Samsung Biologics Shares Spiked After Moderna Vaccine Deal

On Monday, May 24, Samsung Biologics shares spiked. This was a result of an announcement of its partnership with Moderna. The company will help manufacture the mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccine at its facility in Incheon, South Korea.

Moderna Inc. is a biotechnology company that is a pioneer in producing messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Samsung Biologics is a biotech division of the Samsung Group. It is the leading global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) from South Korea.

Under the treaty, the Korean biotech unit will be providing the U.S. drugmaker with contract manufacturing organization services for its mRNA coronavirus vaccine. Therefore, some Moderna vaccines will be produced in South Korea.

The facility of Samsung BioLogics in Incheon utilizes a state-of-the-art manufacturing line furnished for aseptic fill-finish, labeling, and packaging services. This aims to aid the production of million doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine. Hence those will go in the markets outside of the United States at the start of this year’s third quarter.

As of today, Samsung BioLogics’ shares rosed 0.70% at ₩867,000 or $769.13.

South Korean President Moon Jae-In pledged his administration’s support for the vaccine developer and manufacturers upon mentioning the nation’s objective as an emerging global coronavirus vaccine production hub.

President Moon specified that he and U.S. President Joe Biden decided to build a comprehensive worldwide vaccine alliance between the allies during their summit meeting the previous day. Moreover, he added that this partnership is to help merge the original technologies of the United States and the drug production ability of South Korea.

The deal will develop a stable and rapid supply of the Moderna vaccine in the South Korean peninsula.

Other COVID-19 Vaccines Manufactures’ Stock Prices

Meanwhile, Moderna’s stock price as of May 21, Friday, closed down 2.72% at $161.45.

AstraZeneca is a British-Swedish pharmaceutical and biotechnology company. Its stock price boosted 0.04% at $115.64 on Friday’s close.

Novavax, Inc. is an American biotech company and vaccines developer for infectious diseases based in Gaithersburg, Maryland. It crashed its stock price on Friday by 2.31% at $143.01.

American pharmaceutical companies and coronavirus vaccine developers Pfizer Inc., Merck & Co., Inc., and Johnson & Johnson’s stocks all fell by 0.41% at $39.95, 0.60% at $79.18, and 0.01% at $170.96, respectively.

Germany’s biotechnology company which produces active immunotherapies, BioNtech SE’s stocks also collapsed 3.94% at $195.69 on Friday market closed.

Lastly, the French multinational pharmaceutical company Sanofi SA’s stock price spiked 0.15% at $107.47.