Originally seen as occasional service providers for the pharma industry, contract development and manufacturing organisations (CDMOs) have become vital strategic partners. Helping pharma and biotech companies advance their therapies through their outsourced services, CDMOs have demonstrated their ability to respond to the industry’s shifting priorities as well as its pre- and post-COVID ups and downs. Here is a look at some of the top players dominating the global CDMO market today.
Lonza Group
Basel, Switzerland-based Lonza, reporting sales of CHF 6.7 billion in 2023, is one of the dominant forces in the global CDMO market and as such has not stopped expanding its manufacturing capabilities. Having recently secured a USD 38.6 million grant for its UK biologics site in Thames Valley Park, the Swiss giant is preparing to open a new large-scale mammalian drug substance and active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) plant and a large-scale commercial drug product facility, both in Switzerland. Earlier this year, Lonza also acquired Roche’s US commercial biologics manufacturing site for USD 1.2 Billion.
Thermo Fisher Scientific
The US CDMO based in Waltham, MA, Thermo Fisher Scientific, is another big name in contract development and manufacturing. With revenues of USD 42.86 billion in 2023, Thermo Fisher has bet on acquisitions to expand its capacity, recently taking over Olink Holding, a Sweden-based provider of next-generation protein analysers, antibody tests and research services. The firm has also increased its global capacity this year through a new sterile drug facility in Singapore, a new ultra-cold facility in the EU and a new building at its Middleton, Wisconsin campus.
Catalent
Another US company, Catalent, which generated nearly USD 4.3 billion in revenue in its 2023 fiscal year, remains at the top of the CDMO list. But there are major changes afoot for Catalent, after a merger agreement with Nova Holdings in February. Catalent is set to become a private company and sell three of its facilities to Nova Holdings’ sister company Novo Nordisk. The acquisition is due to take effect at the end of 2024.
WuXi Biologics
WuXi Biologics, spun off from WuXi AppTec in 2017, is a top actor in the CDMO sector despite being pinpointed last year by the US Biosecure Act, a proposal aimed at restricting the US activities of “foreign adversary biotechs.” Despite an initial slide in the Chinese CDMO’s share, the company’s 2023 reported revenues were up 12 percent from 2022. It remains to be seen if the Biosecure Act will become a law and how much it will impact the company going forward.
Samsung Biologics
South Korea’s Samsung Biologics has steadily forged a spot for itself among the world’s leading CDMOs as it continues to build partnerships, expanded its capacity, and strategically diversify. In 2023 Samsung’s consolidated revenues reached KRW 3.69 trillion, reflecting a 23.1 percent increase from the previous year. In recent production deals, the Korean giant has expanded its ongoing partnership with UCB, upgraded its manufacturing pact with Baxter Healthcare, worth more than USD 223 million, and inked a deal with an unnamed US drugmaker worth USD 1.05 billion. And Samsung continues to have big plans. “Looking forward, we will continue to increase headcount, including at our US R&D centre, expand our footprint in the US and Europe more generally, and develop our portfolio offerings across monoclonal antibodies, mRNA, and cell and gene therapies,” said CEO John Rim in a PharmaBoardroom interview.
Siegfried
Swiss CDMO Siegfried has been holding its own among the world’s foremost CDMOS. With 12 sites on three continents, the company reported 2023 sales of CHF 1.272 billion and has been implementing a growth strategy, building its global manufacturing network through acquisitions and construction. Sigfried has recently acquired an early-phase development and manufacturing CDMO in the US from Curia Global, which is set to become its stateside hub. Meanwhile the firm continues to build its new global development centre for drug substances in Evionnaz, Switzerland, and a new large-scale production plant in Minden, Germany for viral vectors due in 2025.
Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies
Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies, a subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate Fujifilm Corporation, remains a top contender in the global CDMO market following a few recent strategy shifts. After choosing a new CEO and revealing a revised business structure last year, Fujifilm Diosynth retains a revenue goal of USD 1.4 billion in annual sales by the end of the 2025 fiscal year. The company has also announced that it is in the process of increasing its capacity by more than five times through a commitment of up to USD 7 billion towards manufacturing capability across Europe and United States.
Recipharm
Swedish CDMO Recipharm holds its position as a preeminent CDMO after a major strategy shift. Traditionally operating in the small molecule and transactional CDMO service space, Recipharm has this year divested seven manufacturing and development facilities to Blue Wolf Capital Partners and spun-out Bespak, a drug-device combination products and drug delivery devices business, to, the company claims, hone in its focus on “oral solid dosage activity on New Chemical Entities (NCEs), medium to high potency and on-patent drugs.” Recipharm reported EUR 1,321 million in revenues in 2023.
Boehringer Ingelheim
The BioXcellence arm of the German biopharma firm active in human and animal health may be the lesser known of the activities that saw the group reach net sales of USD 27.7 billion in 2023, but it is an area the firm has not ceased to invest in. After expanding its facility in Shanghai, China, Boehringer announced it would make some EUR 7 billion in investments through 2025, including the expansion of its production network across the globe and earlier this year, the company began construction on a new EUR 85 million facility at its Ingelheim headquarters.
MilliporeSigma
The Burlington, Massachusetts-based CDMO division of Merck KGaA remains an important actor despite the unit’s revenue drop from EUR 943 million in 2022 to EUR 792 million in 2023. This year Merck KGaA and Millipore have announced plans to invest USD 326 million in a new biologics plant in Daejeon, South Korea, while MilliporeSigma has also looked to boost its gene therapy manufacturing capacity with the USD 600 million acquisition of Mirus Bio.
This list does not represent a company ranking and is solely intended for informational purposes.
