21/09/2026
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Peptides. Geopolitics. Consolidation. Complex modalities.
These are not isolated trends.
Together, they are fundamentally changing how pharma and biotech companies select manufacturing partners and how CDMOs need to position themselves for the future.
Elyas view:
"The winners of the next decade will not necessarily be the biggest CDMOs. They will be the most strategically relevant."
Four shifts stand out:
1. Peptides are becoming a strategic capacity game.
The rapid growth of metabolic therapies has accelerated demand for peptide development and manufacturing.
Capacity, technical expertise and speed to scale are becoming competitive advantages in their own right.
2. Consolidation is changing the outsourcing model.
Pharma companies increasingly want fewer interfaces, stronger partnerships and broader capabilities.
For mid-sized CDMOs, the critical question is becoming:
What is our right to win?
Scale? Specialization? Technology? Speed? Geography?
3. Geopolitics has entered the boardroom.
Manufacturing decisions are no longer driven by cost and efficiency alone.
Supply-chain resilience, regional diversification and security of supply are becoming strategic priorities.
4. Complex modalities reward specialization.
Peptides, ADCs and advanced biologics require capabilities that many biotech companies will not build internally.
The CDMO is therefore evolving from supplier to strategic partner.
That changes the competitive equation.
The key question for CEOs, boards and investors is no longer simply:
“Where should we add capacity?”
It is:
“Which business model will still be differentiated five years from now?”
The CDMO market will likely create very different winners:
- Global integrated platforms
- Specialized category leaders
- Technology-driven CDMOs
- Regional champions
- Consolidation platforms
The great CDMO reset has already begun.
For leadership teams and investors, the question is:
Where do we want to play and what gives us the right to win?