South Korean contract development and manufacturing organizations are competing for orders in the United States as they target the market for antibody-drug conjugates. With demand for ADC production rising, the companies aim to win new customers by showcasing their process technology and manufacturing experience.
Samsung Biologics (207940.KS), Lotte Biologics and SK pharmteco will hold business meetings at the World ADC conference in San Diego from Oct. 12 to 15, according to industry sources on the 12th. World ADC is a specialized conference covering everything from ADC development to manufacturing, and more than 400 companies are expected to attend this year. ADCs are treatments that attach anticancer agents to antibodies designed to seek out cancer cells. Because the process of linking antibodies and drugs is complex and quality must remain consistent even as production scales up, the field is considered one that requires specialized manufacturing capabilities.
Samsung Biologics will operate a booth and present on the key factors in ADC production that comply with good manufacturing practice standards. Through this, the company is expected to emphasize process technology that maintains consistent quality while expanding production scale. The company signed five ADC contract development agreements last year, and attention is focused on whether it can convert customers secured at the development stage into follow-on manufacturing orders.
Lotte Biologics, which won its first order in April last year through a contract to produce a candidate substance for clinical trials, is also moving to expand its customer base. At the event, the company will introduce its bispecific antibody purification and ADC conjugation technologies, and promote the production capacity of the dedicated ADC facility it built at its Syracuse, New York plant with an investment of about $100 million.
SK pharmteco plans to target ADC production demand with its capabilities in developing and manufacturing linkers, which connect antibodies and drugs, and payloads, the anticancer components.
The competition for orders coincides with expansion in the global ADC market. Grand View Research projected the market would grow to $16.7 billion this year from $14.5 billion last year, reaching $32.1 billion by 2033. An industry official said the key issue is "whether companies can secure volumes for clinical trials and carry that into follow-on clinical and commercial manufacturing contracts."