씨드모젠
1 known investors
CDMOgen (씨드모젠) is a contract development and manufacturing organization specializing in viral vector- and mRNA-based gene therapies and vaccines, offering CDO, CMO, and CRO services including GMP manufacturing and quality/analytical testing. It serves biopharmaceutical developers and was the first in South Korea to receive GMP manufacturing approval for gene therapy products.
Also known as (주)씨드모젠 · CdmoGen · 씨드모젠
Investors · 1
Company profile
researched Aug 2026CdmoGen (씨드모젠) is a South Korean contract testing, development and manufacturing organization (CTDMO) focused on cell and gene therapy (CGT), viral vaccines and mRNA vaccines. Its service scope combines CDO (cell line, process and analytical method development), CMO (GMP and non-clinical manufacturing of viral vector and mRNA products) and CRO (quality testing and analytical services), marketed as a one-stop total service covering early R&D through non-clinical and clinical-stage supply. The company also sells premade viral vector and mRNA products. Manufacturing and testing operations are run from a Cheongju site and an mRNA vaccine GMP facility built in the Osong advanced medical complex.
Alongside services, the company develops its own AAV-based gene therapy candidates for ophthalmic disease, including CRG-01 (targeting the mTOR protein in retinal cells, developed for macular degeneration) and CRG-02 (targeting VEGF, developed for diabetic retinopathy); as of late 2024 CRG-02 had been filed with Korea's MFDS (September 2024) and CRG-01 was in preparation for a US FDA IND. Additional research interests include glaucoma and retinitis pigmentosa. Technical specialties cited include adenovirus, lentivirus and AAV vectors, ex vivo gene therapy, and replication competent virus (RCV/RCL/RCR/RCA) lot release testing, which the company states only a small number of organizations worldwide offer.
The company is registered as a small or medium-sized enterprise in the biological preparations manufacturing industry, headquartered in Cheongju, Chungbuk, with 46 employees as of 31 December 2025 and paid-in capital of KRW 3.26bn. It is founder-led by CEO Park Ki-rang and remains privately held.
Founding story
Founder and CEO Park Ki-rang graduated from Seoul National University, earned a doctorate at Purdue University in the US, worked as a research professor at the University of Rochester medical school, and then taught at Chungbuk Health & Science University. Observing that Korea lacked dedicated contract manufacturers for gene and cell therapies, forcing local biotechs to use foreign CDMOs, he established the company in 2015 to serve those developers domestically and help protect their intellectual property.
Business model
Dual-track model combining fee-for-service contract work (CMO, CDO, CRO/testing for domestic and overseas biopharma developers) with proprietary gene therapy drug development intended to generate value through co-development, licensing-out and product approvals. The company states that regulatory track records from its own pipeline (FDA IND and BLA experience) feed back into winning more outsourced projects and CDMO revenue.
Revenue is earned from contracted development, GMP manufacturing and quality-testing projects under contract service agreements, supplemented by sales of premade viral vector and mRNA products. Reported revenue was KRW 4.03bn (2022), KRW 2.34bn (2023), KRW 2.99bn (2024) and KRW 320m (2025), with operating losses in each of those years.
Traction
Approximately 270 outsourced GMP manufacturing and analytical projects completed between March 2017 and 2024 (about 200 cited earlier at the Cheongju site), including over 150 RCV analytical tests and a US FDA IND approval track record. It won an initial USD 600,000 CDMO contract with Ohio State University three months after entering the US market (December 2025), and was one of 12 biopharmaceutical CMOs to receive GMP suitability certificates in April 2025. Earlier wins include a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine GMP manufacturing contract with NES Biotechnology, the first project booked after qualification of its mRNA GMP facility in June 2023.
Latest developments
In December 2025 the company announced an initial USD 600,000 CDMO contract with Ohio State University three months after entering the US market. In April 2025 it was among 12 biopharmaceutical CMOs to receive GMP suitability certificates. Financially, 2025 revenue fell about 89% year over year to KRW 320m with an operating loss of KRW 3.99bn and net loss of KRW 4.97bn, while headcount stood at 46 at year-end 2025. Notices for its 10th and 11th annual general shareholder meetings were issued in February 2025 and March 2026.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Positioned as one of the few small/mid-size Korean venture companies operating a CGT-focused CDMO alongside internal drug discovery, in a domestic contract manufacturing market dominated by large players such as Samsung Biologics and Celltrion. It describes itself as the only domestic holder of dedicated GMP technology and facilities for virus-based ex vivo gene therapy products and the only Korean provider of RCL/RCR/RCA lot release testing, one of about three worldwide.
Combination of CGT-specific manufacturing, development and specialized analytical testing in one organization, rare among Korean SME bio companies; a rare RCV/lot-release testing capability; and an internal AAV ophthalmic pipeline that generates its own regulatory references. Management cites Spark Therapeutics and AskBio as precedents for pairing an AAV platform with proprietary therapeutics.
