A survey of more than 300 biopharma leaders published in August by McKinsey delivered some good news for contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs): A majority said they expect to increase their reliance on CDMOs despite rising costs associated with their services.
While batch processing prices have risen since the pandemic and further increases are expected over the rest of this decade, the biopharma leaders concluded that their demand for outsourced services will continue to expand, especially services that increasingly depend on speed, flexibility, and specialized capabilities. Survey respondents expect the share of 2,000 liters (L) single-use bioreactor work carried out by CDMOs for both clinical and commercial supply to soon exceed 50%.
Growing customer dependence on CDMOs is reflected in a statistic published in June by Global Market Insights: The global CDMO market is projected to expand by 6.4% this year, from $173.7 billion in 2025 to $184.9 billion this year. By 2035, the market is expected to reach $342 billion, for a compound annual growth rate of 7.1%.
While access to readily available and regulatory-compliant capacity traditionally drove CDMO growth, McKinsey observed, biopharma customers are increasingly emphasizing reliability, execution, and cost competitiveness, as quality is now viewed as more of a baseline requirement than a differentiator. Quality problems can account for 15–20% of cost of goods sold, while the FDA has stepped up Form 483 violation reports by 33% last year vs. pre-COVID-19 levels. And remediation plans to address violations can cost anywhere from $10 million to $50 million.
McKinsey cited three other factors as driving CDMO decisions among customers: Growing pressure to improve operational performance and productivity, rising cost sensitivity among customers, and what McKinsey termed “surprisingly thin” loyalty to CDMOs.
“Failing to bridge the gap”
“This suggests that many CDMOs are failing to bridge the gap from physical capacity and baseline execution to the productivity needed for competitive pricing,” according to McKinsey.
Other CDMO market watchers such as Imen Jelassi, PharmD, founder and CEO of life sciences business development consultancy Corstrate, cite the ongoing reshoring of manufacturing operations by Western biopharmas wrought by the BIOSECURE Act as presenting a potential opportunity for U.S. and European CDMOs.
Below is GEN’s updated A-List of Top 10 CDMOs. The companies are ranked by 2025 revenues, as disclosed by the companies in regulatory filings or in responses to GEN’s queries. Several of the CDMOs have also furnished quarterly or half-year revenues for 2026. For the first time, GEN offers a year-over-year revenue comparison that offers another interesting insight: Eight of this year’s top 10 CDMOs recorded year-over-year revenue increases, with combined revenue of the top 10 growing to $35.116 billion in 2025, up six percent from $33.127 billion in 2024.
As with last year’s A-List, GEN also spotlights 10 “Up & Coming” CDMOs that are not yet large enough to rank within the top 10, based on recent news announcements ranging from facility openings to significant contracts (online only).
Unlike the 2025 CDMOs A-List, this year’s rankings no longer include Catalent because it no longer publicly reports its revenues—a result of the Bridgewater, NJ-based CDMO having been acquired for $16.5 billion by Novo Holdings, the asset manager of the foundation that controls Novo Nordisk, in a deal completed on December 18, 2024.
Just missing the top 10, at No. 11, is Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, whose Life Sciences business in the U.S. and Canada goes by the name MilliporeSigma. Merck KGaA/MilliporeSigma saw its CDMO revenue fall 8.7% year-over-year, to €659 million ($761 million) last year from €722 million ($834 million) in 2024. The company hopes to reverse that decline through activity in new facilities such as its €300 million ($345 million) Bioprocessing Production Center in Daejeon, South Korea, that is set to open by year’s end, and its new €25 million ($29 million) 2,000-square-meter (21,528-square-foot) BioReliance® testing facility in Darmstadt, Germany, which opened in July.
All dollar figures for 2024 revenues differ from the figures reported by GEN in last year’s A-List of Top 10 CDMOs due to currency fluctuations.
#1. Lonza Group
Basel, Switzerland
2025 Revenue: CHF 6.531 billion ($8.053 billion) 1
2024 Revenue: CHF 6.574 billion ($8.106 billion) 2
% Change: — 0.7%
Finished H1 2026 with EBITDA of CHF 1.175 billion ($1.449 billion), up 27 from CHF 922 million ($1.137 billion) in H1 2025, on revenue that grew 16% year-over-year to CHF 3.374 billion ($4.160 billion) from CHF 3.034 billion ($3.741 billion).1
Considering construction of a $1 billion plant on two parcels totaling 161 acres on land owned by Clermont County, OH, in Williamsburg Township, some 25 miles east of downtown Cincinnati. On June 29, the Ohio Tax Credit Authority approved a 1.860%, 20-year Job Creation Tax Credit for the project, which would create 650 full-time-equivalent positions. Ohio is competing for the project against Texas, North Carolina, and Virginia.
