Samsung BioLogics Co., a medicine-producing subsidiary of South Korea's Samsung Group, on Friday applied for preliminary approval for its planned initial public offering, the local bourse announced.

The Korea Exchange is required to inform Samsung BioLogics of the results of a related panel's review within the coming 45 business days, officials said.


If it's approved, the company will begin the formal process for the IPO reportedly valued at around 3 trillion won ($2.7 billion).

Samsung BioLogics is a contract manufacturer of biologic drugs, made from living cells, for global pharmaceutical firms. It's 51 percent owned by Samsung Group's de-facto holding company Samsung C&T Corp. and 46.8 percent controlled by Samsung Electronics Co., a global tech giant. 

Samsung BioLogics owns 91 percent of Samsung Bioepis Co., which develops copies of biotech drugs that are often called biosimilars.

The company is seeking to be listed on the main Korea Composite Stock Price Index market within this year.

"It's hard to say whether the firm will easily receive approval for the application. It's a call by the committee," Joo Hyun-joo, a Korea Exchange official said. "If it's judged qualified, it will be technically able to finish the listing process within six months."

If so, Samsung BioLogics will become the first drugmaker to be listed on South Korea's main stock board in a decade.

It posted 1.9 trillion won in net profits in 2015, according to its separate financial statement. (Yonhap)