Top Biopharmaceutical CMO & CRO Companies

Biopharmaceutical CMO & CRO Market size was valued at USD 34.31 Billion in 2024 and is poised to grow from USD 36.34 Billion in 2025 to USD 57.48 Billion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 5.9% during the forecast period (2026–2033).

Because of the presence of a significant number of established as well as medium- to small-sized CMOs and CROs, the market is fragmented. Several market players are privately held or are part of the portfolios of private equity companies. CMOs are incorporating automation and cutting-edge technology into their factories to boost project productivity and product quality. This has fueled big molecule producers' interest in CMOs to address the increased demand for biologics. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc.; PRA Health Sciences; ICON plc. Pharmaceutical Product Development, LLC; LabCorp; and Parexel International Corporation are engaged in offering contract research services for large molecule production. Market players focus on various business strategies including mergers, acquisitions, product launches, etc. For instance, in December 2021, Discovery Life Sciences completed and announced the acquisition of In Vitro ADMET Laboratories (IVAL). With this move, the company aims to expand its skilled workforce allowing them to competently cater to the rising outsourcing of research activities. Cerba HealthCare made a public statement in December 2021 on its acquisition of the Viroclinics-DDL company. With this, it has joined the CRO industry, with a focus on precision medicine for auto-immune illnesses. Lonza issued a news statement in November 2021 announcing the acquisition of the Exosomics Service Unit. This will increase its future potential to generate and manufacture exosomes. 'Lonza Group (Switzerland) ', 'Thermo Fisher Scientific (United States) ', 'Catalent (United States) ', 'WuXi Biologics (China) ', 'Samsung Biologics (South Korea) ', 'IQVIA (United States) ', 'Syneos Health (United States) ', 'ICON Plc (Ireland) ', 'Medpace Holdings (United States) ', 'Charles River Laboratories (United States) ', 'PPD (United States) ', 'Labcorp Drug Development (United States) ', 'Parexel International (United States) ', 'PRA Health Sciences (United States) ', 'BioNTech SE (Germany) ', 'Moderna, Inc. (United States) ', 'Gilead Sciences (United States) ', 'Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (United States) ', 'Vertex Pharmaceuticals (United States) ', 'Amgen Inc. (United States) '

In recent years, the biopharmaceutical business has seen a significant number of consolidations. The biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing and service industries aspire to expand their operations and remain competitive through these mergers. New medicines, new bioprocessing processes, and a significant shift in the bio/pharmaceutical market in terms of commodities are likely to put more pressure on contract bio producers. Alternative business models are increasingly being established as a result of these concerns in order to suit the demands of their diverse stakeholders and consumers. Given these factors, the biopharmaceutical CMO and CRO market is projected to expand rapidly in the near future. The introduction of single-use systems in these production facilities is projected to boost the market, increasing manufacturing capacity. This is predicted to provide new chances for growth in the worldwide market throughout the forecast period.

New Product Development to Positively Impact the Market: The key participants in the biopharmaceutical CMO and CRO businesses are using novel growth strategies. Expanding R&D activity and investment in R&D is one of the most essential approaches to enhance market growth. Other growth strategies include geographical expansions, new product development, collaboration with other industry players, distribution network expansion, and mergers and acquisitions to get a competitive edge in the global market. Lonza and Moderna will collaborate on commercial manufacture of the COVID-19 vaccine over a ten-year period. These discoveries compensated for some clinical trial delays in the first half of 2020. The contract manufacturing organisation business is expected to show significant development potential in the near future. Given the increasing pressure on biopharmaceutical businesses' short-term revenues and profit margins as a result of deteriorating R&D efficiency and growing development costs, this has created appealing prospects for CMOs and CROs to accelerate their commercial operations.

North America had the greatest revenue share in 2021, accounting for almost 35% of overall sales. This might be attributed to the fact that there are several local service providers in the region. CMOs are in charge of producing a sizable portion of the authorised goods marketed in the United States. The creation of a number of small and mid-sized biopharmaceutical businesses (SMEs) that lack the capabilities and funds to build well-equipped facilities is troublesome. As a result, CMOs and SMEs in the United States have become increasingly dependent on one another, resulting in the United States market becoming the most dominating internationally.