Samsung Biologics Accelerates Expansion of Capacity, Portfolio, and Global Footprint in Bid to Become a Global Top-Tier CDMO

[San Francisco (U.S.) = Reporter Jung Sang-hee] “Building on the site secured for our third bio campus in the Songdo International Business District by the end of 2025 and our plant in Rockville, Maryland, we will continue to grow in 2026 as we move toward becoming a global top-tier Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO).”
At the 2026 J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference held on the 13th (local time) in San Francisco, California, John Rim, CEO of Samsung Biologics, said, “Despite global uncertainties in 2025, Samsung Biologics maintained solid growth, successfully completed a spin-off, commenced operations at Plant 5, and launched organoid services,” highlighting these achievements.
On the same day, Samsung Biologics announced a growth strategy to accelerate expansion along three key pillars—production capacity, portfolio, and global footprint—as it aims to become a global top-tier CDMO.
■ Officially invited for 10 consecutive years... Presentation on the ‘main stage’ Grand Ballroom
Samsung Biologics, which has received an official invitation to the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference for 10 consecutive years since 2017, delivered its corporate presentation in the main venue, the Grand Ballroom, on this day. The Grand Ballroom stage is reserved for only 25 selected companies out of roughly 500 presenters. As was the case last year, Samsung Biologics was scheduled on the second day of the event alongside global big pharma companies such as GSK plc (GlaxoSmithKline), AstraZeneca (AZ), and Eli Lilly and Company.
In his presentation, CEO John Rim cited the completion of the spin-off as one of last year’s key achievements. In May of last year, Samsung Biologics announced a plan for a spin-off to establish Samsung Bioepis Holdings by separating the investment division responsible for managing its biosimilar subsidiary Samsung Bioepis. The spin-off plan was approved in October at an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders with a 99.9% approval rate, and the spin-off was completed in November.
“Through this spin-off, Samsung Biologics has been reborn as a ‘pure-play CDMO,’” Rim said, emphasizing, “We have eliminated the business risks that had raised concerns and created a foundation to further strengthen our order-winning competitiveness by focusing on our core CDMO business.”
Following the spin-off, the company has been accelerating expansion along its three pillars of production capacity, portfolio, and global footprint.
On the production capacity front, Samsung Biologics began full-scale operation of its 180,000-liter Plant 5 in April last year and recently added a 1,000-liter bioreactor to Plant 2, increasing total capacity across its Plants 1 through 5 in the Songdo International Business District to 785,000 liters. Including the 60,000-liter capacity of its Rockville, Maryland plant, Samsung Biologics’ total global production capacity now reaches 845,000 liters.
In terms of portfolio, the company has secured land for its third bio campus to build multi-modality production facilities for Antibody-X Conjugate (AXC), antibody vaccines, and cell and gene therapies, launched its Samsung Organoid (organ-like model) service, and commenced operation of a dedicated antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) manufacturing facility.
In addition, by announcing the acquisition of a biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Rockville, Maryland in December last year, Samsung Biologics secured its first production base in the United States and established a multi-site manufacturing network spanning Korea and the U.S.
■ Launch of ‘Excellence’ brand to ensure consistent processes and quality
For its 2026 growth strategy, CEO Rim presented three priorities: expanding and diversifying production capacity; broadening its portfolio across the entire Contract Research, Development and Manufacturing Organization (CRDMO) value chain; and enhancing customer satisfaction by expanding its global footprint.
To boost capacity, the company is considering construction of Plant 6 within its second bio campus, while also working not only to stabilize operations at the Rockville, Maryland plant but to explore additional expansion opportunities. The Rockville plant is understood to be capable of adding facilities that would enable an additional 20,000 to 40,000 liters of production.
In particular, Samsung Biologics plans to apply its optimized production system, branded as ‘Excellence,’ to ensure consistent processes and quality at all sites worldwide, thereby further strengthening customer trust. To respond swiftly to diverse customer needs, the company is also reviewing plans to expand ADC production capacity and increase the number of small- and mid-scale reactors.
On the portfolio side, the company intends to reinforce its CRDMO capabilities and leverage its organoid services to enhance research efficiency from the early development stage, thereby increasing early lock-in effects with clients.
Samsung Biologics also unveiled its Digital Transformation (DX) vision for innovation in biopharmaceutical manufacturing. By adopting AI and Digital Twin technologies to transition to an intelligent manufacturing environment, and by basing operations and decision-making on data intelligence, the company aims to maximize operational efficiency, improve quality, and enhance manufacturing productivity.
“While accelerating our three-pillar expansion strategy, we will further strengthen our core capabilities to sustain future growth,” Rim said, adding, “We will make our unrivaled competitive edge even more unassailable.”

wonder@fnnews.com Jung Sang-hee Reporter