NeoCannBio, a manufacturer of pharmaceutical raw materials from medical hemp, said on the 19th that it held a groundbreaking ceremony for Korea's first GMP (good manufacturing practice) facility for hemp pharmaceutical ingredients in Andong, North Gyeongsang.
Medical hemp uses cannabidiol (CBD) extracted from the flowers and leaves of hemp. CBD is known to be nonaddictive and to have pain-relieving and calming effects, and its therapeutic effects are being confirmed in a range of diseases including epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, dementia, depression, and cancer.
To be used as a pharmaceutical, CBD extracted from flowers and leaves must go through a purification process that lowers the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content, which causes hallucinations and addiction, to 0.3% or less.
NeoCannBio was founded in 2021 by Chief Executive Ham, formerly a principal researcher at the Gangneung Institute of Natural Products of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST). In the same year, in the Andong regulatory free zone, it became the first in Korea to secure technology that completely removes narcotic components and extracts only the therapeutically effective CBD at high purity.
Korea's medical hemp technology is already close to commercialization, but building GMP facilities essential for clinical trials and exports has been impossible due to regulations under the Narcotics Control Act.
The new GMP facility is a core piece of infrastructure for the North Gyeongsang industrial hemp regulatory free zone, expected to verify the safety of hemp-based pharmaceutical ingredients and enable entry into global markets. It is also a signal that the North Gyeongsang industrial hemp zone, promoted since 2021, has moved beyond demonstration into industrialization.
The newly launched GMP manufacturing facility in the Bio 2nd Industrial Complex has a total floor area of 1,530 square meters (two above-ground floors), with a total investment of 13 billion won. Completion is targeted for 2027. Once finished, the facility will establish a manufacturing and verification system for hemp pharmaceutical ingredients that meets international standards, and the company plans to push in earnest for exports of CBD pharmaceutical ingredients and safety validation, which had remained incomplete.
About 150 people attended the groundbreaking, including officials from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, North Gyeongsang Province, and Andong City, as well as industry and research institutions. After the event, a Korea-Japan medical hemp international conference was held, continuing discussions on global industry trends and export potential.
A NeoCannBio official said, "This GMP manufacturing facility is the first step to set standards for Korea's hemp industry and secure global competitiveness," adding, "Through manufacturing infrastructure that prioritizes safety and quality, we will accelerate the overseas expansion of hemp-based pharmaceuticals."