Samsung Biologics and Celltrion to Achieve Global 'Top 10' Production Capacity by 2025

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] Samsung Biologics and Celltrion are expected to enter the 'Top 10' ranking of global animal cell-based production capacity holders by 2025.

The Korea Bio Association, in its report titled 'Global Animal Cell-Based Biopharmaceutical Production Status and Company Rankings,' forecasted that Samsung Biologics, a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) currently ranked 2nd, will maintain its position until 2025, while Celltrion, currently unranked among self-production companies, will rise to 8th place in capability.

According to 2020 data from BioProcess International cited by the Bio Association, about 85% of approximately 1,600 pipelines in clinical stages in the US and Europe are produced through animal cell culture. As pharmaceutical companies increasingly focus on expanding their pipelines, expanding cell culture production capacity is expected to become essential. Especially if treatments targeting large patient populations, such as Alzheimer's disease therapies or PD(L)-1 immune checkpoint inhibitors, receive approval and insurance coverage, the market could grow even larger.

As of 2018, the total animal cell culture capacity was 4.4 million liters, with over 70% produced through biopharmaceutical companies' own production facilities. In contrast, the share of contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs) or 'hybrid' companies that combine self-production and contract manufacturing remains small. In fact, as of last year, among the top 10 companies by production capacity, six were self-production companies, two were CMOs, and two were hybrid companies. The Swiss company Lonza, a self-production company, ranked first, while Samsung Biologics and Swiss Lonza, both CMOs, ranked second and third, respectively.

However, BioProcess International predicts that by 2025, the share of self-production will decrease to 56%, with CDMO-specialized companies and hybrid companies taking over this share, reaching up to 44% market share.

Accordingly, significant changes are expected in the rankings of the top 10 companies. While the current top three companies are expected to maintain their rankings, many self-production companies such as Novartis (6th), Sanofi (7th), and BMS (9th) are forecasted to fall outside the top 10 or drop in rank.

Conversely, CDMO companies such as China's Wuxi Biologics are predicted to rank 4th, and Japan's Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies 5th, forming a new 'Top 5.' The hybrid company Boehringer Ingelheim, previously 4th, is expected to drop to 6th, and the self-production company Biogen to 10th. Additionally, Celltrion is anticipated to newly enter the 'Top 10,' rising to 8th place.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.