An analysis about Samsung Biologics' acquiring Polypeptide

Samsung Biologics, which defeated wuxi Biologics in the field of biological macromolecules, announced on July 19, 2026, its intention to make a cash offer of 1.46 billion Swiss francs (approximately 1.81 billion US dollars or 2.7 trillion Korean won) to acquire PolyPeptide Group, the world's fourth-largest polypeptide CDMO company in Switzerland. Thereby venturing into the explosively growing supply chain of GLP-1 and metabolic therapies; The deal is scheduled to be privatized and delisted from the Swiss stock Exchange by the end of 2026, and will directly compete with industry giants such as wuxi AppTec (with its TIDES business leading the pack at 11.37 billion yuan), CordenPharma and Bachem. Even if the acquisition of PolyPeptide is completed, Samsung's actual revenue in the TIDES field is only about a quarter of that of wuxi AppTec. With the speed of wuxi AppTec's self-built production capacity and order accumulation (extremely high customer stickiness and end-to-end CRDMO model), the absolute scale of the two is not in the same order of magnitude in the short term. Although the current gap is huge.

Samsung Biologics has several unique advantages: 

1. Geopolitical and legal dividends (biosecurity laws) : Major pharmaceutical companies in the us and Europe (such as Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk) are gradually shifting orders or seeking non-Chinese background CDMO alternatives due to the consideration of supply chain risk reduction (De-risking). As a South Korean giant and directly owning GMP factories in Europe and the United States through PolyPeptide, Samsung has a natural advantage in the core order transfer competition among the world's top pharmaceutical companies.

 2. Capital Advantage and the execution power of the "Samsung Model" : Samsung Biologics once relied on terrifying capital expenditure (Capex) and the rapid construction of super-large factories (Megasite Strategy) to gain a leading position in antibody CDMO.