Hanmi Pharmaceutical's Pyeongtaek manufacturing center, the production hub for its obesity and metabolic disease treatments, has earned the top grade for the second consecutive time in the Ministry of Employment and Labor's Process Safety Management (PSM) evaluation.
Hanmi Pharmaceutical said on the 31st that the Pyeongtaek center received the highest grade, the "P grade," in this year's regular PSM implementation evaluation conducted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor. The center maintained the top grade for the second consecutive time following 2022, marking the first such case in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry.
PSM is a system that comprehensively evaluates the safety management level of workplaces handling hazardous equipment and harmful substances to prevent major industrial accidents. Based on the evaluation results, grades of P (excellent), S (good), M+ (average) and M- (poor) are assigned. As of last year, only 26 of the 614 workplaces subject to evaluation in the Seoul metropolitan area obtained a P grade.
The Pyeongtaek center was highly rated for establishing a prevention-focused autonomous safety management system through advanced risk assessment, the proactive identification of harmful and hazardous factors, and employee-participation safety activities. Hanmi Pharmaceutical recently appointed a chief safety officer (CSO) and is continuously strengthening the environment, health and safety (EHS) management system at its major workplaces, including the Pyeongtaek and Paltan manufacturing centers.
"Winning the top PSM grade for the second consecutive time is the result of all employees making safety their top priority value and putting it into practice," said Kim Se-kwon, executive director and head of Hanmi Pharmaceutical's Pyeongtaek manufacturing center. "We will strengthen proactive risk management and systematic safety activities to realize an accident-free workplace."
Meanwhile, the Pyeongtaek center is a key production base that will handle the domestic and international supply of obesity and metabolic disease treatments, including the new obesity drug "efpeglenatide," which is slated for launch in the second half of this year. It also produces "Rolvedon," a neutropenia treatment approved for marketing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and clinical products of a metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) treatment candidate being developed by global pharmaceutical company Merck (MSD).
