Samsung Biologics to build ADC production facility in Songdo: CEO

Left, Samsung Biologics chief executive officer and president John Rim. [Courtesy of Samsung Biologics]

Samsung Biologics Co., the biotech arm of South Korea’s Samsung Group, plans to expand its portfolio from antibody drugs to antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) for future growth.

“Our board has recently confirmed the site for the ADC production facility,”, Samsung Biologics chief executive officer and president John Rim said. “We plan to build the facility at a 10,000 square meter site in Songdo, Incheon, secured for future growth.”

Rim’s remarks were made during a press conference that was held on the sidelines of the Convention on Pharmaceutical Ingredients 2023 (CPHI 2023) on Wednesday local time in Barcelona, Spain.

Samsung Biologics has attended the convention every year from 2018, where it set up a 225 square meter booth at the exhibition and went all-out to procure global customers.

“In relation to the procurement of ADCs, the progress is smooth so far as some of our customers are companies that manufacture ADCs,” Rim said. “While ADCs are not a large market yet, they are forecast to grow rapidly moving forward.”

ADCs are a form of treatment that combines anti-cancer drugs with antibodies, and are referred to as “guided missiles for cancer.”

With the Samsung Life Science Fund, Samsung Biologics invested in AimedBio, a Korean company with next-generation ADC technology, and Swiss bio company Araris Biotech.

Separately, Samsung Biologics announced that its third-quarter sales surpassed 1 trillion won ($738.8 million) for the first time on a quarterly basis, which contrasts with how sales and the profit outlook of competitors such as Lonza Group AG, China’s WuXi Biologics, and U.S. company Catalent Inc. are being revised downward.

“We were able to achieve all this thanks to our superior factory expansion capability, which is more than double compared to competitors, an efficient decision-making culture, and a low turnover rate of about 3 percent,” Rim told reporters.

The CEO analyzed that there is still room for additional sales growth in the current trend, noting that the number of customers has been steadily increasing from 3 in 2018 to 12 last year and 14 this year.

“It’s not only the customer base, but the volume of orders from each customer that is also expanding,” he said.

When it comes to supply issues, Rim noted that “it is still too early to be concerned about oversupply in the market due to competitors’ expansions.”

“If there is an oversupply of volume, prices naturally decrease,” he said. “The reason companies like Samsung Biologics and other competitors are increasing supply is because the market demand is still higher.”

Rim also expressed a commitment to develop novel drugs, even though it is difficult to reach 20 trillion to 30 trillion won in sales with contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) biosimilars alone.

“Our current sales are about 3.6 trillion won,” Rim said. “To hit 20 trillion won, we need to consider novel drug development as the next step.”

He said that novel drug development is a difficult area with a success rate of less than 5 percent but emphasized the need for the development for the future.

“We need to continuously carry out large-scale investments to develop new drugs,” Rim said. “We are considering various options such as merger and acquisitions.”