Korea's Samsung Biologics signs $296 mn CMO deal with GSK

South Korea’s Samsung Biologics Co. has signed a $296.1 million deal to supply biopharmaceutical products to UK-based multinational pharma giant GSK plc, the biotech arm of Samsung Group announced on Oct. 20.

The deal value is equivalent to nearly 30% of the Korean biotech’s total revenue in 2021, 1.5 trillion won ($1.0 billion). The contract is effective from Oct. 11 to Dec. 31, 2030.

Samsung, the world’s top contract manufacturing organization (CMO) by capacity, didn’t disclose details on the products it will manufacture under the contract.

In May 2020, the biotech arm of Samsung Group signed a $231 million deal with GSK, formerly GlaxoSmithKline, to supply biopharmaceutical products over the next eight years. The deal was for the production of GSK’s Benlysta (belimumab), to treat the autoimmune disease lupus nephritis.

The Korean biotech also signed a $368.1 million main contract with GSK in August 2020 to produce sotrovimab, SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibodies targeting COVID-19. This followed the April 2020 binding letter agreement signed with Vir Biotechnology Inc., GSK’s R&D partner for the same treatment.

Samsung has won 10 orders worth 1.72 trillion won so far this year, including an $81 million CMO deal with Novartis AG, the world's fifth-largest pharmaceutical company headquartered in Switzerland.

The Korean biotech firm is expected to post even more CMO deals won this year than it did last year. The figures soared to 1.2 trillion won last year from 308.4 billion won in 2019.

Write to Jeong-Min Nam at peux@hankyung.com
Jihyun Kim edited this article.