Bio is Samsung's 'Future Food' Reflecting Lee Jae-yong's Will

Reflecting Vice Chairman Lee's Determination to Create a 'Second Semiconductor Miracle'

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Sun-mi] Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong attended the completion ceremony of the Biologics 4th Plant at the Songdo Campus on the 11th, which is interpreted as reflecting Vice Chairman Lee's determination to nurture bio as a future growth engine comparable to semiconductors and achieve a 'second semiconductor miracle.'

According to Samsung on the 11th, this was Vice Chairman Lee's first visit to Samsung Biologics' Songdo Campus in seven years since the groundbreaking ceremony of the 3rd plant on December 21, 2015. Vice Chairman Lee demonstrated Samsung's commitment to bio development by personally attending both the 3rd plant groundbreaking ceremony seven years ago and this 4th plant completion ceremony.

Vice Chairman Lee has consistently mentioned the bio business as the company's 'future growth engine' whenever announcing Samsung's large-scale investment plans, expressing his intention to focus on its development. Bio is a field expected to grow rapidly as the global population ages at an accelerating pace. This is also the reason why Vice Chairman Lee has identified bio as 'Samsung's future growth engine.' The global biopharmaceutical market size is projected to grow rapidly from $265.4 billion in 2020 to $856.1 billion in 2030.

In particular, as the global population ages and demand for pharmaceuticals increases, biosimilar drugs are gaining more attention due to their effect in reducing medical expenses. Biosimilars are generic versions of patented biopharmaceuticals that have equivalent efficacy to the original products but are priced lower.

However, despite the increased importance of the bio industry following vaccine shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic, the industry is still predominantly led by a few advanced countries and large pharmaceutical companies. The bio industry is a high value-added knowledge-intensive industry combining science and technology with medicine, and since it also has a significant effect on creating quality jobs, Samsung's bold investment and development in bio is expected to contribute greatly to the economy.

In fact, with the construction of the 4th plant, Biologics has newly hired 1,850 employees, bringing the total number of employees to over 4,400. Since 2013, the average annual employee growth rate has reached 43%, indicating its contribution to creating quality jobs.

The Korean government is also creating an environment where Samsung can nurture bio as a future growth engine, having announced a strategic plan to foster the bio industry through the 'Biohealth Industry Innovation Plan' last July. The government plans to invest a total of 2.2 trillion won by 2030 to support companies developing innovative new drugs or vaccines and to expand tax credits for bio clinical trials, signaling a full-scale push to foster the bio industry.

Vice Chairman Lee's extensive global network is expected to directly and indirectly support Samsung's bio business. Last November, Vice Chairman Lee met with Noubar Afeyan, co-founder and chairman of the board of Moderna, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, where they discussed ▲ cooperation between Samsung and Moderna on COVID-19 vaccines ▲ and future additional collaboration plans. Earlier in August, he also held a video conference with Moderna's top executives to build a trust relationship through successful vaccine production and discuss ways to expand cooperation across the bio industry.

Vice Chairman Lee also contributed to the early domestic introduction of the Pfizer vaccine in 2020 by leveraging his global network at the height of the COVID-19 crisis. An industry insider said, "Samsung selected bio as a 'new growth business' in 2010 and has continued aggressive investments," adding, "Samsung aims to nurture bio as a future growth engine comparable to semiconductors and achieve a 'second semiconductor miracle,' which reflects Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong's will and represents a new challenge goal."

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