Samsung Bioepis Achieves 'Annual Sales of 1 Trillion Won' in Just 12 Years Since Establishment... Fastest Among Pharmaceutical Developers

Samsung Bioepis has achieved annual sales of 1 trillion KRW for the first time in 12 years since its establishment in 2012. This is the fastest achievement among domestic pharmaceutical developers.

Incheon Songdo Samsung Bioepis Building
[Photo by Samsung Bioepis]

According to its parent company Samsung Biologics on the 25th, Samsung Bioepis recorded sales of 1.0203 trillion KRW and an operating profit of 205.4 billion KRW last year. This achievement came 12 years after its founding in February 2012 and 4 years after turning a profit in 2019. Sales grew by 8% compared to the previous year, but operating profit decreased by 11%. The company explained that this was due to a "one-time milestone (R&D fee) decrease," but added that "despite this, meaningful results were recorded through increased product sales, solidifying its position as a product-selling company rather than just a development company.

In particular, achieving annual sales of 1 trillion KRW in 12 years is the fastest among domestic pharmaceutical developers. Even when broadening the scope to the pharmaceutical and bio industry (excluding diagnostics), this achievement is comparable to that of its parent company Samsung Biologics, which reached this milestone in 10 years.

This success is attributed to the leadership of President Go Han-seung, who has been leading the company since its founding. President Go is recognized for fostering a corporate culture based on fundamental principles and rules, as well as a data- and process-driven decision-making system, which has rapidly grown the company. Samsung Bioepis recorded sales of 368.7 billion KRW and an operating loss of 102.7 billion KRW in 2018, but the following year sales nearly doubled to 765.9 billion KRW and operating profit turned positive at 122.8 billion KRW, continuing a growth trend since its first profit in its eighth year.

Goh Han-seung, President of Samsung Bioepis Photo by Lee Chun-hee

The growth in Samsung Bioepis’s sales has been driven by continuous product development and commercialization. Since the first domestic marketing approval of the biosimilar 'Etoloce' (active ingredient Etanercept), a biosimilar of the autoimmune disease treatment 'Enbrel,' in 2015, Samsung Bioepis has obtained domestic and international marketing approvals for a total of seven biosimilars. Following three autoimmune disease treatments (Enbrel, Remicade, Humira biosimilars) and two anticancer drugs (Herceptin, Avastin biosimilars), the company expanded its product portfolio by gaining approval for an ophthalmic disease treatment (Lucentis biosimilar) in 2021 and a hematologic disease treatment (Soliris biosimilar) last year.

As for the pipeline, Samsung Bioepis is advancing biosimilar development for three other blockbuster drugs. The biosimilars for the ophthalmic disease treatment 'Eylea (SB15),' osteoporosis treatment 'Prolia (SB16),' and autoimmune disease treatment 'Stelara (SB17)' have completed Phase 3 clinical trials and are accelerating preparations for marketing approval. The global market sizes for these drugs are $9.76 billion (approximately 13 trillion KRW) for Eylea, $5.83 billion (approximately 8 trillion KRW) for Prolia, and $17.77 billion (approximately 23 trillion KRW) for Stelara, totaling a massive market of 44 trillion KRW, so significant sales growth is expected once these products are launched.

Samsung Bioepis is also expanding its platform capabilities. The company is conducting basic research on next-generation bio technologies such as antibodies, antibody-drug conjugates (ADC), and gene therapies. Last month, it signed a joint research agreement with domestic bio company Intusell to validate ADC candidate substances. Additionally, Samsung Bioepis continues to invest in promising domestic and international bio venture companies through the 'Life Science Fund,' established together with Samsung C&T and Samsung Biologics.

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