바이오스펙테이터

바이오스펙테이터 Jongwon Jang 기자

On February 13th 2019, Samsung Bioepis released the list of Biogen executives who have joined their Board of Directors. Biogen became a Joint Management Body by acquiring 50%-1 shares of Samsung Bioepis as a call option last year.

The BioGen executives joining the Board of Directors are Executive Vice President Paul McKenzie, Ian Henshaw, Head of Biosimilars Division and Kevan McGovern, Director of Corporate Finance. They will join existing board members Ko Hang-seung, Chief Executive Officer, Yang Cheol-bo, Internal Director and Choi Change-hoon, Head of Development.

With this change, Samsung Bioepis' board of directors will form an even split between Samsung Bioepis and Biogen. "There will be no major changes in management activities,” Samsung Bioepis said, “and important management decisions will be made through a shareholder consensus."

At last month’s JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, BioGen CEO Michelle Vounatos announced her willingness to work with Samsung Bioepis. "I am confident in the biosimilar business."

Meanwhile, Samsung Bioepis posted sales of 369.8 billion won last year, which is up 17.5 percent from the previous year. Its operating loss fell 0.7 percent, from 103.2 billion won to 102.8 billion won, and its pretax loss also fell 37.9 percent, from 88.4 billion won to 54.9 billion won.

This increase in sales is due to an increased volume of biosimilar sales. According to Biogen’s 2018 results, Benepali (developed by Samsung Bioepis) sold $485.2 million in Europe, which is up 431% from the previous year. Flixabi sales increased 380% to $43.2 million, and Imraldi sold $ 16.7 million within 70 days after its launch in October of last year.