Samsung Biologics, a leading contract development and manufacturing organization, has signed a strategic partnership with Kahr Medical Ltd., a cancer immunotherapy company developing novel multifunctional immune-recruitment proteins.
 
Under the terms of the agreement, Samsung Biologics will provide its end-to-end cell line development and clinical drug substance and drug product manufacturing services as well as IND filling support for Kahr’s drug candidate DSP502, a TIGITxPD1 fusion protein.
 
As a leader in the fusion protein space, Kahr’s current technology is based on multi-functional immuno-recruitment proteins (MIRP) that bind cancer cells and T-cells to produce a synergistic effect to selectively target tumors. Kahr recently signed an exclusive license with Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA to develop and commercialize multiple new drug candidates, including DSP502.
 
“We are proud to announce our partnership with Kahr Medical for the production of their novel drug candidate,” said John Rim, CEO of Samsung Biologics. “We will leverage our fully integrated, scalable, and high-quality development services and experienced teams to enable a faster transition from gene to IND in order to ensure Kahr’s success in bringing cutting edge immuno-recruitment cancer drugs to patients in need.”
 
“We are very pleased to partner with Samsung BioLogics, which is recognized as a leader in biopharmaceutical process development and manufacturing,” commented Yaron Pereg, Ph.D., CEO of Kahr. “DSP502 focuses on promising checkpoint pathways, unleashing the potential of the immune system to enhance anti-tumor immunoactivity through dual checkpoint inhibition.” 
 
Samsung Biologics offers seamless one-stop CDO research and development services both at its headquarters in Incheon, South Korea and its newly built R&D Center in San Francisco. Samsung Biologics’ CDO business brings quality-driven development services at a greater speed, delivering cell line development to DS manufacturing in six months, and to DP manufacturing in seven months at the fastest pace in the industry. 
 
The company is currently building its fourth and largest biomanufacturing facility in Incheon, Korea. Upon completion of the plant in 2023, Samsung Biologics will hold 620,000 liters of biomanufacturing capacity, or approximately a quarter of the entire global bio-CMO capacity.