Samsung Biologics Signs 320 Billion KRW Contract with 'First Partner' BMS... 'Annual Orders Reach 3 Trillion KRW' Boom

BMS and Immuno-Oncology Drugs
CMO Contracts Until 2030

Global Big Pharma 'Top 20' Client Acquisition Also Progressing Smoothly
Two Added This Year... Total 14 Companies

Samsung Biologics has begun signing a new large-scale CMO contract with Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), its first contract manufacturing organization (CMO) partner. For the first time ever, annual orders have exceeded $2 billion (approximately 2.6552 trillion KRW), and the company is setting a new goal of '30 trillion KRW in annual orders.'

Aerial view of Samsung Biologics Plant 4 in Songdo, Incheon [Photo by Samsung Biologics]

On the 18th, Samsung Biologics announced that it signed a CMO contract worth $241.99 million (approximately 321.3 billion KRW) with Swords Laboratories Unlimited Company, a subsidiary of BMS, for the production of immuno-oncology drugs until December 2030.

BMS was Samsung Biologics' first client when it started its CMO business in July 2013. Over more than 10 years, the two companies have continued to sign new and expanded CMO contracts, maintaining their partnership. BMS is a leading global big pharma company representing the United States. Based on last year's sales, it ranks among the top 7 worldwide, with a market capitalization of $123.3 billion (approximately 164 trillion KRW). It mainly develops treatments in the fields of cancer, hematology, immunology, and cardiovascular diseases, and is expanding new business areas such as chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells, a next-generation biotechnology gaining attention. The company explained that this contract is significant in that Samsung Biologics' Plant 4 will serve as the production base for BMS's flagship immuno-oncology products for the next seven years until 2030.

John Rim, CEO of Samsung Biologics
Photo by Chunhee Lee

Samsung Biologics emphasized that the long-term partnership was possible because it has built customer trust based on the world's largest production capacity, ultra-fast production speed, and stable yet high quality. Since John Rim took office as CEO in 2020, he has prioritized customer satisfaction, responding swiftly to market and client demands while continuously pursuing challenges and changes.

Efforts to secure clients among the global top 20 big pharma companies, a goal set for this year, are also progressing smoothly. In 2018, Samsung Biologics had only three clients among these companies, but this year, it has welcomed two new big pharma partners, bringing the total number of clients to 14, including BMS, Pfizer, AstraZeneca (AZ), Johnson & Johnson (J&J), Eli Lilly, Merck (MSD), Roche, and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). However, the identities of the two newly added partners this year have not been disclosed.

Order growth continues as well. With this contract, Samsung Biologics' orders for this year have surpassed $20 billion for the first time in history. Including this order, the company's annual order amount is $20.63 billion (approximately 2.6879 trillion KRW). Following large-scale orders from Pfizer and Novartis in early July, the company surpassed 2 trillion KRW in annual orders within half a year and is now targeting 3 trillion KRW in annual orders for the first time.

The driving force behind this growth is Plant 4, which began full operation in June. With a production capacity of 240,000 liters, it is the world's largest single-plant ultra-large production facility. Since its operation started, large-scale orders centered on big pharma have increased, resulting in a high utilization rate. Revenue contributions are expected to begin from the third-quarter results to be announced at the end of next month, which is also why Samsung Biologics' performance this year is expected to follow a 'low-high' trend.

James Choi, Vice President and Head of Sales Support Center at Samsung Biologics, is explaining the plan to establish the 2nd Bio Campus at the Samsung Biologics booth set up at the BIO International Convention (BIO USA) held in Boston, USA, last June.
[Photo by Chunhee Lee]

Samsung Biologics has also been continuously increasing its production capacity. With Plant 4 fully operational, the total production capacity stands at 604,000 liters, boasting an overwhelming world No. 1 position. To proactively respond to market demand, construction of Plant 5, with a capacity of 180,000 liters, began in April with a target completion date of April 2025. Furthermore, within the second bio campus where Plant 5 is located, three additional plants of the same type and scale will be constructed, securing a total production capacity of 1,324,000 liters by 2032. Plants 5 through 8 will be built using a 'copy & paste' method to enhance construction efficiency.

In addition to plant construction, the company plans to continue accelerating development and production. Samsung Biologics has shortened the technology transfer period essential for biopharmaceutical production to three months, half the industry average, through process innovation. It also explained that it has achieved customer satisfaction by flexibly and promptly responding to urgent production requests and adhering to production schedules.

In terms of quality, the company aims to maintain an overwhelming advantage based on a 'super-gap' strategy. Recently, cases of regulatory authorities refusing approval or issuing complete response letters (CRLs) due to manufacturing plant issues during antibody drug approval processes have surged. However, Samsung Biologics has never encountered such problems. Its batch success rate exceeds 98%, and as of the end of last month, it has accumulated 231 regulatory approvals, demonstrating its quality management capabilities.

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