State of the CDMO Industry 2026: The Digitisation Imperative

Why the Path to AI Runs Through Connected Manufacturing

Demand for contract manufacturing services has never been higher — 60% of the industry reports a “highly positive” outlook on contract services growth over the next 18 months, fueled by increasing sponsor outsourcing of complex biologics, the explosion of GLP-1 therapies, and sustained R&D investment across the pharmaceutical sector.

But beneath the optimistic market numbers lies a critical operational reality: the vast majority of Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisations (CDMOs) haven’t finished the foundational digital work required to compete in the next era of manufacturing. It's easy enough to talk about Artificial Intelligence (AI), but you must have connected systems and complete data before you can be anywhere near intelligent manufacturing operations.

MasterContol's latest industry brief identifies the key difference between digitisation and digital transformation and explores how CDMOs that bridge the gap will be successful in the modern manufacturing era with a measurable operational advantage.

Key research notes:

•  92% of contract manufacturers report that sponsors are raising digital requirements, but not a single CDMO surveyed reported full digital integration with its sponsor base
• 60% remain in early phases of digital adoption, and almost 50% of all technology-related effort is still consumed by converting paper processes to digital formats and fixing basic data infrastructure.
• Over 96% of organisations have generative AI tools implemented, yet only 11% report experiencing significant impact.
• 42% of pharmaceutical AI projects fail to meet ROI expectations

The report from our strategic partners at MasterControl explores the following topics:

• Market Landscape: Growth, Complexity, and Rising Expectations
• Digitisation Gap: Why Most CDMOs Aren’t Ready for What’s Next
• Infrastructure Debt Problem
• Real Cost of Staying Manual
• AI Reality Check: Why 96% Implementation Doesn’t Equal Impact
• Cost Management as Strategic Imperative
• Building Digital Maturity: A Framework for CDMOs
• What This Means for Sponsor Selection
• The Transformation Imperative

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