Samsung Bioepis is accelerating efforts to strengthen its new drug development capabilities, moving beyond its biosimilar-focused business, according to an analysis. By establishing research bases in China and the United States and launching artificial intelligence (AI) joint research and a bio investment fund, the company is securing long-term growth drivers through full-scale open innovation.
Daishin Securities said on the 27th that Samsung Bioepis is rapidly building a foundation to expand its business scope beyond biosimilars into a new drug company. The company has established a research and development (R&D) center in China to strengthen its early-stage technology discovery capabilities, and in April it built a cooperation framework with the ATLATL Innovation Center, a Chinese biotech incubation institution. It has also begun AI-based joint research with Samsung Medical Center.
The company has also moved to expand its investment ecosystem. Samsung Bioepis created the "Life Science Fund 3," worth a total of 200 billion won, and has invested about 39 billion won to date. This is part of a strategy to actively identify external technologies and promising bio ventures to secure a new drug pipeline, according to the explanation.
Daishin Securities forecast that a re-evaluation of the company's corporate value would be possible if this open innovation strategy leads to tangible results. It gave a positive assessment of the shift in business structure from the existing biosimilar-focused business to a new drug development model that secures external innovative technologies.
Its core biosimilar business is also progressing smoothly. SB15, a biosimilar for ophthalmic diseases, began direct sales in Europe in June, and SB17, a treatment for autoimmune diseases, was launched in Japan along with signed licensing deals for Canada and Australia. The brokerage said SB27, a biosimilar for obesity treatment, confirmed equivalence in key indicators such as pharmacokinetics (PK) in interim analyses of global Phase 1 and Phase 3 trials, raising the possibility of completing trials within the year.
Meanwhile, second-quarter earnings slowed somewhat due to the impact of temporary supply adjustments. Samsung Bioepis posted second-quarter consolidated revenue of 392.2 billion won and operating profit of 86.6 billion won, down 2% and 4% respectively from a year earlier.
