The COVID-19 pandemic catalyzed changes to the biopharma manufacturing landscape, with agility, innovation, and resilience becoming necessary prerequisites. And digital transformation, single-use technologies, and strategic partnerships were driving contract manufacturing that soared. Demand is rebounding, but regulatory changes and automation are reshaping the industry. Welcome to the future, where the nature of demand is shifting, the global market is changing fast, and new, efficient solutions are going to be the stars of the show.
The COVID-19 pandemic was a wake-up call for the biopharma industry to rethink how life-saving therapies are designed and delivered. Contract manufacturing quickly became a vital solution that enabled companies to scale volume in some of the shortest times possible. However, that was not the only change. The pandemic ultimately changed supply chain strategies, changed international collaboration, and sped up the use of next-generation technologies. Today, in the biopharma contract manufacturing world, outsourcing manufacturing is only the start; success is largely predicated on innovation, flexibility, and resilience. Many companies are leading the industry forward as it evolves in terms of automation, digitalization, and advances in adopting and modelling flexible manufacturing. What does this mean for the future of biopharma manufacturing? These are the emerging trends that are defining this.
post-COVID biopharma manufacturing
Forecasts for CDMO and CMO growth:
Contract Development and Manufacturing Organizations (CDMOs) and Contract Manufacturing Organizations (CMOs) have grown significantly in 2024, with an average growth rate of 13.8%. According to BioPlan Associates’ annual report, this growth reflects a return to the stable long-term trends seen over the past 20 years.
• Demand Variability for CDMO Services for Large Molecules
Over the last number of years, CDMO services for large molecules have seen significant variability. Much of this variability has reflected changes in demand related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Temporary demand volatility notwithstanding, the longer-term trend in outsourced manufacturing continues to be robustly positive, which indicates the sectors ongoing dependence on external manufacturing capacity.
A more detailed analysis of actual sales growth in bioprocessing sectors from 2007 to 2024 provides historical context and real-time signals for predicting changes in demand in biopharmaceutical manufacturing. The usage of consumables and raw material line markets, such as spent cell culture media and single-use system (SUS) devices, provides sequential indicators of the sector’s health.
• Raw Materials and Consumables Recovery from COVID-19
The Raw Materials and Consumables segment was prone to significant volatility during the pandemic. Once suppliers experienced double-digit growth in volume, the double-digit declines followed in the subsequent years. For example, BioPlan research in 2023 reported, on average, a 18% decline in device volume for SUS and other suppliers. Further research in 2024 showed that these suppliers expect an increase of 28% in volume with expected growth by mid-2025. The rebound closely tracks overall growth in the biopharma industry, similar to large molecule contract manufacturing growth.
Read more: https://www.pharmafocuseurope.com/biopharma/contract-manufacturing-in-biopharma-evolving
