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Investment Activity in Biologics CDMOs
Chapter of the 2026 Biologics CDMO Public Market Update
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Investment activity in the biologics contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) sector in 2025 highlights sustained confidence in outsourced biomanufacturing, with capital increasingly directed toward expanding capacity and supporting high-growth therapeutic modalities. This article explores how investments are being concentrated in core manufacturing infrastructure and adjacent capabilities, reflecting a strategic shift toward integrated, end-to-end service platforms. It also examines geographic trends, deal dynamics, and pipeline developments to understand how capital allocation is evolving in a more selective and maturity-driven investment environment.
The biologics CDMO sector witnessed robust investment activity throughout 2025, with 70 capacity expansions and financing deals reflecting sustained industry confidence in outsourced biomanufacturing. Major expansions centered on high-growth modalities including antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), cell and gene therapies (CGTs), and viral vectors, with notable geographic concentration in the United States (US). Headline investments included FUJIFILM Biotechnologies’ $3.2 billion US manufacturing campus, Resilience’s $825 million financing round, and CordenPharma’s $582 million peptide capacity expansion, underscoring the sector’s evolution toward more complex therapeutic modalities and integrated biomanufacturing platforms.
Investment activity across 2025 was predominantly focused on manufacturing capacity. Secondary areas of investment included fill-and-finish capabilities, assay development and analytical services, and discovery and development infrastructure, reflecting the need for integrated service offerings across the biologics value chain.
Investments Value ($M) and Count
The quarterly distribution of investment values and deal counts throughout 2025 reveals several key trends. While Q4 recorded the highest total investment value at $4,525 million, this was largely attributable to FUJIFILM Biotechnologies’ $3,200 million commissioning of its large-scale US biologics manufacturing campus. Adjusting for this single mega-investment, investment activity remained relatively consistent throughout the year. Q1 recorded $630 million across 17 transactions, followed by $212 million in Q2 (19 transactions), $156 million in Q3 (18 transactions). The relatively stable deal counts across Q1-Q4, ranging from 16 to 19 transactions per quarter, indicating steady transactional momentum despite variability in headline capital values.
Investments Value ($M) by Country
The geographic distribution of biologics CDMO investments by country in 2025 reveals a striking concentration in the US, which captured $4,257 million in disclosed investment value, representing approximately 77% of the total. This dominance reinforces the US’ position as the primary global hub for large-scale biomanufacturing capacity expansion and reflects both the strength of the domestic biopharma ecosystem and heightened strategic considerations around supply chain security and manufacturing localization. The trend has gained additional momentum amid evolving trade policy discussions, including potential tariffs and supply chain restrictions, which have accelerated investor and CDMO preference for US-based manufacturing infrastructure to ensure market access and operational stability.
Switzerland emerged as the second-largest investment destination at $582 million, driven primarily by CordenPharma’s peptide manufacturing expansion. Other notable investment recipients included Malaysia at $500 million, Sweden at $109 million, Slovenia at $43 million, and Japan at $26 million, with smaller contributions from South Korea and the United Kingdom. This geographic distribution reflects both the established biomanufacturing infrastructure investment in North America and Western Europe and the selective but growing capacity development in Asia-Pacific markets.
Investment Count by Capability
The 2025 investment activity by targeted capability area reveals a strong concentration in core biomanufacturing functions, with several investments addressing multiple capabilities simultaneously. Manufacturing capacity expansion represented the dominant focus with 54 investments, reinforcing the sector’s priority to address global biomanufacturing capacity constraints.
Upstream capabilities accounted for 11 investments, while downstream processing attracted eight investments. Fill-and-finish operations received seven investments, reflecting growing demand for sterile drug product manufacturing. Assay development and analytical services attracted six investments, with discovery and development infrastructure garnering three investments and logistics receiving one investment.
The concentration of capital in core manufacturing and closely adjacent capabilities highlights a structural industry shift toward reinforcing integrated, end-to-end biomanufacturing platforms. Rather than diversifying into peripheral service lines, 2025 investments remained centered on production scalability, platform depth, and execution reliability.
Note: The analysis draws on publicly announced transactions and capacity expansions identified by Alira Health during 2025 and should be interpreted as indicative of observable market trends rather than an exhaustive record of activity.
The full list of investments tracked throughout 2025 is provided below.
Pipeline and Biotech Deal Trend Analysis (2021- 2025)
The biologics pipeline in 2025 showed significant growth in early-stage development, with a notable expansion in discovery and preclinical programs. Discovery-stage biologics reached 1,809 in 2025, representing a 21% increase from 1,492 in 2024 and a 65% jump from 1,095 in 2023. This substantial growth indicates a strong foundation for future development, driven by continued innovation in biological therapies.
Preclinical programs also expanded significantly to 2,299 in 2025, up 18% from 2024’s 1,943 and 44% higher than 2023’s 1,592. This suggests that the early investment momentum from previous years is translating into an advancing pipeline. However, Phase I development remained relatively stable at 358 biologics, while Phase II saw a slight decline to 215, down from 267 in 2024 and 287 in 2023. Phase III programs held steady at approximately 216, showing minimal change from prior years.
In the biotech deal landscape, 2025 recorded 536 total deals, continuing the downward trend from 1,218 deals in 2021. Notably, the composition of these deals shifted toward later-stage financing. Series A deals declined to 49% of total transactions in 2025, down from 53% in 2024 and 55% in 2023. Meanwhile, Series B financing increased to 28% in 2025 from 25% in 2024, and Series C rose to 14% from 13%. Series D and later-stage rounds also ticked up to 10% from 9%.
This shift reflects a more cautious investment environment where capital is being deployed toward de-risked, later-stage ventures rather than early-stage programs with longer development timelines and higher uncertainty.