Samsung Biologics Expands Strategic Manufacturing Agreement with Bristol Myers Squibb

Korean contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), Samsung Biologics, has announced, in a Sep. 18, 2023 press release, a new agreement for the large-scale manufacturing of an antibody cancer drug substance with global biopharma company Bristol Myers Squibb.

This new agreement between the two companies adds to their long-standing strategic relationship, originally formed in 2013. According to the terms of this latest arrangement, Samsung Biologics will be responsible for the drug substance manufacturing of a Bristol Myers Squibb antibody cancer drug at its biomanufacturing facility, Plant 4, located in Songdo, South Korea.

“Our relationship with Bristol Myers Squibb spans over a decade, and we are proud and excited to help bring important medicines to patients around the world,” said John Rim, president and CEO of Samsung Biologics, in the press release. “This collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb underscores our commitment to expediting the delivery and ensuring the continuous supply of client pipelines, enabled by our commitment to manufacturing quality, innovation, and capacity.”

According to a filing, voluntarily disclosed by Samsung Biologics, this new deal is contracted run until the end of December 2030—subject to change depending on contract terms—and is worth a little under $242 million.

This expanded agreement with Bristol Myers Squibb is another boost to Samsung Biologics’ relationship with Big Pharma. In June 2023, the CDMO also announced a collaboration with Pfizer, focusing on long-term biosimilars manufacturing. Under the terms of this agreement, Samsung Biologics is using its Plant 4 facility to provide Pfizer with additional large-scale manufacturing capacity for a multi-product biosimilars portfolio covering oncology, inflammation, and immunology.

Furthermore, earlier in the year (March 2023), Samsung Biologics revealed that its plans to invest in a new plant at the Songdo site (Plant 5) in response to increased market demand. Operations at this plant are expected to start in 2025.

Source: Samsung Biologics