Samsung Bioepis, which is expanding its territory into the field of new drug development, has adopted open innovation as its future growth engine. The company is moving to secure promising biotech technologies through research collaboration with domestic and foreign bio-ventures.
According to the industry on the 10th, Samsung Bioepis is discussing the establishment of an open innovation program with Seoul Bio Hub. It is reported that the technology areas in demand and the support methods will be disclosed in the second half of this year.
Seoul Bio Hub has previously operated open innovation programs with domestic companies such as Celltrion, SK Biopharm, and Daewon Pharmaceutical, as well as global pharmaceutical companies like Novartis, AstraZeneca, and MSD. The method involves selecting promising startups where the company provides expert consulting and research demonstration support, while Seoul Bio Hub assists with facilities and the use of research equipment. It is highly likely that Samsung Bioepis will also prepare a similar program.
On the 29th of last month, Samsung Bioepis signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for global open innovation cooperation with the Atlatl Innovation Center, a Chinese bio-growth support organization. Samsung Bioepis decided to support the occupancy and research of promising biotechs at the center.
Samsung Bioepis, which had been searching for cooperation opportunities through the Samsung Life Science Fund (LS Fund) formed with Samsung Biologics and Samsung C&T, has recently been directly expanding its outward reach. In October last year, it signed a joint research and investment contract with Frontline of China, which develops antibody-drug conjugate (ADC)-based anticancer drugs. The following month, it was selected as a research institute for the Ministry of Health and Welfare's 'Development and Demonstration of Antibody Drugs Using Artificial Intelligence (AI)' project along with Protina, a protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis company. It drew attention as an unusual form where Protina took the lead organization role and Samsung Bioepis participated as a joint research institute. In March, the company also signed a joint research and licensing agreement for an obesity treatment with G2GBio.
The industry interprets these recent moves as a step toward becoming a 'comprehensive bio company,' a vision put forward during the corporate spin-off from Samsung Biologics last year.
Kyung-Ah Kim, CEO of Samsung Bioepis, presented a plan at a press conference early this year to add more than one clinical-stage new drug candidate every year. To this end, Samsung Bioepis appears to be actively utilizing an open innovation strategy to secure development rights for biotech's new drug candidates early and lead late-stage clinical trials.
In particular, in the cooperation with G2GBio, the roles were divided: Samsung Bioepis leads the development of new drug candidates, while EpisNexLab develops the long-acting drug delivery technology platform. The holding company, Samsung Epis Holdings, invested 20 billion won in convertible bonds (CB).
It is expected that cooperation with biotechs discovered through domestic and international open innovation programs will continue, with roles such as investment, new drug clinical trials, and platform technology development divided among affiliates.
A Samsung Bioepis official said, “We are discussing the discovery of various open innovation opportunities with domestic and foreign related organizations, including Seoul Bio Hub,” adding, “It is not a stage where specific progress can be mentioned.”
