Samsung Biologics Co. agreed to acquire a Maryland pharmaceutical manufacturing site from GSK Plc for $280 million, giving the South Korean contract drugmaker its first production facility on American soil.
The deal for Human Genome Sciences, announced Monday, hands Samsung Biologics a 60,000-liter drug substance plant in Rockville—a modest addition to its existing 785,000-liter capacity at its Incheon headquarters. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2026.
The timing appears calculated. The acquisition follows last week’s passage of the Biosecure Act as part of the National Defense Authorization Act, which bars federal agencies from contracting with designated Chinese biotechnology firms. Industry analysts expect Chinese CDMOs including WuXi Biologics and WuXi AppTec to face restrictions, potentially redirecting billions in contracts to non-Chinese competitors.
Samsung Biologics CEO John Rim framed the purchase as strengthening U.S. supply chains, though the company has courted American clients for years without a domestic manufacturing presence. The Rockville site will retain over 500 employees.
For GSK, the divestiture aligns with a broader strategy to streamline operations while committing $30 billion to U.S. research and manufacturing over five years.
Samsung Biologics’ order backlog reached ₩6.8 trillion ($4.6 billion) this year, up from ₩5.4 trillion in 2024, according to Korean media reports.
