Geo-Young, Korea's largest pharmaceutical distributor, said Friday that it has signed a third-party logistics (3PL) contract with Samsung Bioepis for biosimilar drugs and started shipping the first batch.
It was the first business agreement between the two companies, which calls for Geo-Young to carry out the entire distribution process of biosimilar drugs developed by Samsung Bioepis, from warehousing to storage to shipping, the drug distributor said.
Geo-Young will distribute three biopharmaceuticals working as autoimmune disease treatments (TNF alpha inhibitor) -- Etoloce (etanercept), Remaloce (infliximab), and Adalloce (adalimumab).
According to Geo-Young, these biopharmaceuticals are sensitive to temperature and humidity, so a top-notch cold chain system is essential to prevent product damage and deterioration during transportation.
Geo-Young's Cheonan Hub Logistics Center is Korea's largest logistics base dedicated to pharmaceuticals. It has a total area of 30,000 square meters and is equipped with large-scale cold chain facilities and systems optimized for biopharmaceutical storage. Geo-Young operates refrigerated (2-8 degrees Celsius) and frozen (minus 20 degrees Celsius or below) cold chain facilities and has more than 20 Korean and foreign client companies.
According to Geo-Young, Samsung Bioepis has recognized Geo-Young's industry-leading cold chain system and the largest pharmaceutical distribution capacity in Korea.
"Our specialized distribution capabilities for biosimilars, based on our facilities at the Cheonan Logistics Center, which are among the best in Korea, have won recognition," Geo-Young CEO Cho Sun-hae said. "We will continue to do our best to support our domestic and international customers with our advanced logistics system and nationwide sales network."
Samsung Bioepis Vice President of Commercial Headquarters Park Sang-jin said, “We have started direct sales of three autoimmune disease treatments to expand treatment opportunities for domestic patients with high-quality biopharmaceuticals. We look forward to collaborating with Geo-Young, which has the best infrastructure and services in Korea's cold chain sector."
Samsung Bioepis has activated an organization exclusively responsible for domestic drug marketing, has been in talks with major drug distributors, and is starting sales of three autoimmune disease drugs this month.
The agreement will supply biosimilar products developed by Samsung Bioepis to tertiary general hospitals nationwide through Geo-Young’s Cheonan Hub Logistics Center. More than 200 shipments are expected in the first month alone, and the company plans to expand the supply volume gradually.