Samsung Biologics, which surpassed 6 trillion won in annual orders for contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) of biopharmaceuticals last year, is reviewing the possibility of expanding investment, including pushing ahead with construction of a sixth plant and pursuing strategic mergers and acquisitions (M&A).
By creating the third bio campus in Songdo, Incheon, expanding its U.S. production base, and boosting its contract development (CDO) capabilities, the plan is to leap from a global top-tier CDMO to a contract research, development and manufacturing organization (CRDMO).
John Rim, CEO and president of Samsung Biologics, said in a main-track presentation at the 44th JP Morgan Healthcare Conference (JPMHC 2026) held at The Westin St. Francis in San Francisco on the 13th (local time), "To leap forward as a global top-tier contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) corporations, we will accelerate our three-pillar expansion strategy focused on production capacity, portfolio, and global footholds."
With final passage last month of the U.S. Biosecure Act, which includes restrictions on transactions with Chinese life sciences corporations, expectations are growing in investment circles and the industry that Korean bio corporations could benefit by filling the gap left by Chinese corporations. The event offered a glimpse into Samsung Biologics' strategy to seize new opportunities.
◇ "Expanding production capacity to 845,000 liters… reviewing a sixth plant"
Rim cited "completion of a spin-off" and "securing a U.S. production foothold" as the company's major achievements last year. Samsung Biologics separated Samsung Bioepis to establish a pure CDMO structure. It also secured a site for the third campus in Songdo and acquired a plant in Rockville, Maryland, from GSK plc, securing its first overseas production base. The acquisition transaction is expected to be completed within the first quarter of this year.
The current production capacity of the Songdo Plants 1 through 5 is about 785,000 liters, and upon completion of the Rockville plant acquisition, global capacity will expand to 845,000 liters.
The company is also reviewing pushing ahead with construction of a sixth plant within the Songdo Second Bio Campus and expanding its U.S. production facility to a capacity of 100,000 liters. Rim told reporters, "The Rockville plant in the United States can be expanded by an additional 20,000 to 40,000 liters from the current roughly 60,000 liters," adding, "We plan to not only stabilize operations at the Rockville plant but also seek additional expansion opportunities."
Rim said, "We are increasing production and commercial footholds in the United States to boost customer access, and we are also looking at various investment opportunities, including strategic M&A." The explanation was that it is actively reviewing inorganic growth opportunities such as acquiring corporations or production facilities and investing in technology companies with next-generation modalities.
On the possibility of building the sixth Songdo plant, he said, "We are waiting for a trigger point," adding, "Plant 5 is ramping up quickly, and preparations are almost complete." He said, "Once we have board approval, we can break ground on the sixth plant," adding, "A decision could come this year."
On the site for the third bio campus secured late last year, the company plans to invest about 7 trillion won through 2034 to build research and production facilities for various modalities such as Antibody-Drug Conjugate (ADC), antibody vaccines, and cell and gene therapies (CGT). Rim said, "To respond swiftly to diverse customer needs, we plan to review expanding ADC production capacity and adding small- to mid-scale reactors."
Samsung Biologics plans to apply its optimized production system, "ExellenS™," to ensure consistent processes and quality anywhere in the world and secure customer trust. ExellenS™ is the company's CDMO service brand unveiled in October last year, which embraces equivalency and speed as core values to supply consistently high-quality medicines to clients quickly and efficiently.
◇ "Aiming for new opportunities in contract development"
Expanding the contract development (CDO) domain is also a core strategy. The company signed 31 CDO contracts last year and said it will launch master cell bank (MCB) and vector design and manufacturing services in February.
An MCB is central to biopharmaceutical production: after mass-culturing the final cell line that best produces the target protein, it is aliquoted into numerous vials and cryopreserved. Through this, the company aims to strengthen its "end-to-end development" capability that integrates and supports the entire development process from new drug candidate research to commercial production.
Earlier, in June last year, it launched "Samsung Organoid" and expanded its business into the contract research organization (CRO) domain using artificial organs.
In terms of portfolio (business domains), the company plans to strengthen its CRDMO capabilities encompassing CRO, CDO and CMO, providing end-to-end services across the full life cycle of drug development. Rim said, "Through the open innovation center to be built at the Songdo Second Bio Campus, we plan to expand collaboration with promising biotechs."
Regarding the modality (drug delivery technology) strategy, Rim said, "ADC can enter first commercial production in 2026," adding, "Once the finished drug product (DP) ADC plant is completed in the first quarter of 2027, end-to-end production will be possible."
On tariff issues, he explained, "Through consultations between Korea and the United States, the maximum tariff rate has been set at 15%, and customers from countries with most-favored-nation (MFN) agreements face no tariff burden when importing from Korea to the United States."
The company also presented a digital transformation (DX) strategy, including building an intelligent manufacturing environment using artificial intelligence (AI) and Digital Twin technology and streamlining operations with data. Samsung Biologics is applying AI to deviation report analysis, bioreactor efficiency optimization, and resin lifecycle management. Rim said, "We introduced electronic batch records (EBR) at Plant 5 for the first time, and by year-end we will upgrade to 2.0," adding, "Quality and efficiency will rise together."