Samsung Biologics bags company record $1.06B deal with U.S. drug maker

A computer rendering of Samsung Biologics' upcoming Bio Campus II in Incheon [SAMSUNG BIOLOGICS]

Samsung Biologics secured a massive $1.06 billion deal from a U.S. drug maker, the biopharmaceutical contract manufacturer said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday.

The deal is the largest ever signed by the Incheon-based contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) since its establishment in 2011, worth over 40 percent of the combined value of orders Samsung Biologics clinched last year.

The company did not reveal the name of the client, which is headquartered in the United States, citing a non-disclosure agreement. The contract will last until the end of 2030.

Samsung Biologics signed a letter of intent with the unnamed client in June of last year, but the scope of the deal has been significantly expanded from the initial agreement in the formal contract.

The latest contract brings the cumulative amount of orders Samsung Biologics has bagged this year to 2.5 trillion won ($1.8 billion). The company has signed seven contracts so far this year.

Samsung Biologics bagged orders worth 3.5 trillion won in total last year, almost double the previous year’s 1.8 trillion won.

The CDMO currently boasts 16 out of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies as clients.

Upon the completion of its fifth plant, scheduled for next April, Samsung Biologics will secure a world-leading manufacturing capacity of 784,000 liters (828,000 quarts), moving the company closer to its goal of a production capacity of 1.32 million liters by 2032.

It is also currently building a production facility dedicated to antibody-drug conjugate, or ADC, to accelerate its business portfolio expansion.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]