By PharmaCompass
2025-12-18
Impressions: 2304
The global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) market has been growing at a healthy compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9 percent, and is poised to attain a size of US$ 465.24 billion by 2032 from US$ 255.01 billion in 2025.
During the current quarter, the sector has witnessed increase in manufacturing capacities and a rapid expansion in specialized modalities. CDMOs are gearing up for higher growth. The global antibody and antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) CDMO market, for instance, was estimated at US$ 21.1 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach US$ 45.8 billion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 9.38 percent. Similarly, the peptide and oligonucleotide CDMO market was valued at US$ 2.8 billion in 2024, and is expected to grow at 12.8 percent CAGR, attaining a size of US$ 8.14 billion by 2033.
Even though cell and gene therapies (CGTs) have been facing considerable challenges in recent years, the CDMO market for CGTs is estimated to witness a very high growth rate of 27.92 percent CAGR — catapulting it from an estimated US$ 6.31 billion in 2024 to US$ 74.03 billion by 2034. According to a report by Precedence Research, the integration of artificial intelligence in CGT manufacturing is playing an important role in optimizing cell selection, predicting treatment results and analyzing large datasets that help identify potential issues.
With the world facing a growing burden of chronic diseases, and the pharmaceutical industry facing a shortage of in-house manufacturing and R&D capabilities, CDMOs in the global small-molecule market are also witnessing high growth. Currently valued at around US$ 78.01 billion, the market for small molecule CDMOs is growing at 7.14 percent CAGR and is expected to reach US$ 145.12 billion by 2034.
Some of the key players in the CDMO space include Lonza, Axplora, Mission CDMO, LGM Pharma, Veranova, EUROAPI, Evonik, Thermo Fisher, Lupin Manufacturing Solutions, Bora Pharmaceuticals, Samsung Biologics, and Syngene.
View CDMO Activity Tracker for Q4 2025 (Free Excel Available)
Lupin Manufacturing Solutions, Serán BioScience, Alcami Simtra expand capacities
CDMOs across the globe are increasing capacities. Lupin Manufacturing Solutions (LMS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Lupin Limited, commissioned a dedicated oncology Block at its Vizag (India) facility. The high-containment unit enhances LMS’ end-to-end CDMO capabilities for high potent active pharmaceutical ingredients (HPAPIs), supporting oncology programs from preclinical development through commercial manufacturing.
American CDMO Serán BioScience completed two of the three new buildings and commenced the construction of a third facility at its new 100,000-square-foot commercial manufacturing campus in Oregon (US). The campus includes a 50,000-square-foot facility dedicated to specialized packaging and supply chain operations.
Similarly, Texas-based Mission CDMO has added new large-scale equipment for the production of oral solutions and semi-solids, thereby increasing its annual capacity to 13 million liters.
New Jersey-based CDMO Simtra is expanding manufacturing operations in both the US and Germany. In Halle/Westfalen, Germany, Simtra commissioned a conjugation and purification suite and inaugurated a new building equipped with two high-speed isolator lines for syringes and vials. And American CDMO Alcami Corporation has expanded its laboratory services at its Creekstone Drive facility in Durham, North Carolina.
View CDMO Activity Tracker for Q4 2025 (Free Excel Available)
Cambrex, Axplora, Hovione expand operations; India’s Syngene upgrades its sites
In other capacity expansion news, US-based CDMO Cambrex has announced a US$ 120 million investment to expand its manufacturing operations in the US. The investment increases the large-scale manufacturing capacity at its Charles City, Iowa site, by 40 percent, taking total capacity close to one million liters.
European CDMO Axplora has stated that total investments initiated across its global network in 2025 will exceed €100 million (US$ 117 million). This includes €60 million (US$ 70.4 million) allocated to the ongoing expansion of its Mourenx (France) site, along with €35 million (US$ 41 million) at its Gropello (Italy) facility and €8.5 million (US$ 9.9 million) at its Vizag (India) site, both announced earlier in the year. In addition, Axplora has expanded its ADC manufacturing capabilities at its Le Mans (France) site.
India-based Syngene International has announced site upgrades aimed at accelerating drug discovery and development timelines for its clients. The investments include a dedicated peptide laboratory at its Bengaluru site and the introduction of advanced automation across drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics and direct-to-biology workflows in Hyderabad.
Portugal-headquartered Hovione has completed an initial US$ 100 million investment cycle to expand its manufacturing site in East Windsor, New Jersey. The expansion supports Hovione’s strategy to grow its US operations and strengthen its integrated capabilities across drug substance, drug product intermediates, and finished drug products.
View CDMO Activity Tracker for Q4 2025 (Free Excel Available)
Lonza buys microbial testing firm, launches two products for manufacturing CGTs
Swiss CDMO Lonza has launched two products — TheraPEAK AmpliCell Cytokines and TheraPEAK 293-GT Medium —to expand its GMP-grade solutions for CGT manufacturing. TheraPEAK products are used in FDA-approved therapies and over 130 clinical trials globally. The expanded portfolio provides scalable, regulatory-ready solutions to support workflows from discovery through clinical development.
Lonza has also signed an agreement to acquire Redberry SAS, a France-based microbial testing technology company. The acquisition adds Redberry’s Red One rapid microbial detection platform to Lonza’s portfolio.
Separately, Oxford Biomedica has signed and closed an asset purchase agreement to acquire a custom-built viral vector manufacturing facility for CGTs in North Carolina (US) from RTP Operating, LLC, a subsidiary of National Resilience Holdco. OXB paid £3.4 million (US$ 4.5 million) for the assets.
View CDMO Activity Tracker for Q4 2025 (Free Excel Available)
Bora partners Corealis for oral drugs; Piramal, IntoCell join hands for bioconjugates
Bora Pharmaceuticals and Corealis Pharma have entered into a strategic alliance to provide end-to-end services for oral soild dose (OSD) development and manufacturing. The collaboration offers a scalable pathway from early development to commercial production for pharmaceutical and biotech companies.Piramal Pharma Solutions has signed a non-exclusive and non-binding MoU with IntoCell. The collaboration combines IntoCell’s proprietary drug-linker technologies with Piramal’s experience in developing and manufacturing ADCs through its ADCelerate platform.
In other deals, UK-based eXmoor Pharma has entered into two collaborations to support the development of CGTs. The first is with University College London’s Translational Research Office, while the second is with Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust’s Cell and Vector Innovation Centre.
View CDMO Activity Tracker for Q4 2025 (Free Excel Available)
Our view
The current spate of investments underscores how the CDMO sector is emerging as a capability-driven ecosystem. While incremental capacity additions continue across small molecules and OSD forms, the sharper strategic focus is clearly on high-growth, high-complexity areas such as ADCs, CGTs, peptides and oligonucleotides.
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Image Credit : GLOBAL CDMOs SCALE UP PRODUCTION CAPACITY by PharmaCompass license under CC BY 2.0
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