Samsung Biologics, the biotech arm of Samsung Group, has secured its second contract manufacturing deal this year, signing a major agreement worth 737.3 billion won ($513 million) with a US-based pharmaceutical company.
In a regulatory filing Monday, the company said the new contract with the undisclosed partner will run through the end of 2031. The deal is equivalent to 16.2 percent of Samsung Biologics’ revenue in 2024.
This latest win follows Samsung Biologics’ largest-ever contract manufacturing agreement, a 2.07 trillion won deal signed in January with a European pharmaceutical firm.
With the two deals combined, Samsung Biologics’ total cumulative contracts for the year have reached 2.8 trillion won, accounting for more than 50 percent of last year’s total deal value of 5.4 trillion won.
The company’s total annual contract volume last year was driven by three major deals, each valued at over 1 trillion won.
Samsung Biologics now counts 17 of the world’s top 20 pharmaceutical companies as clients.
Last year, on a consolidated basis, the company posted record sales of 4.54 trillion won, up 23 percent from the previous year, while operating profit rose 19 percent to 1.32 trillion won.
For the first quarter of this year, Samsung Biologics’ operating profit more than doubled to 486.7 billion won, compared to 221.3 billion won a year earlier, while sales rose 37.1 percent to 1.29 trillion won.
“We sustained solid momentum in the first quarter, supported by the efficient operations across all our plants and continued partnerships with our clients,” said CEO John Rim.
To meet the growing demand for biologics, Samsung Biologics has been expanding its production capacity.
The company currently operates five production plants in Songdo, Incheon, and plans to expand to eight by 2032, targeting a combined production capacity of around 1.32 million liters.
Starting this month, it began operations at its fifth plant, bringing its total capacity to 784,000 liters — the largest biomanufacturing capacity in the world.
“The launch of the fifth plant and our dedicated antibody-drug conjugate facility marks another milestone in expanding our capacity to cater to diverse client demands,” Rim said, explaining the company's commitment to delivering long-term value for clients and shareholders through strategic investments in technology.
Samsung Biologics plans to continue bolstering its contract pipeline throughout the year.
While operating a dedicated facility for antibody-drug conjugates as part of its strategic move into the next-generation cancer therapeutics market, the company also recently opened a sales office in Japan, adding to its existing locations in New Jersey and Boston to strengthen relationships across key global markets.
minmin@heraldcorp.com
