Aju Business Daily

SEOUL --Samsung Biologics, a leading bio company in South Korea, has forged a strategic partnership with GeneQuantum Healthcare, a Chinese biotech company, to jointly develop an antibody-drug conjugate for the treatment of non-small-cell lung carcinoma, triple-negative breast cancer and other solid tumors.

GeneQuantum had signed its contract development organization (CDO) contract with a Chinese partner for its first asset, but it picked Samsung Biologics for the second antibody candidate. GeneQuantum develops a new generation of bioconjugate therapeutics to meet the unmet medical needs of cancer patients.

Samsung BioLogics has expanded its biomedicine business from contract manufacturing organization (CMO) to CDO. CMO serves other companies to provide comprehensive services from development through manufacturing. CDO develops cell lines and production processes for the mass production of antibody-drug candidate substances developed at the laboratory level.

With its partnership with GeneQuantum, Samsung Biologics said it could expand its recognition in China. "We are extremely proud that our CDO capabilities are continuously being recognized in the Chinese market, especially amid the current global climate," Samsung Biologics CEO Kim Tae-han said in a statement.

Samsung BioLogics will build the fourth plant by the end of August 2023 in an effort to secure a market share of more than 30 percent in the global CMO market. The company has clinched a series of orders, with total orders standing at 1.8 trillion won ($1.6 billion) in the first half of this year.