What Symbiosis Pharmaceutical Services does

Symbiosis Pharmaceutical Services is a specialist contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) focused exclusively on GMP sterile fill-finish of injectable pharmaceuticals for clinical trials and commercial supply. Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Stirling, Scotland, the company operates from two adjacent GMP sites — the original Scion House clinical facility and the 20,000 sq ft Bruce Building commercial facility opened in late 2024 — and runs a US commercial office in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Its service portfolio spans aseptic liquid and lyophilised fill-finish, bulk lyophilisation, in-house analytical and microbiological testing, Qualified Person (QP) release, clinical labelling and packaging, and temperature-controlled storage and distribution.

The company's manufacturing platform is built around RABS (Restricted Access Barrier System) technology, an automated FPD 50 Flexicon fill-finish line enabling batch sizes up to 15,000 vials, two independent Tofflon lyophilisation suites supporting cycles beyond 72 hours, BSL-2 biocontainment for viral vector and cell/gene therapy products, and a QC laboratory providing full ICH Q1A(R2) climatic zone stability storage from -80°C to 40°C. It serves biotech and pharmaceutical developers across modalities including monoclonal antibodies, recombinant proteins, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), ATMPs and viral vectors, RNA and peptide therapies, vaccines, and small molecules — including highly potent and cytotoxic compounds. Notable disclosed clients include Oxford University/AstraZeneca (nearly one million doses of AZD1222 COVID-19 vaccine manufactured at Stirling), Upstream Bio, Modus Therapeutics, Zealand Pharma, Encap Drug Delivery, and Freeline Therapeutics.

Symbiosis generates revenue via project-based CDMO contracts, with fees set per manufacturing campaign based on batch size, modality complexity, potency classification, and scope of associated QC, QP, packaging, and logistics services. The go-to-market is direct enterprise sales (business development teams in the UK and US) supplemented by major industry events (BIO, CPHI, Nordic Life Science Days, Cell & Gene Therapy International) and content-led demand generation. The company has reported historical revenue growth of ~30–40% year-on-year and crossed a 1,000-batch cumulative milestone in July 2025. Its commercial-grade regulatory position — unbroken FDA and MHRA inspection track record since founding, including a gene-therapy-focused FDA inspection in 2025 — underpins client trust in a sector where compliance is a primary procurement criterion.

Name

Symbiosis Pharmaceutical Services

Legal name

Symbiosis Pharmaceutical Services Ltd

Website

https://symbiosis-pharma.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

NAICS

Pharmaceutical Preparation Manufacturing (325412), Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories (6215), Medical Laboratories (621511)

SIC

Surgical & Medical Instruments & Apparatus (3841)

akta.pro primary industry

Sterile Fill-Finish & Aseptic Manufacturing CDMO (HLAGABAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Clinical Trial Material (CTM) Manufacturing & Supply CDMO (HLAGABAK), Small-Molecule API & Intermediates CDMO (HLAGABAA), Small-Molecule Drug Product (Solid/Oral/Parenteral) CDMO (HLAGABAB), Biologics (mAbs/Recombinant Proteins) CDMO (HLAGABAC), Cell Therapy CDMO (HLAGABAD), Gene Therapy (Viral Vector/Plasmid) CDMO (HLAGABAE), Packaging, Labeling & Serialization (Clinical/Commercial) CDMO (HLAGABAJ), Radiopharmaceutical CDMO & Manufacturing (GMP Fill-Finish) (HLAIAGAF)

Keywords

• Aseptic fill-finish services
• GMP sterile manufacturing
• Biologics CDMO
• Viral vector manufacturing
• Lyophilisation services

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

Revenue model

1. Aseptic Fill-Finish Manufacturing Services: Symbiosis earns revenue by providing GMP sterile fill-finish manufacturing services for injectable drug products (liquid and lyophilised) at clinical and commercial scale. Fees are charged per manufacturing campaign/project, with pricing based on batch size, modality complexity, potency classification, and scope of associated services (QC testing, labelling, QP release, storage). The business operates as a CDMO (Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisation), with project-based engagement typical of the contract manufacturing sector.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Symbiosis Pharmaceutical Services is a specialist fill-finish Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisation (CDMO) offering rapid access to GMP sterile fill-finish manufacturing slots for injectable drug products at clinical and commercial scale. The company provides integrated sterile GMP manufacturing for liquid and lyophilised biological and small molecule products, along with QC inspection, analytical testing, clinical labelling and packaging, Qualified Person (QP) release, and temperature-controlled storage and shipment services.

