What CDMO France does

CDMO France is a non-profit industry association (Association loi 1901, registered in France under SIRET 31853144900029) headquartered in Paris that represents 27 pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organizations operating industrial sites in France. The association was established to collectively represent the interests of principal French, European, and global pharmaceutical subcontractors with French manufacturing footprints. Its members include major industry players such as Delpharm, Fareva, Unither Pharmaceuticals, Catalent, Recipharm, Patheon (Thermo Fisher Scientific), NextPharma, Cenexi, Carbogen Amcis, and others.

Collectively, the 27 member CDMOs operate 80 industrial sites across France, employ approximately 18,000 people, generate roughly 2.8 billion euros in combined annual revenue, and produce 3.5 billion boxes of medication annually. Members provide comprehensive pharmaceutical contract services across all major dosage forms including solid dose (tablets, capsules, blisters), liquids (solutions, syrups, sprays), semi-solids (gels, creams, suppositories), and sterile formats (injectables, BFS, lyophilization, prefilled syringes). Members also offer full-service development capabilities including formulation, analytical development, regulatory affairs, clinical batches, and product lifecycle management. Certifications span EMA, FDA, ANSM, ANVISA, PMDA, NMPA, KFDA, and other regulatory authorities.

As a non-profit association, CDMO France itself does not generate direct commercial revenue. Its business model centers on industry representation, collective advocacy, and institutional coordination. The association coordinates member activity through its website (cdmo-france.com), which functions as a discovery and search platform for production and development capabilities, a centralized job board, and a press outlet. In May 2026, CDMO France became formally integrated into the governance of Leem (Les Entreprises du Médicament), the French pharmaceutical industry association, through a dedicated college on its Board of Directors — elevating the institutional influence of French pharmaceutical subcontractors within national health sovereignty policy.

Name

CDMO France

Legal name

Association CDMO France

Website

https://cdmo-france.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

CDMO France is a non-profit industry association representing 27 pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organizations operating 80 industrial sites across France. It collectively represents members serving Big Pharma, biotech, and generic manufacturers with full-service drug development and manufacturing capabilities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing

NAICS

Pharmaceutical Preparation Manufacturing (325412), Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing (3254)

SIC

Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Drug Substance–Drug Product Integrated CDMO (HLAGABAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Small-Molecule Drug Product (Solid/Oral/Parenteral) CDMO (HLAGABAB), Biologics (mAbs/Recombinant Proteins) CDMO (HLAGABAC), Clinical Trial Material (CTM) Manufacturing & Supply CDMO (HLAGABAK), Packaging, Labeling & Serialization (Clinical/Commercial) CDMO (HLAGABAJ)

Keywords

• Pharmaceutical contract manufacturing
• Drug development services
• Aseptic filling services
• Lyophilization manufacturing
• Regulatory affairs services

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Association representation services: CDMO France acts as an industry association representing pharmaceutical CDMOs. It does not generate direct revenue but facilitates the collective interests of its 27 member companies.
2. Aggregate member pharmaceutical manufacturing revenue: The 27 member CDMOs collectively generate approximately 2.8 billion euros in annual pharmaceutical manufacturing revenue from their French industrial sites.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

CDMO France is a non-profit industry association (Association loi 1901) that brings together 27 pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organizations operating 80 industrial sites across France. Its member CDMOs collectively provide formulation, galenic, and analytical development services, along with commercial-scale manufacturing of solid, liquid, semi-solid, and sterile pharmaceutical dosage forms for pharmaceutical laboratories.

