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Samsung Biologics starts mass producing Lilly's COVID-19 treatment

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Researchers at Samsung Biologics' plant 3 in Incheon look at a panel in this undated promotion photo. Courtesy of Samsung Biologics
Researchers at Samsung Biologics' plant 3 in Incheon look at a panel in this undated promotion photo. Courtesy of Samsung Biologics

By Nam Hyun-woo

Samsung Biologics has started mass-producing a COVID-19 antibody treatment developed by Eli Lilly, to enable stable supply of the drug and faster administration to more patients, the company said, Tuesday.

The Samsung affiliate said the mass production came after it signed a contract manufacturing agreement with Eli Lilly on producing the treatments in May.

The monetary value of the contract was about $150 million and could grow to $222 million after the treatment becomes available. Given the companies will reveal the duration of the contract after Dec. 31, 2023, it is thought to be a long-term mass production contract.

Samsung Biologics said that while the spread of COVID-19 forced it to face difficulties in terms of securing raw materials, it successfully delivered early batches of the treatment to Eli Lilly just five months after they entered the agreement.

"We are very pleased to deliver this product to our client Lilly at record-breaking speed to aid in the war against the COVID-19 pandemic," Samsung Biologics CEO Kim Tae-han said. "Thanks to Lilly's ongoing scientific efforts, patients suffering from this devastating disease are gaining new hope. Samsung Biologics is proud to be Lilly's contract development and manufacturing partner and will continue to work relentlessly and collaboratively with them to bring COVID-19 treatments to patients who need them the most, wherever they are."

The two sides did not specify exactly what the treatment is. However, sources said it is assumed to be bamlanivimab (LY-CoV555), which earned an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) earlier this month.

The FDA said the authorization applies only to mild-to-moderate COVID-19 symptoms in adult and pediatric patients and it should not be used in hospitalized patients.

The drug is similar to a therapy given to U.S. President Donald Trump after he had tested positive for COVID-19. It's been reported Trump received an experimental treatment infusing a cocktail of antibodies, including one developed by Regenron. Eli Lilly's treatment is in the same family of medication.

"Neutralizing antibodies are proving to be a potentially important tool in the fight against COVID-19, and the biopharmaceutical industry is collaborating quickly and effectively to increase the global manufacturing supply," Eli Lilly Chairman and CEO David A. Ricks said. "This agreement with Samsung supplements Lilly's own internal manufacturing capacity and greatly expands our ability to deliver Lilly antibody therapies to patients around the world."

On a related note, Samsung Biologics also signed a contract with Vir Biotechnology under which the Korean company will be handling manufacture of the latter's COVID-19 treatment. Under the $360 million deal, the company will produce Vir's treatment until Dec. 31, 2022.

Including those COVID-19 deals, Samsung Biologics has bagged manufacturing orders worth 1.9 trillion won so far this year, which is 2.5 times the company's 701.6 billion won sales for all of last year.


Nam Hyun-woo namhw@koreatimes.co.kr


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