufacturing Plant for $160 Million

Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) sold its East Syracuse-based biologics manufacturing plant to South Korea-based conglomerate LOTTE Corporation for $160 million. LOTTE will use the historic manufacturing site to further its pharmaceutical ambitions once LOTTE finalizes the transaction in the second half of 2022. 

Expanding LOTTE’s Horizons

The former BMS site will be known as the LOTTE Center for North America Operations under its new biologics contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO). 

Hunki Lee, Executive Vice President of LOTTE Corporation, said, “We are pleased to add this state-of-the-art facility to our global pharma operations, which will enable us to rapidly scale and expand our biologics CDMO business in North America.” 

LOTTE Corporation is South Korea’s fifth-largest conglomerate operating in retail, food and beverage, chemical manufacturing, and tourism. Acquiring the East Syracuse facility will allow LOTTE to increase its biopharmaceutical presence internationally. The purchase will come with manufacturing equipment and a technically skilled workforce to continue operating the plant. 

After the deal is finalized, LOTTE will initially use the plant to manufacture products for BMS before expanding its CDMO offerings in the industry. 

Though the original press release did not mention the financial conditions of the deal, Seoul-based Yonhap reported the $160 million purchase price as well as LOTTE’s agreement to manufacture $220 million worth of medicine over the next three years. 

Related Article: Evotec Expands Partnership with Bristol Myers Squibb for Potential $5 Billion Deal

A Historic Reputation to Uphold

The East Syracuse manufacturing facility has a great deal of historical significance, dating back to its inception in 1943. Up until the mid-2000s, the plant manufactured nearly 70% of the world’s penicillin. 

In 2010, BMS initiated a massive property renovation and put $10 million into shifting the plant from a primarily penicillin-producing operation to function as a park-type biotech research center. The makeover took nearly three years to accomplish, but the results are impressive.

The plant sprawls over 90 acres and includes 118 buildings filled with state-of-the-art laboratories and research facilities. BMS designed the renovation with the future of medical technology in mind, removing obsolete facilities to accommodate modern equipment. About 1.2 million square feet are dedicated to researching and developing twenty-first-century medicine.

LOTTE Corporation’s purchase of the East Syracuse plant is another step in its evolution. Hopefully, as the year progresses, more details about the deal will unfold, and the fate of the historic facility will become more clear in the broader scope of medical advancement. 

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Author

Reed Slater