Product overview

CDMO France is an association representing 27 pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs) operating in France. The association's members collectively operate over 80 industrial sites across France, generating approximately 2.8 billion euros in revenue and producing 3.5 billion boxes of medicines annually with 18,000 employees. Members provide comprehensive pharmaceutical manufacturing services across all major dosage forms including solids (tablets, capsules, blisters), liquids (solutions, syrups, sprays), semi-solids (gels, creams, suppositories), and sterile liquids (injectables, BFS, lyophilization). Additionally, members offer full-service development capabilities encompassing regulatory affairs, formulation, analytical development, clinical batches, and product lifecycle management. The member portfolio includes industry leaders such as Delpharm, Fareva, Unither Pharmaceuticals, Cenexi, Recipharm, Catalent, and others.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Solid Dosage Form Manufacturing
• Liquid Dosage Form Manufacturing
• Semi-Solid Dosage Form Manufacturing
• Sterile Liquid Manufacturing
• Pharmaceutical Development Services Comprehensive development services including regulatory affairs, formulation, analytical development, process development, clinical batches, solid/liquid/semi-solid pilot batches, MA submission dossier writing, clinical batch packaging, analytical method validation, storage, stability studies, product transfer, physico-chemical and microbiological controls, quality control, lyophilization cycles, clinical batch control, product lifecycle management, and co-development. For pharmaceutical laboratories seeking drug development support.
• Other Pharmaceutical Services Additional pharmaceutical manufacturing and development services including diagnostic tests, patches, impregnated compresses, aerosols, respiratory products, pilot batch packaging, and orodispersible films. For pharmaceutical laboratories with specialized product formats.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2.8 billion euros in combined annual revenue
• +3 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Leem (Les Entreprises du Médicament)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 May 2026CDMO France is fully integrated into the governance of Leem, the French pharmaceutical industry association. Through a dedicated college within the Board of Directors, three executives from Delpharm, Thepenier Pharma & Cosmetics, and Unither Pharmaceuticals actively participate in defining Leem's political and strategic orientations, including membership on the executive bureau. This institutional presence recognizes the industrial and technological expertise of CDMOs as key players in French health sovereignty.
• SicosminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 January 2026CDMO France announced a partnership with Sicos, as indicated by a joint press release dated January 16, 2026.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Lonza Group: Swiss-based global CDMO leader offering biologics, small molecules, and cell & gene services. Comparable to CDMO France as a comprehensive CDMO competitor whose capabilities overlap with the aggregated offerings of CDMO France's members.
• Thermo Fisher Scientific (Patheon): Operates the Patheon CDMO network with global sterile and API capabilities; a CDMO France member whose services compete with and complement other French members across APIs, oral solid dose, and sterile fill-finish.

Direct peers

• Fareva: French-headquartered global CDMO operating extensive pharmaceutical and cosmetics manufacturing capacity across multiple French sites; CDMO France member providing directly comparable CDMO services to the network's collective offering.
• Recipharm: Swedish CDMO owned by EQT and CDMO France member offering sterile fill-finish, oral solids and APIs. Direct peer in offering comparable dosage-form services to Big Pharma across European manufacturing sites.
• Aenova Group: German pan-European CDMO offering solid, semi-solid and sterile dose forms. Comparable to CDMO France members as a competing European mid-sized CDMO targeting similar Big Pharma and generics customers.
• Delpharm: Largest French CDMO by footprint and a CDMO France member; offers sterile, prefilled syringe, oral solid and liquid dose manufacturing — directly comparable to what the CDMO France network collectively markets.
• CordenPharma: German CDMO part of International Chemical Investors Group; provides APIs, oral and sterile dose manufacturing comparable to CDMO France's member offering across small-molecule and biologics services.
• Catalent (Novo Holdings): Major US-headquartered CDMO and member of CDMO France (Limoges biologics site). Directly comparable service portfolio in softgels, biologics, sterile fill-finish and oral dose forms competing with other CDMO France members.

Emerging players

• Samsung Biologics: Korean biologics CDMO rapidly scaling global mammalian-cell capacity. Comparable to CDMO France's biologics members (Unither, Catalent Limoges) in targeting Big Pharma biologics outsourcing.
• WuXi STA (WuXi AppTec): Chinese-based global CDMO offering APIs, dosage forms and biologics services. Comparable as a peer competing for outsourcing demand that CDMO France members also serve, particularly in API and oral dose categories.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cdmo-france

Compliance22 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 CDMO France