What is a CDMO?
4 Minute Read
If you’re looking to bring a new pharmaceutical product to market, you’ll need a partner to help you with every step of the development and manufacturing process. That’s where a Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) comes in.
So, what exactly is a CDMO? Simply put, it is a company that specializes in providing development and manufacturing services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. These companies offer a wide range of services, from pre-formulation and formulation development to analytical development and validation, clinical supply manufacture and packaging, stability testing, and commercial manufacture and packaging of prescription pharmaceutical finished products in the FDA-regulated US market.
CDMOs work with their clients to develop and manufacture products that meet strict regulatory standards set by organizations such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). They have a wealth of expertise and experience in the pharmaceutical industry and use state-of-the-art technology and equipment to deliver high-quality products that meet the needs of their clients.
What are the benefits of working with a CDMO?
One of the main benefits of working with a CDMO is that it allows you to focus on your core competencies, such as research and development, clinical or therapeutic applications, while outsourcing development, production, and testing tasks to a specialized partner. This can lead to increased efficiency and faster time-to-market for new products.
Another benefit of working with a CDMO is the breadth of expertise and resources they bring to the table. Rather than trying to build the in-house staff, facilities, and procedures necessary to develop and manufacture your product, you can leverage the specialized knowledge and installed capacity of a CDMO to accelerate development timelines and bring your product to market more quickly and efficiently.
CDMOs work with a variety of other companies, molecules, and dosage form technologies. This means that while they may not have the depth of expertise in your specific molecule that you do, they do have broad expertise across a range of enabling technologies and products, as well as many interactions with healthcare authorities like the FDA. This often puts CDMOs in a unique position to know the best technology to apply to make your therapeutic product successful and what CMC studies and documentation the healthcare authorities will expect to see in your filing.
But how exactly do CDMOs work?
At the outset of a project, a CDMO will work with you to develop a customized plan that outlines your project’s specific goals and milestones. This may involve everything from identifying the optimal formulation for the drug to ensuring that the manufacturing process is scalable and cost-effective while delivering quality clinical supplies on time and even becoming your commercial manufacturing partner. From there, the CDMO will typically take the lead on executing the plan, leveraging their pharmaceutical development and manufacturing expertise to bring the product to fruition.
Throughout the process, the CDMO will work closely with you to provide regular updates and ensure the project stays on track. Once the product has been successfully developed and manufactured, the CDMO will typically handle packaging and distribution, providing a complete end-to-end finished product solution.
So how do you choose a CDMO?
When choosing a CDMO, it is crucial to consider factors such as their expertise, experience, and track record of success. It is also important to ensure that the CDMO can meet your company’s specific needs, such as the ability to manufacture products at the required scale and in the necessary format.
Working with a CDMO can be a game-changer for companies looking to bring new pharmaceutical products to market. By partnering with a trusted provider with a proven track record of success, you can streamline the development and manufacturing process, reduce costs, and ultimately get your product in the hands of patients more quickly and efficiently. So, if you’re in the pharmaceutical industry and looking to take your new products to approval (and to patients), consider partnering with a CDMO like Societal™ CDMO to develop and manufacture your pharmaceutical product.