Announced an expanded strategic collaboration with an undisclosed “leading U.S.-based biopharmaceutical company.” The expansion adds two biologics programs to be produced commercially, with the option for two more, and further strengthens an established multi-year relationship, including long-term commitments across a broad portfolio of multiple biologics programs.
Disclosed plans to enhance its drug-linker center of excellence and expand payload-linker manufacturing capacity at its site in Visp, Switzerland. The expansion will establish new commercial-scale capabilities for the manufacture of highly complex and highly potent active pharmaceutical ingredients (HPAPI) and ADC payload-linkers.
#2. Thermo Fisher Scientific
Waltham, MA
2025 Revenue: $7.142 billion 3
2024 Revenue: $7 billion 4
% Change: +0.2%
Opened a new bioanalytical and biomarker laboratory in Gothenburg, Sweden, located within GoCo Health Innovation City. The new facility expands the company’s global bioanalytical and biomarker service capabilities to support pharmaceutical and biotechnology customers across all phases of drug development.
Introduced the Gibco™ CTS™ DynaXS™ Single Use Bioreactor, a purpose-built expansion platform designed to help cell therapy developers scale manufacturing with precise control, flexibility, and regulatory readiness. The bioreactor is designed to support flexible, cGMP-ready cell expansion from process development to clinical production to support the development of cell therapies.
Opened its flagship U.S. Bioprocess Design Center (BDC) at the company’s Plainville, MA, site, expanding the facility to support customers in developing and scaling biologics. The new center brings together advanced bioproduction capabilities and hands-on collaboration, with the aim of helping customers accelerate process development and bring therapies to patients faster.
#3. WuXi AppTec
Shanghai, China
2025 Revenue: RMB 45.45 billion ($6.737 billion)
2024 Revenue: RMB 39.241 billion ($5.816 billion)
% Change: +15.8%
Finished H1 2026 with adjusted non-IFRS net profit of RMB 11.57 billion ($1.715 billion), up 83.2% year-over-year, on revenue that climbed 38.9% from H1 2025, to RMB 28.90 billion ($4.284 billion). For the first time, WuXi AppTec revenue surpassed that of Lonza Group.
Obtained a preliminary injunction from U.S. District Chief Judge James Boasberg, appointed to the federal district bench in 2011 by President Barack Obama, temporarily blocking the U.S. Department of Defense from designating WuXi AppTec as a “Chinese military company.” Washington has alleged the company is indirectly owned by China’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission and indirectly affiliated with China’s State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND) and People’s Liberation Army.
Raised full-year 2026 revenue guidance to RMB 58.5 billion to RMB 60.5 billion ($8.672 billion to $8.968 billion), up 10.4% to 14% from previous guidance of RMB 51.3 billion to RMB 53.0 billion ($7.604 billion to $7.855 billion), with continuing operations revenue raised to 35% to 39% year-over-year, up from 18% to 22%.
Raised 2026 capital expenditure or “capex” guidance range to RMB 7.5 billion to RMB 8.5 billion ($1.112 billion to $1.260 billion), up 13.3% to 15.4% from RMB 6.5 billion to RMB 7.5 billion ($963.5 million to $1.112 billion) to support accelerated global capacity expansion, including initiation of a new Changzhou, China, site ahead of schedule.
#4. WuXi Biologics
Wuxi, China
2025 Revenue: RMB 21.790 billion ($3.230 billion)
2024 Revenue: RMB 18.675 billion ($2.768 billion)
% Change: +16.7%
Agreed to acquire CDMO assets in Hangzhou, China, from Transcenta Holding for RMB 190 million (approximately $28.2 million), reflecting the buyer’s pivot from physical manufacturing to developing its core biomanufacturing platforms and technologies: “The Company does not consider the provision of CDMO services a core part of its principal business,” Transcenta stated in a Hong Kong Exchange regulatory filing.
Marked the development of its 1,000th molecule on its integrated contract research, development, and marketing organization (CRDMO) platform, a trispecific antibody for ophthalmic diseases that is being developed under a partnership with Earendil Labs.
Secured FDA Pre-License Inspection (PLI) approval for its MFG8 drug substance manufacturing facility in Hebei, China, which is equipped with twelve 4,000 L single-use bioreactors and offers flexible commercial manufacturing at scales ranging from 4,000 L to 20,000 L. The facility supports commercial manufacturing for an undisclosed “potential blockbuster” autoimmune therapy.
