Ecolab opens bioprocessing lab in South Korea for downstream development

Ecolab Life Sciences, headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota, has opened a bioprocessing applications laboratory in Dongtan, South Korea, to support downstream process development for biopharmaceutical manufacturers across Asia.

The facility is designed to provide local access to purification studies using the company’s chromatography resin portfolio, supporting activities from early-stage screening through process development aligned with commercial manufacturing conditions, the company said. On-site scientists will work with regional customers to optimize chromatography steps, improve yields and productivity, and support regulatory readiness.

Ecolab said the lab is intended to reduce the need for overseas shipment of materials for development work, helping shorten timelines and maintain consistency with global manufacturing processes. The expansion reflects increasing demand for scalable downstream processing capabilities as biopharma activity grows across key Asian markets, the company contends.

The site is the company’s first bioprocessing applications facility in Asia and expands its global network, which includes sites in the United States and the United Kingdom, according to the announcement.

The launch builds on Ecolab’s broader investment in bioprocessing support infrastructure. In 2025, the company opened a similar applications laboratory in Pennsylvania to provide purification process development services for biotherapeutics across the development lifecycle.