Contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs) are currently transitioning from transactional relationships to strategic risk-sharing partnerships. While catalyzing the growth of smaller and virtual pharma companies, they are also looking to develop patient-centric formulation strategies. More importantly, they are investing in manufacturing technology upgrades and embedding digital solutions throughout the workflow to deliver high value to partners. These initiatives are expected to propel the pharmaceutical CMO market for small molecules from $66.23 billion in 2018 to $102.14 billion in 2024, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.5%.

"CMOs have traditionally thrived on aggregating demand and achieving economies of scale," said Khushbu Jain, Industry Analyst, Transformational Health. "However, with the advent of personalized medicine and a shrinking patient pool, they will need to find size-agnostic levers such as supply-chain management (SCM), manufacturing network optimization, risk management/sharing, and IT."

Frost & Sullivan's recent analysis, Growth Opportunities in the Global Pharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing Organization Market (CMO), Forecast to 2024, discusses innovator and generic drugs in the United States, Western Europe, APAC, and MENASA. It analyzes the CMO market for active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and finished dosage form (FDF) manufacturing. It provides a comprehensive and critical analysis of subsectors, including generic APIs, novel APIs, HPAPIs, solid dosage forms, and injectable dosages. It also captures sponsors' outlook for outsourcing based on products and stage of drug lifecycle.

"The demand for innovative and patient-centric healthcare solutions is surging but so are pricing pressures and the stringency of regulations and environmental policies," noted Jain. "As a result, pharma sponsors are turning to CMOs as trusted strategic partners to optimize existing operations, as well as collaborate to co-innovate formulations, excipients, and APIs."

To ensure that the CMO market sustains its growth, vendors need to seize revenue opportunities by:

Adopting emerging technologies like continuous manufacturing and flexible facilities, along the contours of smart manufacturing, incorporating digital continuity and connecting data to manufacturing decisions across the value chain.

Diversifying into the biologics business and expanding capabilities in new product groups like controlled substances and HPAPIs.

Bringing the technology of smart packaging to scale affordably.

Expanding into "unconventional" regions like MENA for growth.

Growth Opportunities in the Global Pharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing Organization Market (CMO), Forecast to 2024 is part of Frost & Sullivan's global Life Sciences Growth Partnership Service program.