Samsung Biologics makes headway with its ADC business
Published: 16 Jan. 2025, 14:17
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- LEE JAE-LIM
- [email protected]
Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI
![Joseph H. Jeong, vice president of Samsung Biologics' ADC development team, explains the company's newly built ADC facility in Songdo, Incheon, at a press conference held in San Francisco, California, on Jan. 15. [SAMSUNG BIOLOGICS]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/01/16/a3564f2b-d4a6-403e-be5e-b24de2f7d9d8.jpg)
Joseph H. Jeong, vice president of Samsung Biologics' ADC development team, explains the company's newly built ADC facility in Songdo, Incheon, at a press conference held in San Francisco, California, on Jan. 15. [SAMSUNG BIOLOGICS]
SAN FRANCISCO — Samsung Biologics is poised to secure multiple deals for its new antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) business, which is set to commence operations in the first quarter of this year.
The news comes within a month of the Korean drugmaker's announcement that construction of its ADC-dedicated facility in Songdo, Incheon, was completed. The company also announced an expanded partnership with LigaChem Biosciences last week to collaborate on ADC projects at the Songdo facility.
“We will soon be making headway [in the business] with some good news,” said Joseph H. Jeong, vice president of Samsung Biologics’ ADC development team, at a press conference held with Korean media outlets on Wednesday in San Francisco, California, where the 43rd J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference is taking place.
“[The deals] are large-scale ones in terms of contract development manufacturing and contract manufacturing organization.”
The Korean drugmaker, known for its contract manufacturing capabilities, is expanding its portfolio to include monoclonal antibodies, mRNA, bispecific antibodies and ADCs, with plans to eventually move into gene therapy.
“Why did we specifically target ADCs as the next-generation growth area? As you know, ADCs are based on antibodies. Since ADCs involve attaching payloads and linkers to antibodies, we realized that this is a business where we can quickly leverage the track record and expertise we’ve accumulated so far.”
Most ADCs remain in the clinical trial stage, with only 15 currently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. These therapies are primarily used to treat cancers, leveraging antibodies to precisely target and attack diseased cells while minimizing harm to healthy ones.
While ADCs are considered highly promising — with projections from market researcher Evaluate estimating that the global ADC market will grow to $28 billion by 2028 — they pose significant challenges. Manufacturing is technically complex, requiring the precise conjugation of antibodies, linkers and payloads. Additionally, managing toxicity, including balancing efficacy with off-target effects when the drug binds to an unintended protein or molecule, remains a critical hurdle.
“Some domestic companies believe that they can enter the ADC business by simply building a facility and commencing operations, but this is a huge misconception,” Jeong said. “The ADC business is not about mass-producing one product. It’s about adaptability — creating customized solutions for each client, requiring the ability to rapidly grasp new technologies, tailor them to specific customer and patient needs, and deliver them efficiently.”
Flexibility is as much of a critical factor, even more so than internalizing the technology needed for manufacturing.
“It’s impossible to adopt every technology, as new methods will continue to emerge every two to three years. Continuous follow-up and the ability to adapt to new directions is what’s crucial.”
Jeong said that he has met with more than 80 global companies during the conference period, a “considerable” proportion of which were ADC firms. He will be traveling to four more cities in the United States from Thursday to meet more potential clients.
BY LEE JAE-LIM [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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