Partnerships For An Uncertain World

The CDMO Live Europe 2026 report captures 112 pages of insight from 600 pharma and biotech outsourcing decision-makers gathered in Rotterdam, with over 1,700 meetings taking place across two days. If you think the industry has figured out strategic partnerships, the Simon-Kucher CDMO Growth Report 2026 — surveying 120-plus pharma and CDMO executives — has news for you: late-phase CDMOs are meeting established pharma expectations only 44% of the time overall. That gap is the thread running through everything here.

The report covers five content tracks: external manufacturing strategy, outsourcing excellence, drug development and CMC (chemistry, manufacturing, and controls), sustainability, and AI in manufacturing. You'll find Gil Roth of the Pharma and Biopharma Outsourcing Association (PBOA) on what Section 232 tariffs and FDA leadership instability actually mean for CDMOs right now, Sandoz's Maik Talarczyk on a six-step make-vs-buy framework that cut supplier network complexity by 34%, Polpharma's five-year, 21-product tech transfer case study, and a CMC Bootcamp grounded in what investors read when you're not in the room.

On sustainability, 80% of pharma's carbon footprint sits in Scope 3, which means your manufacturing partners' emissions are your problem. On AI, the honest assessment is that 87% of pharma AI pilots never reach production. Both tracks offer more specificity than typical coverage.

Download now to take the full analysis back to your team.