[JPM 2026] Samsung Biopharmaceuticals Holdings: First New Drug Pipeline Targets Nectin-4 ADC

Kyeongah Kim Holds First Press Conference at JPMHC After Spin-off

"From now on, we will generate at least one new drug candidate entering clinical trials every year."

On January 14 (local time), Kyeongah Kim, CEO of Samsung Biopharmaceuticals Holdings, shared this vision during a press conference at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, USA. She also stated, "This year, we will fully accelerate new drug development and grow into a Korean-style 'Big Pharma' model recognized in the global market, maximizing shareholder value."

Kyeongah Kim, CEO of Samsung Biopharmaceuticals Holdings, speaks at a press conference during the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference held on the 14th (local time) in San Francisco, USA. San Francisco (USA) - Photo by Donghoon Jung

The company's new drug development efforts are focused on ADCs (antibody-drug conjugates). Kim explained, "We will leverage the research capabilities, process development expertise, and clinical medicine experience accumulated by Samsung Bioepis during biosimilar development, and apply them to new drug development." She noted that the first new drug pipeline is an ADC targeting Nectin-4 (a cell adhesion protein), known as Project SBE303. Nectin-4 is a protein that plays a crucial role in cell adhesion and is highly expressed on the surface of urothelial carcinoma cells, making it a key biomarker for targeted cancer therapies. She added, "We have received IND (Investigational New Drug) approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and plan to initiate Phase 1 clinical trials in both the United States and Korea this year."

Samsung Biopharmaceuticals Holdings plans to pursue new business discovery and investment for future growth beyond biosimilars. Kim commented, "New drug development is a longer-term industry compared to biosimilars. Rather than chasing short-term results or simply increasing the number of pipelines, we will grow into a comprehensive biopharmaceutical company that builds market trust through rigorous scientific validation and demonstrates results step by step."

As CEO, Kim oversees not only Samsung Biopharmaceuticals Holdings but also its subsidiaries, Samsung Bioepis and Epis Next Lab, and on this day she also unveiled key business strategies and the research and development roadmap. Samsung Bioepis's biosimilar products are currently available in more than 40 countries worldwide, generating stable revenue through continued sales growth. Kim stated, "By 2030, we will actively expand our biosimilar portfolio to a total of 20 products. We are currently developing biosimilars for seven drugs (Keytruda, Dupixent, Tremfya, Taltz, Enhertu, Entyvio, and Ocrevus)." She added, "To strengthen our competitiveness by product and by market in the increasingly competitive biosimilar sector, we are also seeking various partnerships."

The approach to new drug development is summarized as a combination of open innovation and the Samsung ecosystem. Kim explained, "We will pursue open innovation by organically integrating external innovative technologies and actively leverage Samsung's differentiated healthcare ecosystem, including venture investment, basic science research, and medical expertise." Regarding the use of artificial intelligence (AI), Kim said, "We are building our own AI infrastructure (such as internal chatbots) to improve internal work efficiency. In the new drug sector, the key is to accelerate screening by using AI to predict protein structures and quickly identify better antibody candidates through the Proteina process, enabling faster and more effective candidate selection than before." Samsung Biopharmaceuticals Holdings is currently carrying out a government-funded project for AI-driven drug development in collaboration with Proteina and Professor Baek Min Kyung's research team at Seoul National University.