#5. Samsung Biologics
Incheon, South Korea
2025 Revenue: KRW 4.557 trillion ($3.222 billion)
2024 Revenue: KRW 4.547 trillion ($3.215 billion)
% Change: +0.2%
Finished Q2 with consolidated operating profit of KRW 586.4 billion ($414.6 million), up 23% year-over-year, on KRW 1.321 trillion ($933.9 million) in revenue, up 30% from Q2 2025.
Launched an all-cash public tender offer to acquire PolyPeptide Group, a Baar, Switzerland-based CDMO specializing in peptide-based active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), for approximately CHF 1.46 billion ($1.803 billion). The transaction is expected to be completed toward the end of 2026.
Completed the $353 million acquisition of its first manufacturing site in the U.S., a Rockville, MD, facility, from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). The Rockville site consists of two cGMP manufacturing plants with a combined 60,000-liter drug substance capacity, supporting both clinical and commercial biologics production across multiple manufacturing scales.
Secured land for BioCampus III, laying the groundwork for future capacity expansion to support next-generation therapies and emerging modalities.
#6. Boehringer Ingelheim
Ingelheim, Germany
2025 Revenue: €1.470 billion ($1.697 billion) 5
2024 Revenue: €1.235 billion ($1.426 billion)
% Change: +19.0%
Selected the osapiens HUB for Maintenance as the frontline mobile platform for its maintenance teams to plan, execute, and document production-critical maintenance work across its regulated manufacturing operations, using a single solution to plan, coordinate, execute, and close out work.
Cut €900 million ($1.039 billion) in planned domestic spending and investments in Germany for 2027–2030, blaming German government plans to cut healthcare spending and require drug developers to grant higher discounts on treatments to insurers. “We have to keep pace with developments in the USA and Asia,” Médard Schoenmaeckers, head of BI’s German division, told German business news outlet Handelsblatt.
Launched a new center for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning in King’s Cross, London, U.K., part of the company’s goal of advancing AI for pharmaceutical research and development. The U.K. site adds to BI’s Computational Innovation footprint, which includes locations in Austria, Germany, and the U.S. specializing in AI, machine learning, human genetics, and computational biology.
#7. Siegfried
Zofingen, Switzerland
2025 Revenue: CHF 1.328 billion ($1.640 billion)
2024 Revenue: CHF 1.295 billion ($1.599 billion)
% Change: +2.5%
Appointed Eduardo Montanha as COO and member of the Executive Committee, effective September 1. Montanha was previously executive vice president, head of global technical operations and quality at Fresenius Kabi.
Named Frédéric Kahn as head of global business development and sales, drug products. Kahn joins Siegfried from Piramal Pharma Solutions, where he was vice president of business development for Europe and the rest of the world.
Inaugurated a new large-scale production facility for API manufacturing in Minden, Germany. The facility adds 100 cubic meters (3,531 cubic feet) of reactor capacity and is designed to strengthen Siegfried’s position as a leading global CDMO for small molecule drug substances.
Completed acquisition of three Noramco Group companies from SK Capital Partners for “below 10 times Enterprise Value / EBITDA.” The deal involves three small-molecule drug substance sites with about 400 employees: Noramco, a commercial-scale manufacturing site in Wilmington, DE; Purisys, a clinical API development and manufacturing facility in Athens, GA; and Extractas Bioscience, a manufacturer of purified products in Westbury, Tasmania, Australia.
#8. Fujifilm Biotechnologies / Fujifilm Corp.
College Station, TX / Tokyo, Japan
2025 Revenue: ¥257.2 billion ($1.616 billion) 6
2024 Revenue: ¥219.5 billion ($1.379 billion)
% Change: +17.2%
Appointed Maja Pedersen as president, in addition to her role as COO, as part of a planned leadership succession with Lars Petersen transitioning from his role as president and CEO, effective immediately, to strategic advisor through September 30.
Celebrated the selection of its commercial-scale cell culture manufacturing facility in Holly Springs, NC, among seven facilities chosen by the FDA for its PreCheck Pilot Program, designed to strengthen the nation’s pharmaceutical manufacturing capabilities.
Opened a new, 2,000‑square‑meter (21,528-square-foot) quality control (QC) laboratory at its Hillerød, Denmark, commercial‑scale manufacturing site. The expanded QC footprint is designed to enable bioassay and virology operations to meet current and future customer demand and support the site’s planned expansion.
