Samsung and Biogen Idec have entered an agreement to invest $300 million to establish a joint venture for the development, manufacture, and commercialization of biosimilars. Samsung will contribute $255 million for an 85% stake and Biogen Idec will contribute $45 million for a 15% stake. The joint venture, which will be based in Korea, will contract Biogen Idec and Samsung Biologics for technical development and manufacturing services. The joint venture will not pursue biosimilars of Biogen’s proprietary products.

“At Samsung, one of our goals is to help patients around the world by increasing the accessibility and affordability of existing medicines,” said Tae-Han Kim, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Samsung Biologics. “Since many of the world’s top-selling drugs are biologics, developing and making high-quality biosimilars is critical to that goal. By combining Biogen Idec’s expertise in biologics with our business acumen and proven record of success in new business development, we are taking a significant step toward becoming a major player in the biopharmaceutical industry and investing in an important growth engine for our company.”

“The future of healthcare will continue to be driven by innovation, but it will also be about ensuring patients have access to cost-effective therapies, and biosimilars will play an important role in that,” said George A. Scangos, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Biogen Idec. “This relationship will allow us to leverage our world-class protein engineering and biologics manufacturing capabilities, while maintaining focus on our mission of discovering, developing and delivering innovative therapies for patients worldwide with neurodegenerative diseases, hemophilia and autoimmune disorders.”