Samsung Biologics is paying $1.8 billion to acquire Swiss peptide specialist PolyPeptide Group, marking the largest biopharma M&A deal in South Korean history and a bet that obesity drug demand will reshape the CDMO landscape.
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Samsung Biologics buys PolyPeptide for $1.8 billion in peptide push
Samsung Biologics launched a 1.46 billion Swiss franc ($1.8 billion) all-cash bid for PolyPeptide Group on Monday, paying a 40% premium to enter the peptide contract manufacturing market as GLP-1 obesity drug demand surges.
"This acquisition reinforces our long-term growth strategy by broadening our service portfolio with modality expansion into peptides including GLP-1, while boosting our geographic reach," said John Rim, chief executive officer of Samsung Biologics.
The offer of CHF 44.31 per share represents an 11.6% premium to the 60-day volume-weighted average price before the announcement. PolyPeptide's largest shareholder, holding about 55.65% of outstanding shares, has already agreed to tender. The deal requires a minimum acceptance threshold of 66⅔% and regulatory approvals, with completion expected by year-end.
The acquisition positions Samsung Biologics to capture a slice of the peptide manufacturing market, where global investment banks project obesity drug sales could reach $150 billion by 2035. PolyPeptide brings six GMP-certified sites across Sweden, Belgium, France, the U.S. and India, along with a track record of producing more than 1,000 therapeutic peptides since its 1996 spin-off from Ferring.
Peptide manufacturing as the next frontier
Peptide-based therapies, including GLP-1 receptor agonists used in Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and Eli Lilly's Zepbound, represent one of the fastest-growing segments in biopharma. More than 170 peptide medicines are in clinical development worldwide, with applications expanding beyond metabolic disease into oncology and neurology.
PolyPeptide operates an integrated development-to-commercial model with a modular automation approach that reduces organic solvent use in production. The company employs about 1,500 specialized staff across its global network, which includes research and development facilities in Strasbourg, France, and manufacturing plants in Torrance and San Diego, California.
Samsung Biologics, which currently operates 845,000 liters of biomanufacturing capacity across South Korea and the U.S., has focused primarily on antibody drugs and antibody-drug conjugates. The acquisition adds peptide capabilities to its multi-modality strategy, which already includes messenger RNA and ADC platforms.
Deal structure and timeline
J.P. Morgan is serving as exclusive financial adviser to Samsung Biologics, with Ernst & Young Han Young as accounting and tax adviser. O'Melveny & Myers LLP and Schellenberg Wittmer Ltd are acting as legal advisers.
The tender offer is expected to launch by the end of August following publication of the formal prospectus and will remain open for a minimum of 20 trading days on the SIX Swiss Exchange. Samsung Biologics intends to pursue a squeeze-out of any remaining minority shares and delist PolyPeptide from SIX after completion.
Samsung Biologics shares slipped 1.3% in early trading Monday in Seoul.
The last time a South Korean biopharma company pursued a cross-border deal of this scale was in 2022, when Samsung Biologics' affiliate Samsung Bioepis expanded its biosimilar pipeline through partnerships. That deal did not involve an outright acquisition of a European manufacturing network.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
[1] Samsung Biologics to acquire Switzerland's PolyPeptide Group in $1.8 billion all-cash deal[2] News by ACCESS Newswire on TradingView, 2026-07-19 - TradingView[3] Samsung Biologics announces all-cash offer to acquire PolyPeptide, accelerating multi-modality strategy and expanding global network across U.S., Europe, and India[4] Samsung Biologics buys PolyPeptide to enter peptide CDMO, expand global footprint - CHOSUNBIZ