Opened its expanded site in Teesside, U.K., funded through a total investment of approximately £400 million ($540 million) from parent Fujifilm Corp. The expanded site includes the opening of the largest single-use biopharmaceutical CDMO facility in the U.K., a 110,000 square-foot manufacturing facility that introduces 2,000 L and 5,000 L single-use bioreactors with a total capacity up to 19,000 L to provide small- and mid-scale antibody manufacturing.
#9. Recipharm
Stockholm, Sweden
2025 Revenue: €837 million ($966 million) 7
2024 Revenue: €827 million ($955 million)
% Change: +1.2%
Announced a multi-million-dollar investment in its U.S. operations, designed to strengthen its ability to support pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies with advanced sterile fill and finish services for biologics and advanced therapies.
Launched a strategic collaboration with Fusix Biotech to support the development and GMP manufacturing of next-generation oncolytic virus-based cancer immunotherapies, starting with Fusix’s lead candidate FUSE102, a chimeric oncolytic virus encoding a high-affinity soluble PD-1 intended to enable immune checkpoint inhibition and strengthen anti-tumor activity.
Disclosed a multi-million investment in a new Blow-Fill-Seal (BFS) manufacturing line, expanding capacity to support customer programs from development through commercial supply. The expanded capacity will support a broad range of ophthalmic product programs.
#10. AGC Biologics / AGC Group
Seattle, WA / Tokyo, Japan
2025 Revenue: Y129.420 billion ($813.253 million) 8
2024 Revenue: ¥137.326 billion ($862.958 million)
% Change: -5.8%
Secured half the mammalian manufacturing capacity of its new Yokohama, Japan, facility through a multi-year contract with a “large pharmaceutical company” that is expected to reach hundreds of millions of dollars in value. AGC Biologics agreed to manufacture a minimum of 35 batches per year of five biopharmaceutical products for the undisclosed customer.
Entered a strategic partnership with Pyramid Pharma Services that combines its sterile fill-finish capabilities with AGC’s drug substance development and manufacturing expertise. The integrated offering also includes device assembly, labeling, and secondary packaging services for clinical programs.
Selected by Japan-based transdermal drug delivery technology developer Teikoku Seiyaku to provide microbial contract development and manufacturing services for KTP-001, a recombinant human matrix metalloproteinase-7 (rhMMP-7), to treat lumbar disc herniation.
References
- Financial information presented for Lonza reflects its continuing CDMO business without the Capsules & Health Ingredients (CHI) business, which Lonza has agreed to divest by selling it to Lone Star Funds for CHF 2.3 billion ($2.836 billion), in a deal set to close by year’s end.
- 2024 results consist of sales from all operations, since CDMO business results had not been separated in Lonza’s financial results until 2025. CDMO operations excluded Capsules & Health Ingredients segment, which is not figured into CDMO results.
- This Thermo Fisher figure, confirmed by a spokesperson, is based on “Pharma Services” activity accounting for ~29% of the $23.984 billion in revenue generated in 2025 by the company’s Laboratory Products and Biopharma Services segment. The “29%” percentage was disclosed by Thermo Fisher during its most recent Investor Day, held May 20, in a presentation that stated that the segment generated $24.4 billion in revenue for the 12 months ending March 31.
- This Thermo Fisher figure was disclosed during the company’s Investor Day held September 19, 2024, in a presentation that stated “$7B Revenue” as being generated by the Pharma Services business of Thermo Fisher’s Laboratory Products and Biopharma Services segment. Through a spokesperson, Thermo Fisher last year confirmed that figure as its most accurate value of 2024 CDMO activity.
- This Boehringer Ingelheim figure reflects revenue for the company’s BioXcellence™ division (biopharmaceutical contract production), furnished by the company within its annual reports.
- This Fujifilm Biotechnologies figure is the sum of Q1–Q4 fiscal year 2025 quarterly revenue figures for the “Bio CDMO” business within the Healthcare segment of Fujifilm Holdings, whose subsidiaries include CDMO Fujifilm Biotechnologies—rebranded in 2025 from Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies. Fujifilm operates on a fiscal year that runs from April 1 of the named FY to March 31. FY 2025 covers the 12 months starting April 1, 2025, and ending March 31, 2026.
- Does not include £299 million ($403 million) in revenue reported by S&P Global to have been generated in 2025 by the former inhaled and nasal drug-device business, which was spun out of Recipharm into Bespak through a process completed in April 2024.
- Figure consists of Life Science Operations segment revenue for calendar year as published by AGC Group, which rebranded itself from Asahi Glass Company Ltd. in 2018.
