Marching in lockstep with fellow consumer electronics giant Fujifilm toward the prize of biosimilars spoils, Samsung has revealed it will tap Biogen Idec's ($BIIB) drug development, manufacturing and marketing skills. The announcement comes a week after Fujifilm said it had made a deal with Japan's Kyowa Hakko Kirin, capitalizing on the latter's biopharma development and manufacturing technologies.
Biogen Idec's contributions to the joint venture will be protein engineering and biologics manufacturing, in addition to $45 million for a 15% stake, reports the Boston Business Journal. Samsung will pony up $255 million for the majority stake in the venture, which is expected to be based in Korea. Samsung Biologics was formed in April.
The joint venture will not pursue biosimilars of Biogen Idec's proprietary products, according to the report.
The deal allows Biogen Idec to put its production expertise to use while sticking to its mission of "discovering, developing and delivering innovative therapies for patients worldwide," CEO George Scangos (photo) said in an announcement.
- see the announcement
- here's more from the BBJ
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