Samsung Biologics Seeks to Add Fourth Plant

As Samsung Biologics’ bioreactor facilities are expected to reach full utilization by 2022, the company said it will construct a fourth plant and a bio campus, according to industry reports.

Samsung Biologics and Biogen are major shareholders in the biosimilar manufacturer Samsung Bioepis, which is anticipating the European Commission approval of its bevacizumab biosimilar candidate (Aybintio). The developmental agent was recommended for approval by the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use in June.

Samsung Biologics has seen activities expand at its site in Incheon, Republic of Korea, since it began constructing its first of 3 manufacturing plants there in 2011. The production center has a bioreactor capacity of 364,000 liters, according to The Korea Times, reporting on a recent shareholder meeting.

Recent large-scale contract announcements indicate that excess plant capacity will be used up in 2 years, and Kim Tae-han, CEO of Samsung Biologics, said the need for more production capacity led to the decision to design a fourth plant, according to BioProcess International.

Samsung Biologics’ Deals

Samsung Biologics is a contract and development management organization, meaning that it serves other pharmaceutical companies on a contract basis to provide comprehensive drug development and manufacturing services.

In March, The Korea Times reported that Samsung Biologics will open a research and development lab in the San Francisco, California, area later in 2020, which in terms of physical expansion, marks the company’s first steps outside the Republic of Korea.

According to the Nikkei Asian Review, Samsung Biologics has closed over $1.5 billion worth of orders in the past 3 months.

The Japanese media outlet stated that Samsung Biologics made a deal in April with Vir Biotechnology worth $362 million for Samsung Biologics to help the US-based company initiate production of a coronavirus disease 2019 antibody treatment. Samsung Biologics notched a deal in May valued at $231 million to manufacture biologics, including lupus drug Benlysta (belimumab), for GlaxoSmithKline.