Samsung Biologics to buy site for 4 more plants in Incheon

Industry

Published: 18 Jul. 2022, 15:42 Updated: 18 Jul. 2022, 17:39

Samsung Biologics to buy site for 4 more plants in Incheon

Incheon mayor Yoo Jeong-bok, center, and Samsung Biologics CEO John Rim, right, stand for a photo after signing a deal to buy a 357,366-square-meter site in Songdo for 426 billion won ($324 million). [SAMSUNG BIOLOGICS]

Samsung Biologics signed a deal with the Incheon Metropolitan Government Monday to buy a site in Songdo to build four more contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) plants there.

The size of the deal is around 426 billion won ($324 million). The 357,366-square-meter (3.85 million-square-foot) site in Songdo, Incheon, will be home to four facilities, which will be the company's fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth facilities.

Samsung Biologics is estimated to spend a total of 7 trillion won for the construction and will create some 4,000 new jobs in 10 years, the company said.

Samsung Biologics already has three plants in Songdo and is currently building a fourth. Once completed, the fourth will increase production capacity to 620,000 liters, which Samsung says is equivalent to nearly 30 percent of the global contract manufacturing capacity for biopharmaceuticals, beating Germany's Boehringer Ingelheim and Switzerland's Lonza.

Partial operation of the fourth plant will start in October. Samsung Biologics has already signed deals for five products with three global pharmaceutical companies and is in talks with 20 more firms for 30 additional drugs.

Samsung Biologics has major global companies as customers, including AstraZeneca, Moderna, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer and Eli Lilly.

"We appreciate the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and Incheon city government for creating the environment for us to make a pre-emptive and lavish investment," Samsung Biologics CEO John Rim said. "By proceeding the investment plan smoothly, we will be a company that grows with the region and can lead the global biopharmaceutical industry."

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