Samsung enters strategic partnership with Quintiles to support biopharmaceuticals market

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world's largest electronics company, and its affiliated companies ("Samsung") have entered into a strategic partnership with Quintiles, the world's leading pharmaceutical services company, to support Samsung's entry into the biopharmaceuticals market, Quintiles announced today.

Under an agreement signed last week, Quintiles will make a minority 10% investment of approximately $30 million USD to start a new joint venture company with Samsung in the first half of 2011 to provide biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing services in South Korea. Samsung will own the remaining 90% of the joint venture company in the following proportions: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., 40%; Samsung Everland, Inc., 40%, and Samsung C&T Corporation, 10%.

The strategic partnership will support Samsung's entry into the biopharmaceutical market and reinforces Quintiles' role as an ally to help companies succeed in the New Health landscape.

"We are very pleased that Samsung has selected Quintiles as its ally to enter the biopharmaceuticals business through the manufacture of biosimilars," said Anand Tharmaratnam, Senior Vice President and Head of Asia Markets for Quintiles. "South Korea is an important part of our growth strategy in Asia. This strategic partnership illustrates how Quintiles can use its resources and expertise across the clinical, commercial, consulting and capital spectrum to help companies achieve their strategic goals. We're also very pleased to drive innovation and advance the role of South Korea in the global biopharmaceutical industry."

Paul Casey, Vice President and Head of Asia Corporate Development for Quintiles, said: "This partnership with Samsung demonstrates how at Quintiles we leverage not only our intellectual and human capital but also how we can invest to advance mutual interests and accomplish shared goals. It shows we are committed to developing non-traditional alliances in order to help our customers navigate risks and seize opportunities in the complex industry landscape and ultimately help patients."

The joint venture company represents Samsung's first step into the biopharmaceutical business. Samsung also plans to commercialize biosimilars by 2016, and expand into innovative biologics in the future.

Plans call for the joint venture company to construct a biopharmaceutical manufacturing plant in the Incheon Free Economic Zone in Songdo, Incheon, South Korea. Groundbreaking is expected in the first half of 2011 and full-scale operation is expected to commence in April 2013. The plant will be fully equipped with cutting-edge technologies and an 8,000-gallon (30,000 liters) mammalian cell culture bioreactor capacity capable of producing 1,300 pounds (600 kilograms) of biopharmaceutical products. The products are expected to be sold mostly on international markets.

Source: Quintiles