Pharmaceutical Business review

Samsung breaks ground on third biopharmaceutical manufacturing plant in South Korea

The company is investing KRW850bn ($723m) in the new plant, which will boast a production capacity of 180,000 liters to become the single largest biologics manufacturing facility in the world once it becomes operational in 2018.

Combined with Samsung’s two existing plants, the new facility will drive the company’s total manufacturing capacity to 360,000 liters.

Samsung BioLogics expects its sales to reach KRW2trn ($1.7bn) once the third plant starts operation. The company intends to construct a fourth and a fifth plant in the coming years.

The US Food and Drug Administration has recently approved to start production from the company’s first plant. The second facility is due to start operation early next year.

Samsung BioLogics CEO TH Kim said: "We are investing in a third plant to provide a stable supply of biopharmaceuticals, a market which is growing exponentially, and to meet the manufacturing demands from global biopharmaceutical companies.

"With the world’s largest capacity and the capability to operate 365 days a year non-stop, the third plant will boast world-class quality and productivity."

Samsung Biologics is a joint venture established in April 2011 between Samsung Electronics, Samsung Everland, Samsung C&T and Quintiles Transnational.

The company provides a range of mammalian cell based cGMP biologics manufacturing services for clinical and commercial supply.