[News Space=Reporter seungwon lee] The landscape of the global biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing organization (CDMO) market is changing. Samsung BioLogics, the leader, is jumping at an unprecedented pace.

In the first half of 2025, consolidated sales exceeded KRW 2 trillion for the first time since its establishment, and it achieved double-digit growth year-on-year thanks to the full-scale operation of factories 4 and 5 and expansion of global orders, heralding yet another growth.

Report Card for the First Half of 2025: ‘Best Performance’ Since Inception

Samsung BioLogics (CEO John Lim) announced on July 23rd that it achieved consolidated sales of KRW 2.5882 trillion and operating profit of KRW 962.3 billion in the first half of 2025. This is a 23.0% and 46.7% increase, respectively, compared to the same period last year. On a separate basis, it surpassed KRW 2 trillion in sales in the first half of the year (KRW 2.138 trillion) for the first time, and operating profit also surged 61.4% year-on-year to KRW 907.1 billion.

Growth Engine ① – “Full Operation of Factories 4 and 5, Proving Super-Gap Production Capacity”

Following the stable full operation of the 240,000 L production line at Plant 4, which began operation in October 2022, Plant 5 (180,000 L) will begin full-scale production in April 2025, establishing a flexible production portfolio that responds to customer needs. Through this, Samsung BioLogics currently has a total production capacity of 784,000 L and aims to secure a cumulative production capacity of 1,324,000 L by 2032.

In particular, Songdo Plant 4, the world's largest single-factory plant, is receiving requests from global big pharmas to expand 'direct manufacturing' and is signing large-scale contracts one after another.

Growth Engine ② – “Realizing the Value of CDMO and Biosimilar Dual-Axis Strategy”

Samsung Bioepis, a subsidiary of Samsung, also showed solid growth in the first half of the year. Sales for the first half of the year were 801.6 billion won, and operating profit was 217.8 billion won. This is a result of increased sales of biosimilar products. In particular, two new products developed in collaboration with Teva and Sandoz in the US led the performance.

In the second half of the year, biosimilars such as Stelara and Soliris are expected to make full-scale entry into the US market, and with the global average projected sales growth rate of biosimilars reaching 12-15%, additional momentum is expected.

According to an IQVIA report (June 2025), the global biosimilars market is expected to grow to $60 billion by 2025.

Financial foundation is also ‘solid’… Assets 17.8 trillion, debt ratio 53%

At the end of the second quarter of 2025, Samsung BioLogics was recorded as having total assets of KRW 17.7736 trillion, total capital of KRW 11.6028 trillion, and debt of KRW 6.1709 trillion on a consolidated basis. Financial stability is solid with a debt ratio of 53.2% and a borrowing ratio of 11.6%. The strategy of maintaining a low borrowing structure while simultaneously pursuing aggressive expansion is becoming more sophisticated.

Future Strategy – “Strengthening CDMO Focus + Expanding Global Bases + Diversifying Modalities”

Samsung BioLogics announced that it will spin off its CDMO and biosimilar divisions in May 2025. This is a strategic decision for a ‘pure CDMO transformation’, and is intended to clarify its customer-centered business structure and expand corporate value and investment appeal.

In addition, along with the establishment of a state-of-the-art factory based on automation, we are also pursuing a strategy to expand modality, including CRO (clinical trial contracting organization), CMC (carrier manufacturing cell), and AAV (gene therapy platform). Based on this, we are building an integrated ecosystem that encompasses the entire biopharmaceutical R&D cycle.

In the biopharmaceutical industry, modality refers to the various forms in which a therapeutic is implemented, such as the therapeutic's mode of action, formulation, molecular structure, and technology platform. In other words, it is a concept that encompasses various drug development methods, including single antibodies, bispecific antibodies (multispecific antibodies), antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), gene therapy (AAV, etc.), and new technology-based therapeutics such as messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA).

Global expansion is also fierce. Following New Jersey and Boston in the U.S., the company is establishing a sales base in Tokyo, Japan in early 2025, directly entering the Asian order market.

Announcement of upward revision of annual guidance… “Expected sales growth rate of 25-30% in 2025”

The growth confidence is also reflected in the guidance. Samsung BioLogics announced on this day that it had revised upward the previous annual sales growth rate forecast (20-25%) to 25-30%. This is a measure that takes into account the full operation of Plant 5, increased order volume, and increased cost efficiency due to process improvements.

'K-CDMO' Leading the Global Bio Industry

Samsung BioLogics is now positioned as a global standard for the CDMO industry beyond a simple contract manufacturing company. The CDMO market is growing at an average of 9.5% per year, and IHS Markit and Evaluate Pharma predict that Samsung BioLogics will settle into the top 3 in market share by 2025.