60 CHEMICALS KNOWLEDGE HUB Issue 1 / July 2025 Whether it’s the pharma, biotech or the food industry, markets are becoming more fragmented and regulated as consumer expectations shift and demands for transparency, personalisation, and sustainability rise. In response, brands now look for flexible, innovationdriven partners who can help bring products to life with greater speed and precision. This is where contract manufacturer organisations (CMOs) help shape the industries they serve, stepping beyond execution to influence product development, localisation, and scale. CMOs are being called to do more and to do it smarter as they respond to shifts in how health products are developed, distributed, and differentiated through AI-assisted formulation, traceability, and sustainability. CMO operations in 2025 In 2025, innovation beyond production extends towards formulation and digital integration. AI, for example, is increasingly prominent in product development and predictive consumer testing. “AI is actually a fantastic accelerator of everything,” said Adam Adamek, Innovation Director at EIT Food, at this year’s Vitafoods Europe. “It helps in sustainability, traceability, and even testing sensorial attributes or ingredient compositions.” Adamek points to the pressure brands face to innovate quickly while tailoring products to diverse cultural, regulatory, and market needs. “We should formulate locally,” added Ren-Hau Lai, Director of Innovation and Product Development at AG1. “Regulatory environments are all different, and not everybody needs the same thing from diet to culture. So globalisation is based on localisation.” The change seen in CMO services mirrors that of the globally attuned market they serve. From in-house regulatory expertise and regional market intelligence to guiding clients through international expansion, today’s CMOs have evolved into fullyfledged strategic partners. The rise of turnkey partnerships This evolution is most evident in the growing demand for turnkey partnerships - end-to-end solutions that go beyond manufacturing to include formulation, packaging, regulatory support, and even go-to-market guidance. Samsung Biologics is a prime example of a turnkey partnership in pharma. Samsung’s multi-milliondollar deals with Pfizer, GSK, and others span earlystage development through to global supply chain management. Meanwhile, Catalent’s integrated manufacturing support, notably for COVID-19 vaccines, now CMOs
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