Why Lee Jae-yong Met Global Pharmaceutical and Bio CEOs in the US

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong's series of meetings with representatives of major global pharmaceutical and bio companies during his business trip to the United States reflects his determination to build the bio business as the 'second semiconductor miracle.' Given his clear intention to nurture bio as a 'future growth engine' comparable to semiconductors, aggressive investment in the bio sector is expected to continue.

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong visiting the U.S. flagship Pioneer headquarters in November 2021 and meeting Noubar Afeyan, co-founder and chairman of the board of Moderna.

Last week, Chairman Lee utilized a broad global network to grow the bio business by holding consecutive meetings with leaders of major global pharmaceutical and bio companies in the U.S. East Coast, home to the world's largest bio cluster. After participating as part of the economic delegation during President Yoon Suk-yeol's state visit to the U.S., he met with representatives from global pharmaceutical and bio companies including ▲Joaquin Duato, CEO of Johnson & Johnson (J&J) ▲Giovanni Caforio, CEO of Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) ▲Noubar Afeyan, CEO of Flagship Pioneering ▲Christopher Viehbacher, CEO of Biogen ▲Kevin Ali, CEO of Organon. All of these are major global companies closely connected with Samsung’s bio industry, which consists of Samsung Biologics and Samsung Bioepis.

Since selecting bio and pharmaceuticals as the company's 'new growth engines' in 2010, Samsung has been actively developing its bio business by establishing Samsung Biologics (2011) and Samsung Bioepis (2012). Following Chairman Lee’s determination to nurture bio as a 'future growth engine' comparable to semiconductors, Samsung is currently pursuing new growth drivers such as expanding its biosimilar pipeline. The company plans to secure a 'super-gap competitiveness' in bio through continuous investment, advancement of production technology and capabilities, and internalization of research and development (R&D) capabilities.

Bio is considered a representative field with high entry barriers because it requires not only production technology and R&D capabilities but also trust and reputation building for long-term collaboration. Therefore, Chairman Lee’s series of meetings with global pharmaceutical and bio company leaders to discuss ways to strengthen competitiveness and discover new businesses implies that Samsung may take a more proactive and aggressive approach to growing its bio business, similar to its past investments in semiconductors. Chairman Lee has maintained strong networks with global bio companies, including a meeting in November 2021 at Flagship Pioneering headquarters with Noubar Afeyan, co-founder and chairman of Moderna’s board.

Having entered the bio business over a decade ago, Samsung has achieved success as the world’s No. 1 contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) company through ▲rapid decision-making and bold investment ▲securing future growth industries ▲overwhelming manufacturing technology. Currently, Samsung faces the challenge of expanding the scale and scope of its CDMO business through collaboration with global companies and aggressive additional investment. Samsung Biologics, which began operating its 4th plant in Songdo last October, plans to build a second bio campus with additional factories and enhance production technology and capabilities to become a 'global bio pharmaceutical production hub.' Samsung Bioepis, which currently markets six biosimilar products globally, also needs to expand its product pipeline and grow its business to a global level.

After meeting with the global pharmaceutical and bio company leaders, Chairman Lee met with employees of the North American sales subsidiary to review and encourage the status of the global bio supply chain. At this meeting, he said, "The starting point does not matter," adding, "Bold and persistent challenges determine success or failure. Let’s carry the semiconductor success DNA forward into the bio miracle."

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