Samsung Bioepis partners with China’s 3SBio

Samsung Bioepis announced Monday that it has joined hands with Chinese biopharmaceutical firm “3SBio” to make further inroads into the Chinese market. The licensing agreement covers biosimilars produced by Samsung Bioepis, including SB8, which is used for the treatment of colorectal cancer and lung cancer. The South Korean pharmaceutical company will receive upfront payment and royalties depending on sales from 3SBio.

With the latest partnership, Samsung’s biopharmaceutical arm is set to expand its biosimilar business in the world’s second largest bio market. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Chinese biopharmaceutical market is expected to grow by nearly 20 percent by 2025.

“We expect to expand our business in the Chinese biopharmaceutical market through collaboration with 3SBio across areas including clinical development, regulatory registration and commercialization in China,” said Samsung Bioepis CEO Ko Han-sung. Established in 1993, 3SBio debuted on the Hong Kong market in 2015, and posted annual sales of around 600 billion won in 2017.


Seok-Jun Bae eulius@donga.com