New Delhi, July 20 -- SEOUL - Samsung Biologics announced Monday it would acquire Switzerland's PolyPeptide Group for approximately 1.46 billion Swiss francs, or about $1.8 billion, in an all-cash tender offer that would make it one of the world's most comprehensive providers of contract pharmaceutical manufacturing across both biologic and peptide therapies. The deal is the largest biopharmaceutical acquisition in South Korean history, and it is a direct move into the supply chain that manufactures the active ingredients for GLP-1 obesity and diabetes drugs, a market that has generated hundreds of billions in pharmaceutical revenue since 2023 while creating a structural shortage of manufacturing capacity.

Samsung Biologics is offering C...