Samsung Biologics: A Global CDMO Helping to Battle the COVID-19 Pandemic

2020 brought challenges that the world has never faced before. Everything was brought to a halt, lives were turned upside down, and far too many people were lost. National economies suffered and global travel was reduced to almost nothing. But now the end to the pandemic draws closer; people are getting vaccinated, case numbers in many nations are reducing, and economies are starting to bounce back.

Many governments have been instrumental in helping people get back to work, and the developers of the lifesaving COVID-19 vaccines and treatments also deserve much of the credit. But there is also a group of companies, who, by working tirelessly behind the scenes, have played a vital role in helping reduce the pandemic’s effects.

CDMOs: Who They Are and What They Do

Contract development and manufacturing organizations, also known as CDMOs, are companies that augment the production and development capabilities of other companies in order to help them meet demand for a product— in the case of the current pandemic, COVID-19 treatments and vaccines.

During a global pandemic where billions of vaccine doses and other treatments need to be produced and distributed as quickly as possible , CDMOs have become essential. CDMOs form partnerships with global biopharma companies, so they can outsource manufacturing capabilities to boost production more efficiently. Samsung Biologics has become one of the most prominent players in the market especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Samsung Biologics, a global leading CDMO

Samsung Biologics currently holds the world’s largest biomanufacturing capacity from a single site, and has become a more desirable partner for its quality, speed, and flexible service offerings.

Despite the global challenges of securing a stable supply of raw materials amid the pandemic, Samsung was able to manufacture and deliver products to meet client and regulatory expectations, utilizing its robust supply chain management capabilities as well as their newly developed virtual audit and inspection system, the Live Virtual Tour.

Looking to the future, Samsung Biologics is poised to become a fully integrated biopharma company, building its fourth plant that will boast the world’s largest single-site manufacturing capacity when it’s completed in 2023, adding up to 620KL in total at its headquarters. The company has also expanded to include a R&D facility in San Francisco, allowing Samsung Biologics to operate a site closer to many of their partners in the Bay Area’s global biopharmaceutical hub.

With 2020 being a year that saw CDMOs like Samsung Biologics step up and make an impact, the question is where the next few years will see them go as they help the industry innovate, manufacture life-saving drugs, and serve patients and customers around the globe.

Gilbert Cox

“Prone to fits of apathy. Zombie ninja. Entrepreneur. Organizer. Evil travel aficionado. Coffee practitioner. Beer lover.”