SEOUL, July 29 (Reuters) - South Korean pharmaceutical

firm Celltrion said on Tuesday that in an attempt

to offset the risk of U.S. tariffs it had become the preferred

bidder to acquire a U.S. manufacturing factory from an unnamed

global pharmaceutical company.

Celltrion's Founder and Chief Executive Seo Jung-jin told a

briefing it planned to invest 700 billion won ($503.78 million)

in the acquisition and operation of the factory, without giving

a breakdown of the figure.

The company could make an additional investment ranging

from 300 billion won to 700 billion won depending on U.S. tariff

policy.

The U.S. has been conducting a national security

investigation into the pharmaceutical sector and President

Donald Trump said earlier this month that pharmaceutical tariffs

could be as high as 200%.

He expected the tariffs to offer "opportunities" by

increasing drug prices and reducing competition, thus improving

profitability.

Celltrion said it would not disclose further details,

including the name of the seller and its location, until the

signing of the final agreement, which is expected in early

October.