Celltrion, Samsung Biologics eye record-high annual sales

South Korea’s two major biopharmaceutical companies, Celltrion Inc. and Samsung Biologics Co., are respectively expecting more than 2 trillion won ($1.5 billion) in annual sales this year. The two firms are forecast to post double-digit growth in 2022, thanks to increasing shares in the global biosimilars market and strong performances as contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs).

According to financial data firm FnGuide, the market consensus on Celltrion’s sales in the second quarter of 2022 reached 522.2 billion won, up 21% from the same quarter of 2021. The consensus on Celltrion’s annual sales this year is 2.19 trillion won, FnGuide said.    




Celltrion’s strong sales come from its Remsima SC, a subcutaneous injection form of Remsima (infliximab), an anti-inflammatory medication for immune-system diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, and ulcerative colitis. Remsima SC is estimated to have generated more than 50 billion won in sales during the second quarter, more than double in the same quarter of 2021.


The drug earned marketing approval from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in October 2019, but sales have fallen behind targets. The medicine is increasingly prescribed in Europe as the subcutaneous injection can be administered by patients themselves, according to market sources.

Remsima IV, an intravenous injection, is also expanding its presence globally. It accounted for 29.4% of the US biosimilars market in April, up 13.7% from the same month in 2021.

Celltrion is expecting a further sales increase in the European market in the second half of 2022 by launching Vegzelma (bevacizumab), referencing Avastin, the global blockbuster cancer drug developed by Genentech, a member of Roche Group. The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) under EMA recommended the granting of a marketing authorization for Vegzelma in June, signaling the medicine will receive marketing approval from the EMA in a few months.

Samsung Biologics also expects growth in sales. The biotech arm of Samsung Group is estimated to have achieved 453.7 billion won in sales during the second quarter of 2022, up 10% from the same quarter of 2021, according to financial analysts’ consensus. Samsung Biologics’ annual sales this year will be 2.06 billion won, up 30% from sales in 2021, according to consensus estimates

Analysts are forecasting that Samsung Biologics’ new plant in Songdo, Incheon, will be a momentum of growth. Plant 4, with an annual production capacity of 256,000 liters, will begin operations in October and manufacture some recently ordered products. The Samsung Group’s biotech arm said in June it inked an $81 million contract manufacturing deal with global biopharma giant Novartis. Earlier this month, the Korean biotech firm won 227.7 billion won worth of manufacturing orders from US biopharmaceutical company Merck & Co. Inc.

Write to Sun-A Lee at suna@hankyung.com
Jihyun Kim edited this article.