Technology
Platform technologies span viral vector engineering and therapeutic vector optimization (adenovirus, lentivirus, AAV), ex vivo gene therapy manufacturing, mRNA vaccine drug substance production including in-vitro-transcription plasmid supply, and a broad analytical portfolio covering characterization, contamination and stability testing. It holds standard test methods for essentially all regulator-required viral-vector gene therapy clinical sample analyses (excluding culture-based methods) and specializes in replication competent virus detection (RCL, RCR, RCA) with more than 150 such tests performed. Certifications include MFDS GMP suitability (first obtained 2019, re-certified in 2023 for advanced biopharmaceuticals), MFDS designation as a testing laboratory (2020), and KOLAS/ISO IEC 17025 accreditation (2021). It also develops molecular diagnostic kits for virus-borne disease and microbial contamination kits for biologics.
Go-to-market
Biopharmaceutical and biotech developers of gene and cell therapies and vaccines, including Korean pharmaceutical companies such as Hanmi Pharmaceutical and Daewoong Pharmaceutical, small and mid-size bio ventures needing non-clinical and clinical supply, and academic/research institutions such as Ohio State University.
Geography
Headquarters and offices in Cheongju, Chungbuk province, South Korea (Cheongju Techno S Tower, Heungdeok-gu), with manufacturing at a Cheongju GMP site and an mRNA vaccine GMP facility in the Osong advanced medical complex (Osong-eup, Cheongju). It began US market activity in 2025, contracting with Ohio State University, and pursues overseas expansion including a strategic alliance with a global CRO.
History
Founded 25 November 2015 and began contract projects in March 2017. It underwent a project-based cGMP compliance assessment in 2018 and obtained Korea's first MFDS GMP Compliance of a Manufacturer certification for gene therapy contract manufacturing in 2019, followed by MFDS testing-institution designation in 2020 and KOLAS ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation in 2021. In 2021 it was selected by the Ministry of Health and Welfare as an operator for mRNA vaccine facility and equipment construction, and built an mRNA vaccine GMP plant in the Osong complex, completing qualification in June 2023 and re-certifying its GMP status for advanced biopharmaceuticals the same year. Government recognitions include Baby Unicorn selection (June 2022), Baby Unicorn Plus (2023), and a 2023 SME technology innovation development program (materials-parts-equipment strategy) task. As of 2024 it was raising a Series B bridge/Series C round, and by 2025 it had expanded into the US market.
Risks & controversies
Financial results show sustained losses and deteriorating scale: revenue declined 42% in 2023 and 89% in 2025 to KRW 320m, with operating losses every year from 2022 to 2025 and a 2025 net loss of KRW 4.97bn. Equity fell from KRW 12.5bn (2023) to KRW 4.85bn (2025) while debt rose, lifting the debt ratio to 171% and reducing the equity ratio to 36.9%; third-party industry scoring placed the company in the lowest bands for activity, profitability and growth. A stated 2024 IPO target had not been met as of the latest sources, and the internal pipeline remains at the IND-application stage, leaving outcomes dependent on regulatory approvals and further fundraising (the company was seeking Series B bridge/Series C capital as of November 2024).
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 14
launches, deals, and filingsSigned an initial CDMO contract worth USD 600,000 with Ohio State University three months after entering the US market.
$600K source ↗
Included among 12 biopharmaceutical contract manufacturers that received GMP suitability certificates.
Filed an IND application with Korea's MFDS for CRG-02, an AAV-based VEGF-targeting gene therapy candidate for diabetic retinopathy, and was awaiting the outcome; CRG-01 for macular degeneration was in preparation for a US FDA IND.
Named by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups as a representative company for excellent R&D performance.
Selected for the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' 2023 Baby Unicorn Plus program, the follow-on stage to its 2022 Baby Unicorn selection.
Completed qualification assessment of its mRNA vaccine GMP manufacturing site in the Osong advanced medical complex, establishing capacity to supply mRNA vaccine drug substance.
Agreed a 2023 SME technology innovation development project with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, extending its CTDMO work from viral vector gene therapy into mRNA.
Signed a contract service agreement to perform GMP manufacturing of a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine being developed by NES Biotechnology with Ministry of Health and Welfare research funding; the first project booked after its mRNA GMP facility qualification.
Selected as a Baby Unicorn company by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.
Chosen by Korea's Ministry of Health and Welfare as an operator under its mRNA vaccine facility and equipment construction program.
Received KOLAS accreditation as an ISO/IEC 17025 international testing laboratory.
Designated as a testing and inspection institution by Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.
Obtained Korea's first MFDS GMP compliance certification for contract gene therapy manufacturing; re-certified in 2023 under the advanced biopharmaceuticals category.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- 씨드모젠cdmogen.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does 씨드모젠 do?
- Korean CTDMO providing viral vector and mRNA GMP manufacturing, development and testing services while developing AAV ophthalmic gene therapies.
- Who are 씨드모젠's investors?
- 씨드모젠's investors include Laguna Investment.