Samsung forges biosimilar venture with Quintiles
pharmafile | March 2, 2011 | News story | Manufacturing and Production |Â Â Quintiles, Samsung, biosimilar production, biosimilars, pharma productionÂ
South Korean electronics giant Samsung has formed a joint venture with Quintiles with the objective of breaking into the market for biosimilar medicines.
At the heart of the tie-up will be the construction of a biopharmaceutical production facility in the Incheon Free Economic Zone in Songdo, South Korea, with work beginning in the first half of this year.
The plant is expected to be fully operational in 2013 with 30,000 litres of mammalian cell culture bioreactors, capable of producing 600kg of biosimilar active ingredients a year, focusing mainly on products to treat cancer and arthritis.
The first biosimilar products from the joint venuture are expected to reach the market in 2016, with the majority of output destined for international markets.
The move follows the current trend of technology companies diversifying into healthcare in the face of increasing competitive pressure on consumer goods businesses during the protracted economic downturn.
For example, Fujifilm acquired a contract manufacturing business from Merck & Co recently, while Samsung also bought stakes in electronic healthcare equipment provider Medison last December.
Pharmaceutical outsourcing specialist Quintiles will take a minority 10% investment in the joint venture, with the remainder owned by Samsung group companies, namely Samsung Electronics (40%), Samsung Everland (40%) and Samsung C&T Corporation (10%).
Samsung has set aside a warchest of around $21 billion to fund its expansion into new business areas, including around $2 billion for biopharmaceuticals and another $1 billion or so for electronic healthcare equipment.
The company is injecting around $266 million into its venture with Quintiles, which will contribute around $30 million. In time, the Korean company plans to move beyond biosimilars and into the development of innovative biopharmaceutical products, but in a news briefing the company said it could also set up another biosimilar joint venture later this year.
Phil Taylor
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