BPI Theater Interview: Kevin Sharp, Senior Vice President and Head of Global Sales, Samsung Biologics

Samsung Biologics has long played a major role in biomanufacturing and continues to shake the industry with major capital expenditure (CapEx) projects. It currently has 604,000 L of manufacturing capacity through four plants at its Bio Campus I site in Songdo, South Korea. The company currently is building Bio Campus II, an even larger site that will begin with 180,000 L of capacity at plant 5, with room to add three more plants of the same size. Sharp said that the expansion is being driven by growth of demand in several spaces, including oncology and immunology, with antibodies continuing to play a strong role within biopharmaceutical pipelines.

According to Sharp, Samsung Biologics partners with 16 of the top 20 global biopharmaceutical developers, and the CDMO has more than 110 total clients, including small and mid-size biotechnology companies. Sharp said that big multinational companies have larger pipelines with multiple-product portfolios. However, “Smaller [and] mid-sized biotechs sometimes focus on a key main asset that they need to get to market as quickly as possible.” He said that Samsung tailors its support to each type of business.

Sharp explained that although the COVID-19 pandemic brought ups and downs for the industry as a whole, Samsung Biologics was able to grow by double digits. He attributed that growth to establishing strong partnerships built for long-term success. “I think that’s something that allowed us to be successful [rather than] just being opportunistic in a short period.” However, he acknowledged that the industry is still recovering from pandemic investment shortages, which were especially pronounced in 2023. He said that some larger companies thrived by using “COVID cash” to reinvest in the industry through mergers and acquisitions (M&As).

Samsung Biologics is investing in its CDMO business by expanding its capabilities, including its commercial footprint in the United States. Sharp discussed the company’s drive toward agility and flexibility, emphasizing the need to help clients amid a rapidly changing business environment. To support its customers, Samsung Biologics has a number of platform technologies such as the S-CHOice cell-line platform, the recently introduced S-DUAL bispecific platform, and the new S-Tensity upstream development platform for increasing productivity.

Sharp concluded by highlighting the Samsung Life Science Fund. He said, “We’re working with a number in different areas such as ADCs, gene therapy, mRNA, and looking to invest in those companies for technologies and partnerships.”

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