South Korea's Samsung Biologics has entered into a strategic partnership with GeneQuantum Healthcare, a China biotech company, to jointly develop an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) for the treatment of non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC), triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), and other solid tumors. The agreement signals Samsung Biologics' accelerated entry into the China market.

GeneQuantum Healthcare recently received the US FDA's Investigational New Drug (IND) Good to Proceed Letter in May this year for its first anti-HER2 ADC asset, which was manufactured via GeneQuantum's patented intelligent ligase-dependent conjugation (iLDC) technology platform.

Samsung Biologics' approach to entering the Chinese market is strategic. This new collaboration with a Chinese company follows Samsung Biologics' recent development partnership with an innovative biotech, APRINOIA Therapeutics, further marking the company's strategic entry and presence in the market. GeneQuantum had previously signed its CDO contract with a CDMO partner for its first asset, however has notably chosen Samsung Biologics for its second antibody candidate.

Samsung Biologics has dramatically reduced the time required for development stage, taking 6 months to DS manufacturing, and 7 months to DP manufacturing. Samsung Biologics has also recently announced its proprietary cell line technology, S-CHOice, in August this year, which shows improved titers up to two-fold from the industry average and maintains over 90% of cell viability.

Owing to these proven features, the company's CDO business unit has acquired nearly 60 contracts within a 2-year period, gaining recognition in the global market.