Samsung Biologics lands further Pfizer deals in record year

BY SHIN HA-NEE, Korea JoongAng Daily - Pharma manufacturer Samsung Biologics has secured $897 million worth of deals from Pfizer Ireland Pharmaceuticals, the Incheon-based company said Tuesday.

The deals, which followed a letter of intent signed with Pfizer in June, are a $704-million contract manufacturing organization (CMO) deal and an additional $193 million order from a previous contract worth $183 million inked on March 2.

CMOs refer to companies that provide drug manufacturing services on a contract basis.

With the addition of the latest contracts, Samsung Biologics’ contract value this year from Pfizer totals $1.08 billion.

The combined value of all of the CMO contracts signed by Samsung Biologics so far this year comes in at $1.49 billion, already outrunning last year’s total of $1.37 billion.

The contracts marked the largest CMO deals ever for Samsung Biologics since the company’s establishment in 2011, surpassing a $351 million deal with AstraZeneca in 2020.

The two contracts are a follow-up of the $411-million letter of intent announced in a regulatory filing on June 8. Under the deals, Samsung Biologics will manufacture Pfizer's biosimilar products including tumor and inflammation treatments at its fourth plant in Songdo.

Samsung Biologics recently started full operation of its fourth plant, in Songdo, Incheon, which has a production capacity of 240,000 liters (63,401 gallons). It is the world’s largest single pharmaceutical manufacturing facility.

The latest plant brought the company's annual production capacity to 604,000 liters, which Samsung Biologics said is equivalent to nearly 30 percent of the global contract manufacturing market for biopharmaceuticals.

Moreover, Samsung Biologics announced in March that it will invest 1.98 trillion won ($1.5 billion) to build its fifth production plant, which started construction in April. 

While Samsung Biologics previously stated in a regulatory filing that the commercial operation of Plant 5 will begin on September 2025, the project is expected to be fast-tracked by five months.

The upcoming Plant 5 will sit on a 96,000 square-meter (23-acre) site in Bio Campus II, Samsung Biologics’ new manufacturing complex in Songdo.

Once the new factory, which will have a 180,000-liter production capacity, begins operations, Samsung Biologics said it will boast the largest combined production capacity among global biomedicine contract manufacturers at 784,000 liters.

The company is currently operating a research and development center for contract development in San Francisco, which was established in 2020, and opened a local sales office in New Jersey in March.

Samsung Biologics' share price closed at 746,000 won on Tuesday, up 0.4 percent from the previous trading day.

Source: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2023/07/04/business/industry/Korea-Samsung-Biologics-CDMO/20230704150421743.html 

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