Built to stringent European cGMP standards
Cellac Bio, a medical device development and manufacturing company established by Hugel, opened its Wonju factory Tuesday in the enterprise city of Wonju, Gangwon Province — one of the world's leading hubs for the medical device industry.
Construction and equipment installation at the Wonju factory required about 70 billion won ($51.5 million) in total project costs over roughly 14 months, from groundbreaking in February 2025 through completion in April this year.
According to Gangwon Province and Wonju city, the factory was built on a 9,900-square-meter site across three above-ground floors. It features a sterile dermal filler filling facility built to cGMP standards — the stringent European manufacturing benchmark for medical facilities — and has secured production infrastructure capable of turning out more than 16 million dermal filler units annually, making it the largest such facility in South Korea.
The Wonju factory is currently completing the preliminary GMP certification procedures required before full-scale mass production begins. Once certified, it plans to focus on producing dermal fillers (including CaHA, PLLA and DOPA-HA formulations), skin boosters and functional cosmetics. The company also intends to expand beyond straightforward manufacturing into CMO (contract manufacturing) and CDMO (contract development and manufacturing) services, positioning itself as a key production partner supporting product development and manufacturing for global companies while meeting rising demand in the dermal filler market.
Cellac Bio is a medical device company founded by the founder and core personnel of global aesthetics firm Hugel, and is pursuing overseas market entry on the strength of its differentiated regenerative technology.
The completion of the Wonju factory is expected to invigorate the medical device industry that Wonju has long cultivated as a pillar of its local economy, while also contributing to the growth of related industries in the region.
Wonju has steadily expanded its industrial base by attracting medical device companies, and is now working to extend that foundation into advanced medical industries incorporating AI and other cutting-edge technologies. The city is also pursuing designation as an advanced medical complex as part of its broader effort to strengthen its competitiveness in the future medical industry.
Wonju Mayor Gu Ja-yeol said the completion of Cellac Bio's cGMP factory, equipped with the country's highest-level production infrastructure and technology, represents a tangible result of the city's efforts to attract medical device companies. "We will spare no effort in supporting outstanding medical device companies so they can achieve growth in Wonju, and will work actively to establish Wonju as a city that leads South Korea's medical device industry," he said.
The opening ceremony at the cGMP factory in Wonju's enterprise city was attended by Wonju Mayor Gu Ja-yeol, Wonju City Council Speaker Moon Jeong-hwan, Gangwon Provincial Assembly Speaker Park Gil-seon, who represents Wonju's first electoral district, and company officials.
abc@heraldcorp.com
