CDMOs/CMOs: The Key Moves in 2026

CDMOs: Key Moves Thus Far in 2026

© Graphic - stock.adobe.com

In looking at news from CDMOs of drug substances in 2026, certain themes emerge. The blockbuster success of the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists for treating obesity and Type 1 diabetes and related drugs has been a major impetus in driving peptide-based drug development overall, and in 2026, peptides were again a focal point of several moves by CDMOs. Also, several CDMOs are investing in small-molecule active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing, including for highly potent APIs (HPAPIs), and large- and mid-scale biomanufacturing projects continued in 2026. And US-based investments were a target of several CDMOs.

Peptides Making the Moves

One of the largest acquisitions by CDMOs announced thus far in 2026 was in peptides with the pending $1.8-billion acquisition of PolyPeptide Group, a CDMO focused on peptide-based APIs, by Samsung Biologics, a CDMO of biologics, advanced therapies, antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) and other complex conjugates. With the acquisition, Samsung Biologics will expand its capabilities beyond antibodies and ADCs to include peptide therapeutics. The transaction is expected to be completed toward the end of 2026.

PolyPeptide has six cGMP development and manufacturing facilities, and these facilities will join Samsung Biologics’ biomanufacturing network, which currently includes two bio campuses with a total of five facilities in South Korea. In late August, Samsung Biologics announced a rights offering to raise KRW 3 trillion ($2.2 billion) to fund its acquisition of PolyPeptide and for facility expansions. In 2025, the company brought on its fifth biomanufacturing facility and reported in August that it is evaluating bringing additional capacity online sequentially through three additional plants at its Bio Campus II in South Korea, which would boost its global manufacturing capacity to 1.385 million liters by 2032. In addition, earlier this year (March 2026), the company acquired from GSK a 60,000-L biomanufacturing facility in Rockville, Maryland, marking the company’s first US-based biomanufacturing facility.