CPHI Milan Report: CMOs and hybrid companies will hold 54% of biologics capacity in 2028

CMOs will account for four of the five biggest capacity holders in 2028, with 45% of all CMO capacity in Asia

The world’s largest pharma event, CPHI Milan, is set to open at Fiera Milano from October 8- 10, 2024, with 62,000 executives expected to attend, as the CPHI Annual Report predicts that CMOs and ‘hybrid companies’—those with both their own pipelines and contract services to utilize spare capacity—will account for over half of global biologics capacity within the next three years.

This is a dramatic shift from current [2024] global totals where inhouse controlled capacity is presently nearly 60%, with CMOs 28%, and hybrids 15%. The report identifies that CMO capacity is rising fastest and will account for 40% by 2028, with 45% of this located within Asia. This suggests that, while there will be available capacity for new clinical products entering development, it may not be as easily accessible in the United States – with Europe and Asia combined accounting for around three quarters of all available CMO resources in 2028.

CPHI Milan will see more than 600 CDMO/CMOs exhibiting and BioProduction is one of the event’s fastest growing areas. Tara Dougal, Brand & Content Director – Pharma at Informa, commented: “Our Bioproduction Zone at CPHI Milan mirrors these findings. We are seeing a rapid increase in the numbers of bio CDMOs at our event, and we expect this be one of the fastest areas of growth in the next few years. Particularly notable [in the report] is the rising capacity in Asia and among newer CDMOs. Many attendees visit specifically to start building their networks with these new partners.”

Analysis was provided by CPHI expert – Dawn Ecker, Managing Director of bioTRAK Database Services at BDO. Ecker’s analysis shows that over the last two decades overall capacity has expanded rapidly from nearly 600kL in 2000 to just over 6,700kL today and capacity is projected to increase to nearly 9,000 kL by 2028. Significantly and, for the first time, CMOs will boast four of the top five capacities in 2028, with Lonza [1], Samsung [2], FujiFilm Diosynth Biotechnologies [3], and WuXi Biologics in fourth [see table 1] controlling a massive 34% of capacity between them. In fact, by 2028 CMOs will hold nearly 60% of the capacity within the top ten capacity holders.

Dougal added: “The era of CMO production dominance is clearly arriving and is much needed, with many smaller companies now developing new biologics – especially Mabs. This is significant for CPHI, where we see many more biotechs and early-stage companies now attending to find suitable capacity – particularly for small production runs where they are more likely to partner with one of the hundreds of smaller CDMO partners. Helping find these ‘perfect fits’ is vital, and CPHI Milan is integral as a platform for meeting many different vendors, customers and bioprocessing firms in one convenient location.”

CPHI Milan will host a number of important bio sessions and seminars, including a panel on ‘Global Trends in Bio-Manufacturing’, as well insights on ‘Optimising Biologics Production with Single-Use Technologies’ and lower production costs with ‘cell line development’ and ‘continuous bioprocessing’.

For more information on the CPHI Annual Report findings and to download copy, please visit: https://www.cphi-online.com/46/resourcefile/15/13/54/CPHI_Annual_Report-2024-Final.pdf