Samsung Biologics is considering expanding its sixth plant, aiming to become operational by 2027. With already the largest production capacity in the world, this means it will enhance its competitiveness to produce a wider range of pipelines (product lines) on a larger scale.
John Rim, CEO of Samsung Biologics, noted during the main track presentation at the 43rd JP Morgan Healthcare Conference held at The Westin St. Francis hotel in San Francisco on the 14th (local time), "Both Korea and the U.S. face challenging market environments, but Samsung Biologics will continue its growth by expanding three pillars: capacity, modality (drug delivery technology), and geography."
The company has received an official invitation from JP Morgan for nine consecutive years since 2017. The main track is a stage where only 27 of over 550 officially invited corporations are allowed to present.
That day, CEO John Rim conducted the presentation under the theme "4E." 4E is a slogan selected as the values that employees of Samsung Biologics should pursue, meaning Customer Excellence, Operation Excellence, Quality Excellence, and People Excellence.
CEO John Rim emphasized that the company’s growth will continue this year as well. Within fifteen days of the new year, it has already secured the largest contract in history. The company has announced that it signed a contract for contract manufacturing (CMO) worth 2.747 trillion won with a European pharmaceutical firm the day before.
CEO John Rim explained, "The annual revenue for 2024 is also expected to increase by 15 to 20% compared to the previous year," adding, "This would mark a growth approximately 15 times the revenue of Samsung Biologics in 2016, when it became listed (294.6 billion won)."
There is also keen interest in whether last year's annual revenue reached 4 trillion won. Last year’s fourth-quarter results will be announced on the 22nd. The intake amount for last year exceeded a record high of 5 trillion won, and projections indicate that this year will surpass that.
Samsung Biologics is expanding its production capacity to meet the increasing demand for biopharmaceuticals.
Currently, a fifth plant with a capacity of 180,000 liters is under construction with the goal of becoming operational in April. Upon completion, Samsung Biologics will have a total production capacity of 784,000 liters, regarded as the world's largest. If the sixth plant expansion is confirmed, it is planned to be constructed in Songdo, Incheon, at the same scale of 180,000 liters. Combined with the sixth plant, the company's total production capacity is expected to reach 1 million liters. Last month, a production facility dedicated to antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) was also completed.
It is also expanding its modality to increase orders. Samsung Biologics currently has the capability to produce messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines and ADCs. Recently, it identified adeno-associated virus (AAV) and cell and gene therapies (CGT) as future food sources and began securing technology. AAV is a virus with low immunogenicity and a simple structure, used for delivering therapeutic genes into the body, developing treatments for congenital genetic disorders.
The company has also initiated research on peptide production, which has surged due to the popularity of obesity drugs like Wigobi and Jepbound. Peptides, which are fragments of proteins made up of amino acids, have fewer side effects and are relatively easier to manufacture, resulting in a success rate for new drugs that is twice as high as that of synthetic drugs. They also have the advantage of functioning as various bioactive substances, with glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1 being a representative example. CEO John Rim noted, "We are still in the learning phase," but added that the firm has already recruited experts to secure peptide production technology.
To expand its geographical foothold, the company recently opened a sales office in Tokyo, Japan. It plans to broaden its order range to corporations ranked 40th globally beyond the top 20, strengthening collaborative relationships with Japanese and Asian clients.
The company has also secured competitiveness in terms of quality. In just 13 years since its foundation, it has recorded 340 cumulative manufacturing approvals from global regulatory agencies and achieved a batch success rate of nearly 99%. It has increased the number of its clients among the top 20 global pharmaceutical companies to 17, up from just three in 2019.