Samsung Biologics has joined an equity investment in Korean biotech AimedBio, as the CDMO looks to expand its business portfolio to include antibody-drug conjugates.
The investment was made through the Samsung Life Science Fund, a strategic investment fund managed by Samsung Venture Investment.
AimedBio uses multi-omics and AI-driven big data analysis of patient samples to discover and develop medicines for patients with severe neurological diseases, such as brain cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease. The biotech also has a robust therapeutic pipeline, including a first-in-class ADC experimental drug targeting FGFR3 for brain and bladder cancers, which is expected to enter the clinic in 2024.
In addition to the investment, Samsung Biologics also signed a research agreement with AimedBio to co-develop ADC toolbox technologies and a contract development agreement to support the development of AimedBio’s mAb therapy for atopic dermatitis and dementia.
For Samsung, the move is part of a plan to expand its business portfolio to include ADCs. The South Korean CDMO is currently building its own separate ADC manufacturing facility with the goal to complete construction in 2024.
Samsung recently signed a $704.4 million deal with Pfizer — the CDMO's biggest single contract since its inception — and has been ramping up its manufacturing capacity. That deal will be fulfilled at Samsung's newest facility, known as the 'super plant' which is the world’s largest single biomanufacturing plant with a production capacity of 240,000 liters.
