Samsung Bioepis Posts Record Annual Sales of 1.672 Trillion Won Last Year

First Earnings Report After Corporate Spin-off... Operating Profit Down Due to Milestone Revenues
Samsung Biopharmaceuticals Holdings Posts Operating Loss in First Two Months Since Establishment

Samsung Biopharmaceuticals Holdings' subsidiary, Samsung Bioepis, achieved its highest-ever annual revenue last year.

According to industry sources on January 26, Samsung Bioepis recorded annual revenue of 1.672 trillion won and operating profit of 375.9 billion won last year. This marks the largest revenue in the company's history.

Samsung Bioepis headquarters exterior. Samsung Bioepis

Compared to the previous year, revenue increased by 134.3 billion won, or about 9%. Although operating profit decreased by 59.5 billion won, if one excludes one-off milestone payments (compensation for R&D achievements), product sales performance showed a 28% increase in revenue and a 101% increase in operating profit year-on-year. In the fourth quarter of last year, Samsung Bioepis posted revenue of 429.4 billion won and operating profit of 29.2 billion won. Compared to the same period a year earlier, revenue rose by 32 billion won while operating profit fell by 43.1 billion won; however, excluding milestone payments, product sales revenue increased by 23% and operating profit by 14% year-on-year.

Continued Expansion of Biosimilar Sales Performance in Global Markets such as the US and Europe

Samsung Bioepis is currently expanding biosimilar sales in key global markets, including the United States and Europe. Despite fierce market competition, the company doubled its annual operating profit year-on-year (excluding milestone payments) thanks to the sales of new products last year.

In the United States, the world's largest pharmaceutical market, the company is securing market share through a "two-track" strategy: collaborating with local marketing partners and establishing supply channels with private insurance PBMs (pharmacy benefit managers).

Last year, through partnerships with global pharmaceutical companies, Samsung Bioepis newly launched two products (Stelara and Soliris biosimilars) in the US market. In particular, for the Stelara biosimilar, the company secured stable distribution channels and quickly gained market share by signing "private label (PL)" contracts, under which major PBMs supply the drug under their own brands, in addition to its partnerships.

In Europe, which accounts for more than 60% of the company's total revenue, Samsung Bioepis is being recognized as an industry-leading company by leveraging thorough supply chain management and creating synergies through both partner collaborations and direct sales.

Since launching its first product in Europe in 2016, Samsung Bioepis has expanded its portfolio to a total of 10 products over a decade, with four of them being sold directly through its own local sales network.

First Earnings Announcement Since Corporate Split and Launch of Samsung Biopharmaceuticals Holdings

Samsung Biopharmaceuticals Holdings, which was launched as a bio holding company in November last year, announced its first earnings on January 26, reporting consolidated revenue of 251.7 billion won and an operating loss of 63.6 billion won over two months.

Samsung Biopharmaceuticals Holdings recorded an operating loss for the two-month period due to accounting adjustments from the corporate split and increased R&D expenses. However, this does not affect actual cash flow, and the business structure under the holding company system is gradually stabilizing, supported by the solid performance of Samsung Bioepis.

This year, Samsung Biopharmaceuticals Holdings plans to actively support its subsidiaries' core businesses, strengthen business competitiveness under the holding company structure, and continue its growth by aiming to increase global biosimilar product sales by more than 10% compared to last year.

Kim Kyunga, CEO of Samsung Biopharmaceuticals Holdings, is speaking at a press conference during the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference held on the 14th of this month (local time) in San Francisco, USA. San Francisco (USA) ? Photo by Jung Donghoon

Samsung Bioepis, which is driving the growth of Samsung Biopharmaceuticals Holdings, continues to expand its performance in the global biosimilar market. Samsung Bioepis is developing seven additional blockbuster biosimilar candidates with upcoming patent expirations, and plans to expand its biosimilar products and pipeline to 20 by 2030 to secure mid- to long-term growth engines. In addition, leveraging the technological expertise accumulated through the biosimilar business, the company is actively pursuing new drug development in the ADC (antibody-drug conjugate) sector, which is emerging as a next-generation cancer therapy.

This year, Samsung Bioepis plans to begin global Phase 1 clinical trials for its first new drug candidate (SBE303) and aims to enter at least one IND (Investigational New Drug application) stage annually, actively expanding its new drug development business.

Epis Next Lab, established in November last year, is a biotech model company that is promoting a technology platform business for new drug development based on highly scalable core technologies. The company is currently focusing on projects such as developing long-acting drug delivery technologies for peptide-based therapeutics.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.