What are “3 Key Trends” shaping the CDMO industry in 2024 and beyond? Will Powers, senior director of business development for Singota Solutions, a Bloomington, IN, CDMO with global supply chain capabilities, shares his thoughts with Contract Pharma.

Pricing
Pressure on the pharmaceutical industry to reduce prices to patients will continue to trickle down to the CDMO’s in the form of demands to reduce their pricing. The needs for better, faster, cheaper will require continuous process improvement, cost reduction programs, technology advancements, and associated investments. Footing this investment will not be insignificant, and ROI calculations will be examined carefully.

Sustainability
Big pharma will step up influence on CDMO’s to become active and publicly committed participants in sustainability efforts, including committing to targeted levels aligning with global warming initiatives. This will require effort and resources being applied to establish and begin tracking various metrics on emissions, transportation footprint, use of renewable power, and waste management. With those measures in place, facilities engineering, and other associated personnel will be required to implement the improvements necessary to meet the targets. ROI’s for these initiatives will be scrutinized carefully- who pays? CDMO’s will also need to set up ongoing programs to work with their suppliers to do the same.

AI
CDMO’s will be looking to artificial intelligence (AI) as a possible resource and technique to help with their operational and technical challenges. They will evaluate AI’s capabilities to improve their performance and their services to their clients. The key will be in how to best apply AI to achieve these benefits. Identifying personnel that can comprehend and apply AI to their operations will be key.