Samsung Biologics announced on the 22nd that it has signed a massive contract manufacturing organization (CMO) agreement worth 1.7028 trillion KRW (1.24256 billion USD) with a pharmaceutical company based in Asia. This contract is the largest in the company’s history and is close to half of last year’s total order value of 3.5009 trillion KRW. Details of the client and product are confidential according to non-disclosure agreements, and the contract term extends until December 31, 2037.
Just three months after securing a major contract with a U.S.-based pharmaceutical company in July worth 1.46 trillion KRW, Samsung Biologics has surpassed its record for the largest single order. This achievement marks the first time since the company’s founding that its annual cumulative order value has exceeded 4 trillion KRW. Starting with a contract in March, the company has secured a total of nine orders with global pharmaceutical companies, reaching a cumulative order value of 4.36 trillion KRW, surpassing last year’s order value by 20% in just 10 months.
Samsung Biologics currently counts 17 of the top 20 global pharmaceutical companies as its clients. Leveraging its overwhelming production capacity, quality competitiveness, and numerous successful track records, the company has surpassed a cumulative order total of 15.4 billion USD (approximately 21.226 trillion KRW) since its inception.
In preparation for increasing demand for biopharmaceuticals, Samsung Biologics is expanding its production capabilities. The 5th plant, integrating the best practices from plants 1 to 4, is under construction and is scheduled to begin operations in April 2025 with a production capacity of 180,000 liters. Upon completion, Samsung Biologics will have a total production capacity of 784,000 liters.
On the quality front, Samsung Biologics has demonstrated superior quality competitiveness across the entire manufacturing and management process, achieving a batch success rate of 99%. By September, the company had obtained a total of 326 manufacturing approvals from global regulatory bodies, including 39 from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and 34 from the European Medicines Agency (EMA), within 13 years of its founding. As production capacity expands and orders increase, the number of approvals rises each year, maintaining a top-tier pass rate for regulatory inspections in the industry.
Samsung Biologics is actively promoting its competitiveness and strengthening its business networking and order activities by participating in major pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industry conferences around the world this year, including the ‘BIO International Convention’ held in San Diego, USA, in June, ‘CPHI Worldwide 2024’ held in Milan, Italy, and ‘BIO JAPAN 2024’ held in Yokohama, Japan. Additionally, the company is planning to enhance its cooperative relationships with clients by opening a sales office in Tokyo, Japan, as part of its global expansion efforts.