West Pharmaceutical Services (Exton, Penn.) announced that it has expanded its presence in the Asia Pacific region by opening a new sales office in Korea.

The new office is part of West’s recent purchase of the distribution business of GIS Korea, which was previously West’s distributor in the Asia Pacific region.

“We are excited to build upon the strong foundation that our distributor has established in Korea, as this is an important market for West and our customers,” Karen Flynn, senior VP and chief commercial officer of West, said in a press release. “By combining the local insight of the GIS Korea team with West’s global manufacturing reach and market-leading technical support team, we will be able to better serve our customers and position ourselves to grow our business in this region.”

GIS has partnered with West for distribution since 2003.

“Korean pharmaceutical and biotech companies are making great strides to bring new medicine to market, and our team has been working by their side with West’s products and services to help them package and deliver their products, so they are delivered safely and effectively to patients,” Kwon Dong-Oh, managing director for West Korea and former managing director for GIS Korea, said. “We are excited to join West and to be a part of a global team that is working to improve patient lives.”