UCB Invests $353M in Samsung Biologics for Drug Substance Manufacturing

• UCB and Samsung Biologics have expanded their seven-year partnership with a new drug substance manufacturing deal worth $353 million.

• Among the drugs Samsung will manufacture for UCB is an anti-Tau candidate to treat progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), which is in early-stage testing.

• The new deal builds on a $42 million contract they signed in 2017 and runs through the end of 2030.

UCB, the multinational biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. and CDMO Samsung Biologics of South Korea have expanded their seven-year partnership with a new drug substance manufacturing deal worth 382 billion Korean won ($353 million). 

The partnership involves Samsung Biologics manufacturing several drugs for UCB, including an anti-Tau candidate to treat progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), which is currently in early-stage testing.

Over the last 11 months, UCB has gained FDA approvals for three biologics—Bimzelx for plaque psoriasis, and Zilbrysq and Rystiggo, both for myasthenia gravis. The new deal, which is the third between the companies, builds on a $42 million contract they signed in 2017 and runs through the end of 2030.

Tae Han Kim, CEO of Samsung Biologics, said in a release that the new agreement also allows Samsung to “showcase” its Plant 3. The company boasts that it has the largest capacity at a single site than any drug manufacturer in the world.