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Samsung Biologics and Pfizer in Biosimilars Pact

13.06.2023 - South Korean CDMO Samsung Biologics has entered into a long-term manufacturing partnership with major drugmaker Pfizer.

Under the terms of the deal, Samsung Biologics will provide Pfizer with additional capacity for large-scale manufacturing for a multi-product biosimilars portfolio that covers oncology, inflammation and immunology. Samsung Biologics will use its newest facility, Plant 4, which started operations at Incheon last October. According to Samsung Biologics, Plant 4 is the world’s largest single bio manufacturing plant, with total capacity of 240,000 liters.

“Our collaboration with Samsung Biologics will have the potential to significantly improve the lives of patients globally,” said Dong-Wook Oh, Pfizer Korea country manager.

Earlier this month, Samsung Biologics said it plans to have its latest new facility – Plant 5 – up and running by April 2025. Plant 5 will be the first facility at the CDMO’s second Bio Campus at its headquarters in Songdo, adding capacity of 180,000 liters and taking Samsung Biologics’ total capacity to 784,000 liters.

Samsung Biologics president and CEO John Rim said Plant 5 “will leverage our unparalleled experience and expertise to deliver long-term success for our clients. “By expediting our capacity expansion and providing fully integrated services, we hope to close the gap between the demand and supply of life-saving biomedicines,” he added.

Further phases at Songdo will add another three plants, with the site ultimately hosting four facilities offering total capacity of 720,000 liters, as well as an open innovation center for biotech incubation. Once Bio Campus II is completed, Samsung Biologics will have total capacity of just over 1.3 million liters.

“This strategic investment allows us to support our clients across the entire product lifecycle,” said Rim. “Through innovation and sustainability, Bio Campus II will add unbeatable value to our existing services and offer expanded capacity in record time to enable their success.”