Officials of Samsung BioLogics and Astra Zeneca pose after signing a contract. Photo courtesy of Samsung BioLogics

Korean bio company signs $331 million deal

Samsung BioLogics said on September 22 that the South Korean firm had signed a contract manufacturing organization (CMO) deal with Astra Zeneca, which is valued at least $330.8 million.

Samsung said that the contract is a follow-up to the two outfits’ letter of intent (LOI) exchanged in this July.

The Incheon-based company, which is located west of Seoul, said that the agreement’s value can expand to a maximum of $545.6 million depending on Astra Zeneca’s requests.

Under the agreement, Samsung BioLogics is scheduled to churn out drug substances and drug products for Astra Zeneca, a British multinational pharmaceutical firm.

Samsung BioLogics said that its third factory, which is the world’s largest facility in terms of capacity, will roll out products for Astra Zeneca.

“We are happy to be a partner of Astra Zeneca. We will do out best for customer satisfaction based on our latest facilities and innovative solutions,” Samsung BioLogics CEO Kim Tae-han said.

Astra Zeneca Executive Vice President Pam Cheng also expressed his hope on the bilateral cooperation.

“This long-term partnership with Samsung Biologics strengthens our manufacturing capabilities, and ensures we are well-positioned to continue to deliver our exciting portfolio of new and established biologics medicines to patients with quality, speed and efficiency,” he said.

Initially, Samsung BioLogics started as a CMO, which serves other companies on a contract basis to churn out large quantities of drug candidates or drugs.

Later, Samsung has tried to beef up its capacity as a contract development organization (CDO), which takes charge of developing drugs, filing its applications to health authorities, and beginning their clinical tests.

Samsung is otherwise called a contract research organization (CRO) because it provides research services outsourced on a contract basis.
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