Samsung Bioepis announces 10-year SB12 supply deal for Brazil’s public health system
The company says it will supply the rare disease biosimilar from 2027 under a Brazilian program that also calls for technology transfer to local partners.
Samsung Bioepis said on 20 October 2026 that it had agreed to supply its rare disease biosimilar SB12 through Brazil’s public health system for 10 years, with deliveries planned from 2027. The agreement also calls for a phased transfer of manufacturing technology to Brazilian partners, according to The Korea Herald.
The South Korean company said the agreement was made under Brazil’s Productive Development Partnership program. Its partners are Brazilian drugmaker Bionovis and state-run laboratory Bahiafarma, according to The Korea Herald and The Korea Times. Those outlets describe the supply arrangement as exclusive; MoneyToday describes purchases under the program as exclusive or priority.
How the SB12 agreement is meant to work
Brazil’s partnership program brings international drugmakers together with local companies and public institutions to supply medicines and develop domestic manufacturing capacity. Samsung Bioepis plans to supply SB12 for distribution through the Unified Health System, known as SUS, beginning in 2027. Manufacturing technology is to be transferred to the Brazilian partners during the contract period, The Korea Herald reported.
Samsung Bioepis did not disclose the contract’s value, The Korea Herald reported. The company cited IQVIA data showing that Brazilian government spending on eculizumab, the active ingredient in SB12, exceeded 947 million reais, or about $171 million, in 2025. That figure describes spending on the medicine, rather than the value of this agreement.
Which patients could receive SB12
SB12 is a biosimilar of Soliris, an eculizumab medicine used for rare diseases. The reports identify paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, a disorder in which red blood cells break down prematurely, and atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome, which can cause blood clots and kidney damage, among the conditions it treats. Brazil’s regulator Anvisa approved SB12 for both conditions in December 2024, according to The Korea Herald.
The Korea Herald reported that SUS currently covers the original eculizumab treatment for paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria only. It was not immediately clear whether coverage would extend to atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome when SB12 supply begins.
Samsung Bioepis has previously supplied two other biosimilars through Brazil’s partnership program: SB4, an etanercept product, and SB3, a trastuzumab product. The company said cumulative shipments of those medicines had exceeded 6 million units, according to The Korea Herald and The Korea Times. SB12 would become another medicine supplied through that existing partnership program.
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Sources and context
- Samsung Bioepis secures 10-year biosimilar supply deal in BrazilThe Korea Herald
- Samsung Bioepis secures another 10-year supply deal in Brazil to expand in emerging marketsMoneyToday
- Samsung Bioepis secures 10-year exclusive drug supply deal in BrazilThe Korea Times
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.