On Tuesday, August 11, Samsung Biologics announced it will invest $2 billion to build a new pharmaceutical “super plant” in Incheon, South Korea. According to the press release, the new facility is part of Samsung’s long term strategy to maximize its operational efficiency and scale up its development and manufacturing capabilities in response to growing manufacturing demands.
The new plant, Samsung’s fourth, will be as large as its existing three plants combined and will hold 256 kiloliters total capacity upon completion. Samsung Biologics reports that the new plant will invest in offsetting its’ environmental impact through streamlined application, smart disposal of high-concentration wastewater, and an improvement in nitric acid emissions. Plant 4 is scheduled to commence manufacturing in the second half of 2022.
The expansion plans come as demand for outsourced manufacturing of therapeutics, including COVID-19 treatment candidates, has increased, with Samsung Biologics having signed deals worth about 2.5 times last year’s total revenue in the first half of 2020 alone.