Samsung's Lee Jae-yong urges Samsung Biologics employees to 'aim higher'

Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, far left, inspects the Samsung Biologics' fifth factory being built in Songdo, Incheon, on Friday. [SAMSUNG BIOLOGICS]

Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong visited Samsung Biologics’ manufacturing complex in Songdo, Incheon, on Friday, urging employees to “aim higher” in efforts to propel growth in antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) technology.

Lee has been actively visiting production sites after the court acquitted the Samsung chief on charges of breach of trust and accounting fraud on Feb. 5. During the Lunar New Year holiday earlier this month, Lee inspected Samsung SDI’s battery production sites in Malaysia.

Lee’s visit to Samsung’s biopharmaceutical subsidiary comes after Samsung Biologics posted an all-time high operating profit of 1.11 trillion won ($831.7 billion) in 2023.

It marks the first time that a Korean biotech or pharmaceutical company has logged an annual operating profit exceeding the 1 trillion won mark.

The company had cited strong sales performance last year thanks to the active operation of its massive 240,000-liter (253,000-quarts) fourth factory in Songdo, Incheon.

During Friday's visit, Lee inspected the fourth plant’s production line while its fifth plant, which is currently under construction, is slated to be operational from April 2025. The plant will have a 180,000-liter capacity.

When the fifth plant is operational, Samsung’s total manufacturing capacity will rise to 784,000 liters.

“Let’s not settle for our current achievements,” the Samsung chief told employees. “Instead, more aggressively challenge ourselves toward higher goals and strive for the future.”

This year, Samsung Biologics plans to expand its business into the ADC field, one of the fastest-growing classes of drug modality designed for targeted therapy, mostly for cancer treatments.

ADC delivers chemotherapy agents selectively to cancer cells while sparing healthy ones — hence the nickname “biological missile” or the “magic bullet.”

The bio industry projects that the global ADC market size will grow to 17 trillion won by 2026 from 2022’s 8 trillion won.

The upcoming Plant 5 is the first among four for Samsung’s Bio Campus II which will each consist of four 180,000-liter plants.

The company plans to invest a total of 7.5 trillion won until 2032 to establish Plants 5, 6, 7 and 8.

When the four plants of Bio Campus II are operational, Samsung Biologics’ entire production capacity will reach 1,324,000 liters.

Samsung anticipates that annually, 400 new jobs will be created with the building of Bio Campus II and 10,000 new jobs through 2032 including construction workers and partner companies.

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]