CDMO Samsung Biologics has agreed to buy land close to its site in Songdo, Korea for future greenfield projects including capacity expansions.

Samsung Biologics has grown over the past decade into one of the largest biologics contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), with three operational facilities at its biocampus in Songdo, Incheon boasting a total of 364,000 L of mostly stainless-steel bioreactor capacity.

A fourth ‘super plant’ under construction will add a further 256,000 L of capacity, and a future fifth facility is expected to be built on 10,000 square meters of land acquired in November last year.

Land within Songdo International City High-tech Industrial Cluster, as viewed from Samsung Biologics’ plant 2

Now, in a regulatory filing, the CDMO has agreed to pay KRW 426,022,798,554 ($347 million) to the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority (IFEZ) to acquire further land within the Songdo International City High-tech Industrial Cluster.

“We have been selected as the preferred bidder and are in the process of negotiating to conclude a land sale contract,” the filing states, with the scheduled acquisition date expected to be the end of April 2025.

“We are acquiring the land for future greenfield expansion projects for capacity expansions as part of Biocampus 2,” a spokesperson from Samsung Biologics told BioProcess Insider. The land will not be used to house the fifth plant, the spokesperson confirmed, adding it “does not signal that we are proceeding with any further expansion plans immediately.”

According to The Korea Herald, Biocampus 2 will cover an area of 350,000 square meters, about 30% bigger than the existing biocampus.

Biocampus 2 was first floated in May 2021 during the CDMO’s 10th Annual General Meeting (AGM). At the time, the company said such a project would “further enhance its open innovation as a new growth engine for the next decade” and could be coupled with plans to further secure additional manufacturing facilities overseas.