Samsung Biologics to offer solutions for Kurma Partners' portfolio firms

Samsung Biologics said Tuesday it inked a partnership with Kurma Partners, a French venture capital firm specializing in financing health care companies, to offer a variety of drug-related services to Kurma Partners' portfolio companies.

Under the partnership, Samsung Biologics will provide biotech companies invested in by Kurma Partners with its customizable chemical, manufacturing and control solutions. Customizable CMC solutions refer to drugs-related services such as the development of drug manufacturing processes, provision of quality control tests and stability studies that are tailored to the characteristics of each clients’ candidate drugs. According to Samsung Biologics, such solutions could potentially allow for fast transitions along the clinical development process and accelerate licensing timelines.

"We are excited to support the growth of promising global biotech companies through our collaboration with Kurma Partners," said Samsung Biologics CEO John Rim.

“Through Samsung Biologics' unique competitiveness and expertise, we will continue to innovate our services so that customers could reduce the risk of developing biopharmaceuticals and be able to enter the market in a speedier fashion,” he said.

Through the partnership, Samsung Biologics said it will strengthen its cooperation with the global biotech companies and ultimately aim to provide the partnered firms with Samsung Biologics' end-to-end solutions ranging from contract development and contract manufacturing processes to sterile fill-finishes.

"We are excited to collaborate with Samsung Biologics, which leads the contract development and manufacturing organization industry with world-class capabilities," said Daniel Parera, a partner at Kurma Partners.

"Via this cooperation, Kurma Partners' portfolio companies will be able to receive great help, starting from the biopharmaceutical development stage to market entry stage," he said.

Samsung Biologics forayed into the contract development organization business in 2018 and has signed some 100 CDO deals since. In August, the company newly launched customized CMC solutions services in aims to offer upgraded drug-related services such as streamlining and accelerating the drug development processes, as well as candidate selection processes.