CDMO partnerships are great when they are successful, but what happens when they falter? The complexity of modern outsourcing partnerships means that failure is often costly, with consequences that can ripple across timelines, budgets, and reputations.

Indian CDMO, Shilpa Medicare, has launched a 'hybrid' CDMO model at DCAT 2025. Focusing on oncology, the company will begin to offer both traditional CDMO services and ready-to-license novel formulations, allowing clients to leverage Shilpa's expertise without development risks or delays.

German CDMO, Adragos Pharma, has announced plans to strengthen its presence in Japan by expanding the production capacity of its Kawagoe facility, acquired from Sanofi in 2023. The company plans to increase solid dosage production to one billion tablets, with further investment to reach a two-billion-tablet capacity.

Minneapolis-based drug development company, Humanetics Corporation, with funding support from the U.S. Department of Defense, has engaged Lifecore Biomedical to provide CDMO services for BIO 300, a novel radioprotective agent aimed at preventing acute radiation syndrome.

Korean CDMO, ENCell, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Japan's Cell Resources Corporation (CRC) to expand its presence in the Japanese cell and gene therapy market.

German CDMO, Vetter, has finalized the third expansion phase of its Center for Visual Inspection and Logistics in Ravensburg, Germany, enhancing its capacity for quality control, storage, and logistics for pharmaceutical companies. The updated facility now includes increased storage capabilities for both refrigerated and room-temperature pharmaceuticals, advanced visual inspection systems, and improved logistics processes.

Indian CRDMO, Syngene International has inaugurated its first U.S.-based manufacturing facility in Rockville, Maryland. The 17,000 square-foot cGMP-certified site will strengthen the company’s CDMO capabilities, and focus on biologics manufacturing, including monoclonal antibodies and recombinant proteins for both clinical and commercial-scale production.

Full-service CDMO, CordenPharma, and clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, Viking Therapeutics, have entered a multi-year strategic partnership to support the development and commercialization of Viking's GLP-1 drug candidate, VK2735.

Synthetic biology company, Asimov, and Korean manufacturer, Lotte Biologics, have formed a partnership to streamline the transition from cell line development to large-scale GMP production. This collaboration integrates Asimov's CHO Edge platform - known for generating high-titer, stable cell lines - with Lotte Biologics' extensive manufacturing capabilities.

Florida-based CDMO, GBI Biomanufacturing (GBI), has announced the appointment of Sven Lee to its board of directors. Mr. Lee brings decades of global experience in the biologics CDMO sector, having held executive and board positions at companies such as Abzena, Catalent, and Biocina, with expertise encompassing strategic growth, marketing, commercialization, licensing, and innovation in drug development.

API small molecule and antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) manufacturing company, Axplora, has expanded its Le Mans, France, facility with a cutting-edge payload manufacturing workshop. This expansion is part of the France 2030 program to increase commercial revenue by supplying 40% of the world's marketed ADCs and 50-percent of FDA-approved ADCs.

Northern Ireland-based CDMO, Almac Group, has unveiled a USD 83.7mn investment in a 100,000 sq. ft manufacturing facility at its Craigavon headquarters to produce oral treatments across various therapeutic areas that will feature advanced production suites equipped with the latest pharmaceutical manufacturing technology.

German CDMO, Aenova, has announced a USD 22mn investment to upgrade its Bad Aibling, Germany, site. Capacity for its blister packaging lines has been increased to 220 million blisters, annually, whilst a new strip packaging line increased effervescent output to 420 million tablets a year.

Medical technology company, Terumo, has announced that it has received Medical Device Regulation (MDR) approval for an expanded indication of its Ultimaster Nagomi™ and Ultimaster™ Tansei™ stent systems.

Biopharma companies are increasingly dependent on CDMOs to streamline production, enhance efficiency, and accelerate drug development. As therapies become more complex and regulatory demands grow, the ability to outsource manufacturing to a trusted partner has never been more essential.

Catalent has appointed Susan Mahony (formerly of Eli Lilly), Marie-France Tschudin (ex-Novartis executive), and Tim Walbert (CEO of Horizon Therapeutics) to its Board of Directors as the company looks to strengthen its position as an independent CDMO under Novo Holdings' ownership.

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has filed a lawsuit against Samsung Bioepis, alleging a breach of their 2023 agreement concerning the launch of Pyzchiva, a biosimilar to J&J's Stelara. The dispute centers on Samsung's attempt to sublicense Pyzchiva to a private-label distributor, a move J&J contends violates their settlement terms.

Eli Lilly is committing USD 27 bn to build four new manufacturing plants in the United States, to increase domestic production of active pharmaceutical ingredients and injectable therapies.

Merck expects its leading cancer drug, Keytruda, to be included in government price negotiations under the IRA starting in 2026 as its U.S. patent expires at the end of 2028. In 2024, Keytruda accounted for 46% of Merck’s total sales, and Merck’s CEO has expressed that price-setting via Medicare could limit the development of new therapies.

Advanced drug discovery and development biotech, Eikon Therapeutics, has announced the initial closing of a USD 350 mn Series D funding round, bringing Eikon's total private funding since its 2019 founding to over USD 1.1 bn.