CPHI Milan 2026 brought together pharmaceutical and biotechnology leaders to explore the opportunities and challenges shaping the future of drug development and manufacturing. From evolving investment priorities and artificial intelligence (AI) to supply chain resilience and technology transfer, several themes emerged with important implications for pharmaceutical outsourcing.
As the industry adapts to changing market conditions and increasingly complex development requirements, the role of contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs) continues to evolve. Sponsors are looking beyond manufacturing capacity to find partners that offer specialized expertise, operational flexibility, and support throughout the product lifecycle.
Here are five key takeaways from CPHI Milan 2026 and what they mean for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies evaluating their development and manufacturing strategies.
1. Shifting investment priorities are changing outsourcing needs
Funding conditions remain an important consideration for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Investment has increasingly concentrated on later-stage clinical and commercial programs, creating additional challenges for early-stage innovators seeking to advance promising molecules. These dynamics are also influencing CDMO demand. As sponsors prioritize programs with clearer pathways toward commercialization, outsourcing partners must adapt to changing customer needs while maintaining the expertise and infrastructure required to support earlier-stage development.
At the same time, emerging approaches to drug discovery are creating new opportunities for outsourcing. Companies using computational technologies may be able to identify promising candidates with fewer traditional laboratory resources, but advancing those molecules still requires formulation development, analytical expertise, CMC planning, and manufacturing capabilities.
These developments reinforce the importance of selecting partners that can bridge the gap between scientific innovation and practical development requirements. Flexible CDMO partnerships can help companies make informed decisions about resource allocation, development risks, and preparation for future stages.
2. AI is accelerating innovation, but manufacturing readiness remains essential
AI continues to generate significant interest across pharmaceutical discovery, development, and manufacturing. Computational approaches are creating opportunities to identify drug candidates more efficiently, while AI and automation could also improve process optimization, operational efficiency, and safety. However, accelerating drug discovery does not eliminate the challenges associated with bringing a medicine to market. Promising molecules must still undergo extensive development to establish suitable formulations, analytical methods, manufacturing processes, and quality controls.
These activities require specialized expertise and an understanding of how early development decisions can affect scalability and commercial readiness. As more AI-enabled drug discovery companies advance candidates into development, demand may grow for CDMOs capable of connecting computational innovation with laboratory development and manufacturing execution.
The adoption of AI within pharmaceutical manufacturing also introduces considerations around regulatory expectations, data integrity, intellectual property, and quality systems. Successful integration will require balancing innovation with the established controls necessary for reliable pharmaceutical production. For sponsors, the opportunity lies in combining emerging digital capabilities with the technical expertise needed to translate promising discoveries into manufacturable products.
3. Supply chain resilience is reshaping global manufacturing strategies
Supply chain resilience and regional manufacturing remain important priorities as pharmaceutical companies evaluate how best to serve global markets. Sponsors are increasingly considering manufacturing networks that provide production options across multiple regions, helping them respond to changing market requirements and reduce reliance on individual locations.
However, establishing a more diversified manufacturing strategy involves more than adding sites. Companies must evaluate technical capabilities, equipment compatibility, quality systems, manufacturing costs, and the ability to transfer processes between facilities. These considerations are particularly important as regional manufacturing strategies evolve alongside pricing pressures and changing market conditions.
An integrated global CDMO network can provide sponsors with greater flexibility to evaluate manufacturing pathways across different locations. Yet the value of that network depends on the ability to coordinate technical expertise, maintain consistent quality standards, and support reliable execution. The takeaway is that manufacturing resilience should be considered as part of long-term development and commercial planning, rather than solely as a response to immediate supply challenges.
4. Successful technology transfer depends on early planning and technical collaboration
As pharmaceutical companies expand manufacturing options across regions and facilities, technology transfer remains a critical component of successful development and commercialization. Effective technology transfer requires a detailed understanding of the product, existing manufacturing processes, analytical methods, equipment requirements, and potential sources of variability.
Early gap analyses can help identify differences between development and commercial manufacturing environments, while structured risk assessments allow teams to address potential challenges before they affect production. Standardized, stage-gated technology transfer frameworks can further support consistency by establishing clear expectations for documentation, technical evaluation, and decision-making throughout the process.
Collaboration is equally important. Transparent communication between sponsors and CDMO teams helps establish shared expectations and enables more effective problem-solving when unexpected challenges arise. Global manufacturing science and technology (MSAT) teams can support these activities by connecting technical knowledge across facilities, sharing lessons learned, and maintaining process understanding as products progress through development and manufacturing. This highlights why a CDMO’s technology transfer expertise and collaborative approach can be just as important as its available equipment and manufacturing capacity.
5. Integrated capabilities and technical expertise are becoming increasingly important
The evolving pharmaceutical outsourcing landscape is reinforcing the value of integrated development and manufacturing capabilities. While capacity remains an important consideration, successful programs require coordination across formulation, analytical sciences, process development, manufacturing, quality, packaging, and commercial operations.
Decisions made during early development can have significant implications for manufacturing performance later in the product lifecycle. Packaging requirements, for example, should be considered early to help avoid complications during scale-up and commercialization. Similarly, process development must account for equipment suitability, operator safety, reproducibility, and the ability to maintain consistent performance under commercial manufacturing conditions.
Connecting these considerations across development and manufacturing can help sponsors preserve technical knowledge, minimize unnecessary transitions, and anticipate challenges before they become more difficult to address. This also places greater importance on long-term investment in technical infrastructure and expertise. Manufacturing networks are most valuable when their capabilities are supported by experienced teams, standardized processes, and effective cross-site collaboration. Selecting the right CDMO means evaluating the capabilities a partner can offer today and how effectively it can support a program as requirements evolve.
Looking ahead: Connecting innovation with reliable execution
CPHI Milan 2026 reinforced several important developments shaping pharmaceutical outsourcing. Investment priorities are changing, AI is creating new opportunities, and sponsors are placing greater emphasis on supply continuity, technical collaboration, and integrated manufacturing capabilities. Across these trends, a common theme is emerging: successful pharmaceutical development and manufacturing require a combination of innovative technologies, experienced teams, and reliable production capabilities.
For sponsors, this means considering how development decisions influence manufacturing readiness, how technical knowledge is maintained across facilities, and how manufacturing networks can support evolving commercial requirements.
At Bora Pharmaceuticals, we continue to invest in connecting development, manufacturing, and MSAT expertise across our global network. By strengthening technical collaboration and expanding integrated capabilities, we aim to help customers navigate complexity while supporting reliable execution from development through commercial production.