Product overview

Symbiosis Pharmaceutical Services is a world-class fill-finish CDMO (Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisation) offering integrated GMP sterile manufacturing services. The company provides a unified platform of core services including Sterile Fill-Finish/Aseptic Filling, Bulk Lyophilisation, Drug Product Testing, QP Release, Clinical Label/Pack, and Pharmaceutical Product Development. These services support clients across the full drug development lifecycle from preclinical through Phase I-III clinical trials to commercial-scale manufacturing. The company specializes in manufacturing injectable biologics and small molecules across multiple therapeutic modalities including mAbs and Recombinant Therapies, ATMPs/Viral Vector Therapies, RNA and Peptide Therapies, Antibody-Drug Conjugates, Small Molecules, and Vaccines. Facilities include clinical-scale manufacturing (up to 3,000 vials) and commercial-scale automated fill-finish (up to 15,000 vials). The company operates from MHRA-licensed and FDA-inspected facilities in Stirling, UK, with a US commercial office in Cambridge, MA.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 1,000+ batches delivered for clinical and commercial products across multiple modalities (mAbs, ADCs, viral vectors, small molecules, ATMPs) since founding in 2011
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments7 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Modus Therapeutics Holding ABminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 October 2021Symbiosis manufactures sevuparin drug product for Modus Therapeutics, securing supply for Phase II clinical development in sepsis/septic shock and other systemic inflammation conditions. Symbiosis handles sterile fill-finish of the drug product as part of a manufacturing partnership.
• Cobra BiologicscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2018Symbiosis partnered with Cobra Biologics on a £4.8M collaborative project (£1.9M funded by Innovate UK) to develop world-leading capabilities for clinical and commercial production of gene and immunotherapy viral vectors. The partnership combined Cobra's drug substance expertise with Symbiosis' fill-finish capabilities, creating an integrated UK-based supply chain for viral vector products.
• Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult (CGT Catapult)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSymbiosis collaborated with the CGT Catapult (Stevenage manufacturing centre) and Freeline Therapeutics to develop and demonstrate a lean manufacturing supply chain for the sterile filling of gene therapy viral vector products. The partnership addressed insufficient UK and global capacity for viral vector manufacturing.
• Freeline TherapeuticsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFreeline Therapeutics was the clinical-stage biotechnology company involved in the lean supply chain project with Symbiosis and CGT Catapult for viral vector gene therapy manufacturing.

Scale indicators16 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Broad incumbents

• Recipharm: Swedish-headquartered global CDMO offering sterile fill-finish, biologics, and finished dose manufacturing. Highly comparable as a broad incumbent in the same CDMO category, and Symbiosis' new CCO (Joanne Anderson) previously led global key accounts at Recipharm, underscoring direct competitive overlap.
• Lonza Group: Swiss-headquartered global CDMO leader offering end-to-end drug substance and drug product services including sterile fill-finish for biologics, cell and gene therapies, and small molecules. Comparable as the scaled incumbent whose breadth Symbiosis competes against via specialist agility and niche focus.
• Catalent: US-headquartered global CDMO with extensive sterile injectable fill-finish and biologics capabilities, recently taken private by Novo Holdings. Comparable as a broad incumbent competing for the same clinical and commercial injectable manufacturing mandates Symbiosis targets.
• Aenova Group: European-headquartered CDMO offering sterile injectables, oral solids, and biologics manufacturing. Comparable as a regional European CDMO incumbent whose injectable footprint competes with Symbiosis for European biotech and pharma sponsors.
• Thermofisher Scientific (Patheon) Pharma Services: Global pharma services division offering commercial and clinical sterile fill-finish, biologics, and oral dose manufacturing through Patheon. Comparable as a scaled incumbent with overlapping clinical-to-commercial injectable capabilities.

Direct peers

• Vetter Pharma: Germany-based specialist CDMO focused exclusively on aseptic fill-finish of complex injectable biologics and small molecules. Closest direct comparable: similar specialist positioning, similar customer base (clinical-to-commercial biotech/pharma), and overlapping capabilities in lyophilisation and potent compound handling.
• Cobra Biologics (Charles River): Specialist viral vector and plasmid CDMO acquired by Charles River. Direct comparable in cell/gene therapy manufacturing; Cobra and Symbiosis partnered under an Innovate UK grant to integrate viral vector drug substance with fill-finish, indicating they operate as complementary rather than substitutable peers.
• PCI Pharma Services: Global integrated CDMO with sterile fill-finish, clinical packaging, and commercial supply capabilities. Comparable in clinical and commercial injectable services, especially in clinical label/pack and QP-style release for global trials.
• Sharp Services (Clinical Services): Specialist clinical packaging, labelling, and distribution CDMO with adjacent sterile manufacturing capabilities. Comparable as a similarly sized specialist serving biotech sponsors in clinical supply, packaging, and small-scale injectable manufacturing.

Emerging players

• Bora Pharmaceuticals: Taiwan-based CDMO with growing sterile injectable and biologic fill-finish capability following acquisitions of Emergent's CDMO business. Comparable as an emerging scaled player expanding in clinical and commercial injectable manufacturing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/symbiosis-pharmaceutical-services
• Xx.com/SymbiosisPharma

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Symbiosis Pharmaceutical Services