Samsung Biologics "Sustained Growth Based on Strengthened Investment Including Expansion of Plant 6"

"The record-breaking performance last year was driven by 4E"
"Plant 5 to be completed in April... Plant 6 also in progress"

Samsung Biologics presented capacity expansion and strengthened investment as its future growth strategy.

John Lim, CEO of Samsung Biologics, is presenting at the JPM Healthcare Conference on the 14th (local time). Photo by Samsung Biologics

John Rim, CEO of Samsung Biologics, stated this on the 14th (local time) at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference held at The Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco, USA. He said, "Samsung Biologics' performance last year was based on '4E (Excellence)'." The 4Es refer to Customer Excellence, Operation Excellence, Quality Excellence, and People Excellence.

The JP Morgan Healthcare Conference is the world's largest biotech investment event, which started in 1983 and marked its 43rd edition this year. Samsung Biologics was invited by JP Morgan to present on the main stage, the Grand Ballroom, considered the core venue of the event.

On that day, CEO John Rim cited Samsung Biologics' record-breaking performance last year and the expansion of the 'three pillars'?production capacity, portfolio, and geographic bases?as key achievements. Regarding performance, he said, "Last year, we recorded the highest-ever performance and continued a remarkable growth trend within the industry," adding, "Cumulative sales for the first three quarters (consolidated basis) reached KRW 3.2909 trillion, and operating profit was KRW 994.4 billion, up 26% and 30% respectively compared to the same period last year." He also emphasized that in October last year, the company raised its 2024 sales growth forecast from the initial 10-15% to 15-20%.

Regarding capacity expansion, he emphasized that the completion of Plant 5 in April will open the full-scale era of the 2nd Bio Campus. Plant 5 is a large-scale facility with a production capacity of 180,000 liters, with an investment of KRW 2 trillion.

Additionally, expansion of Plant 6 is underway. This is in response to increasing customer demand for production capacity expansion. CEO John Rim explained, "The production capacity of Plant 6, scheduled for completion in 2027, will be 180,000 liters, securing a total production capacity of 964,000 liters upon completion." However, Samsung Biologics stated that the Plant 6 expansion is currently under review, and the final construction start date will be decided after board discussions.

Furthermore, securing competitiveness in the antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) field and operating sales offices in Boston and New Jersey were presented as examples of portfolio expansion and geographic base enlargement.

He identified key business strategies for this year as capacity expansion, strengthened investment, enhanced order activities, and digital transformation. CEO John Rim said, "To respond proactively to the rapidly increasing market demand, we plan to expand production capacity in advance," adding, "In addition to the 604,000 liters production capacity of the 1st Bio Campus, we plan to secure a total of 720,000 liters at the 2nd Bio Campus by 2032."

Investment will also be strengthened to expand new modalities. For example, in contract manufacturing (CMO), the business portfolio will be expanded to include ADC conjugate CMO and drug product (DP) in the fields of antibody (mAb), drug product (DP), and messenger RNA (mRNA).

Regarding order activation, he said, "We will select Asia, including Japan, which has the largest market size after the US and Europe, as the next country for contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) business expansion," adding, "We will strengthen order activities targeting the top 40 companies by market capitalization, including Japanese pharmaceutical and biotech companies."

Digital transformation will also be promoted. The plan is to provide customized services through the establishment of a proprietary system based on data generated during the production process.