82 TWENTYFOURSEVENBIOPHARMA Issue 1 / March 2026 DCAT ROUNDTABLE PHILIP PAYNE Chief Commercial Officer Symeres How would you describe the mood of the outsourcing market right now - stabilising, cautious, or entering a new growth cycle? There’s a quiet optimism as funding appears to be returning to the discovery and IND-stage market. If this momentum continues through the year, we could be moving into a new growth cycle. That said, As the industry emerges from a prolonged funding slowdown, the roundtable highlights cautious optimism. Rather than a broad-based recovery, participants describe a selective, research-driven uptick focused on clinic-ready assets and higher-complexity modalities. Discussions have shifted from speculative experimentation to practical considerations, including manufacturability, timeline efficiency and the ability to scale reliably. This suggests growth that is deliberate, technology selective and weighted toward assets with clearer commercial pathways. A second key theme is the growing influence of geopolitics on strategic decision-making. Regionalization, “China+1” approaches and dual sourcing are increasingly being built into programs from the outset. These strategies are often balanced against cost considerations to support longterm value and operational resilience. At the same time, buyer expectations are evolving: resilience is now expected, cost must be justified, and innovation, particularly in oligonucleotides, antibody-drug conjugates, peptides, complex biologics and enabling technologies that support faster timelines is emerging as a key differentiator. Finally, contributors highlight two common misconceptions: that contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs) are interchangeable and that technology transfer is straightforward. Participants emphasize that outcomes may vary significantly depending on capabilities and collaboration models. They suggest that companies may benefit from engaging manufacturing partners early, prioritizing technical expertise over nominal capacity, and aligning sourcing strategies with both development stage and long-term supply considerations.
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