Samsung Biologics takes full ownership of Samsung Bioepis

Industry

Published: 20 Apr. 2022, 18:03 Updated: 20 Apr. 2022, 18:47

Samsung Biologics takes full ownership of Samsung Bioepis

Samsung Biologics' third plant in Songdo, Incheon. [SAMSUNG BIOLOGICS]

Samsung Biologics on Wednesday purchased the 50 percent minus one share of Samsung Bioepis it didn't already own for $2.3 billion.

In a regulatory filing Wednesday, Samsung Biologics said it has paid the first installment, of $1.0 billion, for the stake. It will pay the remaining amount in two additional installments.

Samsung Biologics sold 3 trillion won ($2.4 billion) of shares to finance the purchase.

Established in 2012 by Samsung Biologics and Biogen, Samsung Biologics held 50 percent plus a share of Bioepis, while the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company held the rest.

The Songdo, Incheon-based contract and development manufacturing organization (CDMO) said the acquisition will play a critical role in "expanding its portfolio even to the new drug development sector."

"Today's announcement marks a significant milestone for Samsung Biologics in our continued venture into the biosimilar business and gains even further ground in the biopharmaceutical industry," said John Rim, CEO of Samsung Biologics. "By leveraging our extensive experience as a leading CDMO, we will become a top-tier, fully integrated biopharmaceutical company and further contribute to saving lives of the patients and address a wide array of diseases."

Samsung Bioepis has a total of 10 biosimilar products and candidates. Five — three autoimmune treatments and two oncology treatments — are being used globally, and one eye product is set to be introduced in the first half after acquiring approvals last year from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Commission. Four candidates are currently in Phase 3 clinical trials.

Samsung Biologics CEO John Rim [SAMSUNG BIOLOGICS]

Biosimilars, according to the FDA, are products that are approved based on proof that they are highly biologically similar to other FDA-approved products. The drugs have no clinically meaningful differences in terms of safety or effectiveness from the reference product, but they cost less.

The global market for biosimilars, which was around $10 billion in 2021, is expected to grow at an annual rate of 8 percent to reach $22 billion in 2030.

Established in 2011, Samsung Biologics is the world's largest CDMO company in terms of capacity. It is currently building a fourth plant in Songdo, Incheon, which is likely to bring the company's annual production capacity to 620,000 liters, which Samsung Biologics says is equivalent to nearly 30 percent of the global contract manufacturing capacity for biopharmaceuticals, beating Germany's Boehringer Ingelheim and Switzerland-based Lonza.

The company already bought a site for a fifth factory, which the company aims to break ground on in the first half, and is in the process of purchasing 100,000 pyeong (331,000 square feet) of land in Songdo for additional facilities, with the aim of closing the deal in the second quarter. The site will be able to accommodate up to four new plants.

Samsung has many global big pharmaceutical customers, including Moderna, AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline and Eli Lilly.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]