Lee Jae-sun, right, vice president of Samsung Biologics, speaks during the Bio Knowledge Concert event held online, to explain the company's S-DUAL bispecific antibody platform, Thursday. Courtesy of Samsung Biologics

By Baek Byung-yeul

Samsung Biologics launched S-DUAL, a bispecific antibody platform developed with its own technology, with an aim to improve its capability in the contract-based drug development business, the company said Thursday.

Bispecific antibodies act on two factors simultaneously, not just one factor, which is more effective than a monospecific antibody that acts on only one factor.

Samsung Biologics said its S-DUAL platform is a high-yield bispecific antibody platform with a 99 percent chain-paring success rate. The platform has a unique asymmetrical structure that can reduce risks associated with chemicals.

The company completed a patent application for its own bispecific antibody technology. The self-developed platform can be applied to various next-generation drugs such as multi-specific antibodies.

"We attended the BioProcess International Conference and Exhibition, a bispecific antibody society held in Boston, in September to introduce our S-DUAL platform," Lee Jae-sun, vice president of the company, said during a Bio Knowledge Concert event held online. "The platform was recognized for its innovation by the officials of the academy."

Samsung Biologics said it launched the bispecific antibody platform recognizing its great growth potential. With the platform, Samsung expects that it can improve its competitiveness by providing end-to-end drug development and manufacturing services to its customer companies.

Market tracker EvaluatePharma estimates the bispecific antibody market to grow 32 percent a year to reach $19 billion in 2027 from around $4 billion in 2021. Given the bispecific antibody platform is able to bind two different targets in one form, global biopharmaceutical companies are scrambling to develop bispecific antibody drugs.

To further improve its capability, Samsung Biologics also recently introduced its Developick platform, a service that selects candidate materials for new drugs.

"Samsung Biologics expects to expand its CDMO sales and business portfolio through its own bispecific antibody platform," John Rim, CEO of Samsung Biologics, said in a statement.