Swiss President Alain Berset invited to South Korea for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics kicking off on Friday stopped by Samsung Biologics Co. in search of business ties and opportunities with the company that has emerged as the world’s biggest contract manufacturing organization (CMO) of bioengineering drugs in terms of capacity.

Samsung Biologics said on Thursday the Swiss president and others toured its headquarters building and manufacturing sites in Songdo-dong, Incheon.

Berset expressed awe over the company’s staggering rise and called for greater ties between Samsung Biologics and Swiss pharmaceutical firms.

Switzerland is home to world’s leading biopharmaceutical names like Roche and Novartis.

Officials from the Korean sales unit of Roche were also among the visitors. The two biopharmaceutical companies have maintained a close relationship after signing a CMO deal in 2013.

Samsung Biologics, the biopharmaceutical arm of Samsung Group, expected the president’s visit would help to deepen cooperation with Swiss firms especially in research and development of new drugs for Alzheimer’s disease.

By Shin Chan-ok and Lee Ha-yeon

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