Samsung Biologics names John Rim as new chief

By Nam Hyun-woo

Samsung Biologics CEO John Rim / Courtesy of Samsung Biologics

Samsung Biologics has appointed John Rim as its new president and CEO, embracing the second-generation leadership of its contract drug manufacturing business.

Samsung Biologics held a board meeting on Wednesday and appointed the Korean American as its new head. The appointment was made effective immediately.

“In the next 10 years, we will become world's No. 1 player in the business of contract manufacturing, developing and researching,” Rim said in a statement to employees. “In the long term, we will become a global biopharmaceutical firm whose domain covers all parts of the biologic industry.”

Rim served as an executive vice president of Samsung Biologics for the past three years, and was a key figure in driving the company's recent growth. Since joining the company, he has been in charge of running the company's Plant 3 in Incheon, which currently has the world's largest biologic drug manufacturing capacity at a single site.

Before joining Samsung Biologics, Rim worked for Genentech/Roche in a variety of senior leadership roles in technical operations and R&D in the U.S. and Europe. He has over 30 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry and began his career as a management consultant with Booz, Allen & Hamilton consulting for pharmaceutical companies in the U.S. and Europe.

As CEO, Rim will continue to serve on the company's board as an inside director offering his in-depth industry experience and global background, Samsung Biologics said.

Rim's appointment came after his predecessor Kim Tae-han resigned earlier this month, after leading the company since 2011 as a founding member.

During his tenure, Samsung Biologics became one of the world-leading firms in the global biopharmaceutical market, just nine years after it was established. Currently, the company is the world's largest contract manufacturing organization with the capacity to produce 364,000 liters of biologic drugs a year. The company plans to complete its No. 4 plant, which can produce 256,000 liters of drugs, and its total production capacity will account for 30 percent of the entire global production capacity.

“I am deeply grateful and excited by the opportunity to lead Samsung Biologics into the next decade,” Rim said. “This is an extraordinary company, unparalleled in its phenomenal growth and dedication to client satisfaction, made possible by the company's unrelenting vision and passion, and business execution by great people whom I will have the privilege to lead as CEO.”