Samsung Biologics to Acquire PolyPeptide for 2.7 Trillion Won... Entering Global Anti-Obesity Drug Market

Samsung Biologics is making a full-scale entry into the global obesity and diabetes treatment market by executing the largest M&A in the domestic pharmaceutical and bio industry, valued at 2.7 trillion won. On the 20th, Samsung Biologics announced via a regulatory filing that it would acquire PolyPeptide Group, a specialized Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO), for approximately 2.7062 trillion won.

Peptides are substances where amino acids are linked in short chains, and they serve as the key ingredient for the recently global-hit GLP-1 series obesity and diabetes treatments. Through this acquisition, Samsung Biologics will inherit PolyPeptide Group’s six production bases in five countries—Sweden, Belgium, the United States, France, and India—and its workforce of over 1,500 professionals. PolyPeptide Group boasts a track record of developing and producing over 1,000 peptide treatments, and based on this, Samsung Biologics has secured a global supply chain.

As the global anti-obesity drug market is projected to grow rapidly to 200 trillion won by 2035, the company plans to create synergy by combining PolyPeptide Group’s peptide synthesis technology with Samsung Biologics’ large-scale production capabilities.

Samsung Biologics CEO John Lim stated that this acquisition is a “strategic decision that encompasses the three major growth axes: production capacity, business portfolio, and global footprints.” The company aims to complete the acquisition within the year, solidify its position as the world’s No. 1 CDMO by completing its lineup of anti-obesity treatments alongside antibodies, mRNA, and ADCs.