91 TWENTYFOURSEVENBIOPHARMA Issue 1 / March 2026 DCAT ROUNDTABLE expansion. In contrast, parts of the cell and gene therapy space remain more cautious, as lower facility utilization and pipeline volatility continue to influence market dynamics. Overall, while the outsourcing market is still growing, the emphasis today appears to be less on rapid capacity expansion and more on strengthening technical capabilities while aligning growth strategies with underlying market demand. To what extent are geopolitical pressures reshaping sourcing decisions, particularly around regionalisation and dual sourcing? Geopolitical pressures are reshaping our clients’ sourcing strategy, and the recent U.S. tariff escalation is a prime example. Additional duties on key material shipments from China and other regions have driven up unit costs and created price volatility, forcing our clients to reconsider single source strategies. To mitigate this exposure, our clients are accelerating regionalization establishing near-, or on-shore sites in low tariff jurisdictions so that critical materials can be sourced locally or from allied markets without incurring punitive duties. At the same time, broader geopolitical risks— including sanctions, export-control restrictions, and trade-policy swings—require our clients to adopt dual-sourcing. For each essential component they pair an existing primary supplier in a high-risk zone with a locally vetted secondary vendor. By phasing investments and leveraging flexible, pre-qualified alternatives, the clients protect continuity while avoiding heavy upfront capital commitments in a landscape where some tensions may prove shortlived. Are customers prioritising cost control over resilience and innovation, or are you seeing a more balanced approach emerge? Customers are increasingly juggling cost pressures with the need for resilience and innovation, but the trend is shifting toward a more balanced approach. While tight budgets still drive many organizations to prioritize immediate cost control—especially in volatile markets—recent supply-chain disruptions and competitive pressures have highlighted the risks of cutting corners on robustness and forward-looking capabilities. As a result, many leaders are allocating resources to strengthen operational resilience, such as diversifying suppliers and investing in digital twins, while also pursuing innovation that can unlock longer-term efficiencies. Thus, rather than a simple dominance of costfirst thinking, we see a growing consensus that sustainable performance hinges on integrating fiscal discipline with resilient, innovative practices. This blended mindset is becoming the new norm across most industries. Where do you see the most meaningful growth opportunities in the next 12–18 months - geographically or technologically? From a technological perspective, meaningful growth is likely to occur in the bioconjugation space, including antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), as well as multispecific antibodies such as bispecifics. Following the clinical and commercial success of ADCs, the field is expanding to target a broader range of diseases. Conjugation strategies are also evolving beyond traditional cytotoxic payloads to incorporate modalities such as oligonucleotides and peptides, enabling more precise therapeutic approaches. At the same time, multispecific antibodies that simultaneously recognize two or more targets are gaining momentum, with the potential to improve efficacy compared with conventional single-target or combination therapies. Together, these trends suggest continued growth in both antibody-X conjugate and multispecific antibody technologies over the next 12–18 months. Geographically, increasing onshoring efforts centered in the United States are likely to drive diversified manufacturing and more resilient pharmaceutical supply chains. As supply chains consolidate around the world’s largest pharmaceutical market, complementary opportunities may also emerge in Europe and Asia. What is the biggest misconception pharma companies currently have about the CDMO/API supply environment? One of the biggest misconceptions pharma companies may have about the CDMO/API supply environment is viewing CDMO “capacity” primarily in terms of physical scale. Many still assume that as long as a provider has sufficient facilities or open manufacturing slots, it can readily deliver the required production. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when genuine bottlenecks existed across global supply chains, available MINJEONG SEONG Director of Market Intelligence Samsung Biologics
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