Specialized Manufacturing Capability Emerges as the New Competitive Advantage in the $23.2 Billion Global Biologics CDMO Market, Finds Alira Health

July 22, 2026

Alira Health, a global healthcare consultancy, today released the 2026 Biologics Contract Manufacturing Report, its annual analysis of the global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) market. The report finds that the global biologics CDMO market grew to $23.2 billion in 2025, and competitive advantage is increasingly shifting from manufacturing scale to specialized capabilities supporting next-generation biologics.

Manufacturing capacity alone is no longer enough to create lasting competitive advantage. As biologic therapies become more complex, sponsors increasingly value partners with specialized technical expertise, regulatory excellence, and proven commercial manufacturing capabilities. This year's report reflects a market where differentiation is increasingly driven by capability rather than scale."

Filippo PendinPartner, Transaction Advisory Services, Alira Health

The 2026 report examines how biologics outsourcing continues to evolve as sponsors seek manufacturing partners with differentiated expertise, regulatory sophistication, and modality-specific capabilities. The report analyzes global market dynamics, investment trends, M&A activity, and manufacturing capacity across protein biologics, vaccines, and advanced therapies.

Developed through proprietary research, the report provides a comprehensive view of the evolving CDMO landscape and highlights how manufacturers are adapting to increasing demand for complex production platforms, specialized infrastructure, and commercial-scale expertise.

Key findings from the 2026 report:

• Market growth is increasingly concentrated among industry leaders. The ten largest CDMOs now account for 55 percent of total market value, reflecting increasing sponsor preference for experienced, globally scaled manufacturing partners.
• Specialized manufacturing capabilities are becoming the primary source of competitive advantage. Fewer than 15 CDMOs worldwide currently offer commercial-scale GLP-1 peptide manufacturing, while commercial-scale capacity for adeno-associated virus gene therapies remains similarly concentrated, a scarcity that gives these CDMOs strong pricing power, with sponsors often accepting higher costs for secure, timely supply.
• Capital investment and M&A are increasingly targeting differentiated capabilities rather than additional capacity. M&A activity rebounded to 29 transactions in 2025, with manufacturing capability central to nearly 80 percent of deals, including investments focused on advanced biologics platforms and specialized production technologies.
• Manufacturing investment continues to favor the United States. More than 84 percent of the $13.3 billion in disclosed manufacturing investment was directed to US facilities, driven by reshoring initiatives, supply chain resilience, and policy developments, including the BIOSECURE Act.

"Manufacturing capacity alone is no longer enough to create lasting competitive advantage," said Filippo Pendin, Partner, Transaction Advisory Services. "As biologic therapies become more complex, sponsors increasingly value partners with specialized technical expertise, regulatory excellence, and proven commercial manufacturing capabilities. This year's report reflects a market where differentiation is increasingly driven by capability rather than scale."