August 2025
The global antibiotic CDMO market is on an upward trajectory, poised to generate substantial revenue growth, potentially climbing into the hundreds of millions over the forecast years from 2025 to 2034. This surge is attributed to evolving consumer preferences and technological advancements reshaping the industry.
The antibiotic CDMO market is expanding due to the growing incidence of infectious diseases and the increasing aging population. North America is dominated by the growing application of advanced technology and increasing healthcare awareness. Asia Pacific is the fastest growing as increasing government support and rising antibiotic manufacturing.
The antibiotic CDMO market refers to contract-based development and manufacturing services provided by third-party organizations for antibiotics, including API, intermediates, formulation, and dosage form production. The market supports pharma and biotech firms in reducing internal manufacturing burden, accelerating drug development timelines, and ensuring regulatory compliance, especially for complex or high-volume antibiotics.
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Integration of AI in antibiotic CDMO drives the growth of the market as AI-driven technology supports analyzing the interactions among the potential antibacterial agents and their target bacterial proteins. AI models identify the binding affinity and effectiveness of candidate compounds, supervising the rational design of novel antibiotics with improved specificity and potency. AI in antibiotic development offers many benefits in terms of expenses, time, and effectiveness in the fight against resistant bacteria, as well as the problems associated with its operation in the biomedical field. Progressive CDMOs are integrating AI and ML in the manufacturing and formulation workflows, lowering inefficiencies. Integrated CDMOs advance cross-team coordination between research, development, and manufacturing of manufacturing, which contributes to the growth of the market.
Increasing Support of CDMO to Pharma Companies
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major global health challenge caused by the misuse and overuse of antibiotics across different sectors. This has led to the rise of resistant microorganisms, increasing the need for advanced antibiotics. CDMO pharma companies play a vital role in developing next-generation antibiotics, focusing on narrow-spectrum drugs to lessen resistance pressure while maintaining manageable manufacturing quality and volume. These CDMOs support the development, formulation, and bulk production of antibiotics, including generics, biosimilars, and targeted therapies, for clients worldwide. Their involvement fuels the growth of the antibiotic CDMO market.
Major Challenges in Antibiotic CDMO
Ongoing global disruptions, geopolitical tensions, shortages of raw materials, and fluctuating demand persistently affect CDMOs. These issues can lead to delayed production, higher costs, and supply bottlenecks, ultimately restricting the growth of the antibiotic CDMO market.
Increasing Burden of Infectious Disease Worldwide
Infectious diseases pose a significant threat to global public health due to factors like the rapid evolution of pathogens, increased population movement, and climate change, all of which enhance their spread. While efforts have been made worldwide to lessen their impact, there is still a strong need for adaptable strategies tailored to different national contexts, especially in regions with limited healthcare resources. CDMOs are responsible for developing and manufacturing pharmaceutical production processes. Outsourcing to CDMOs can reduce overall antibiotic drug development costs by approximately 30-35%, while also lowering companies' capital expenditure. This creates opportunities for growth in the antibiotic CDMO market.
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By service type, the API manufacturing segment led the antibiotic CDMO market, due to CDMOs providing large-scale operations and affordable production solutions, making CDMOs an attractive partner for API manufacturing pharmaceutical organizations. CDMOs provide scalable, ready-to-use platforms and worldwide supply chains. This speeds development timelines and shortens time-to-market, which is vital in competitive or high-demand therapeutic areas. CDMOs consistently invest in advanced technologies to stay at the forefront of the industry.
On the other hand, the sterile injectables manufacturing segment is projected to experience the fastest CAGR from 2025 to 2034, as sterile injectables provide important benefits in healthcare by offering efficient delivery of drugs directly into the bloodstream. This ability is crucial for efficiently treating serious bacterial infections. Their capability to avoid gastrointestinal metabolism ensures rapid absorption, which helps avoid the damaging first-pass effect. It provides 100% of their prescribed medication actions.
By molecule type, the beta-lactams segment is dominant in the Antibiotic CDMO Market in 2024, as it inhibits the last step in peptidoglycan synthesis by acylating the transpeptidase intricate in cross-linking peptides to form peptidoglycan. The targets for the actions of beta-lactam antibiotics are called penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs). This antibiotic is used in the management and treatment of various bacterial infections. Beta-lactam antibiotics demonstrate a time-dependent effect on bacterial eradication; their incessant infusions have advantages over standard intermittent bolus dosing.
The novel/next-gen antibiotics segment is projected to grow at the fastest CAGR from 2025 to 2034, as these are compounds that target bacterial virulence factors to interrupt pathogenic potential without impacting bacterial viability. Next-generation antibacterial medicines are urgently required to combat multidrug-resistant, pan-drug-resistant gram-negative bacteria and superbugs. Next-generation antibacterial agents are developed by encouraging the killing effectiveness of first- and second-generation antibacterial mediators.
By dosage form, the oral solids segment led the antibiotic CDMO market in 2024, as this type of antibiotic is as efficient as intravenous drugs. Limited durations of intravenous antibiotic therapy and substituting to oral therapy should be significant considerations in patient management. They have the possible to advance results for patients by evading the adverse effects of intravenous drugs and enabling early discharge from the hospital. Oral treatment enhances patient convenience, as freedom from an IV tether surges flexibility.
The suspensions & injectables segment is projected to experience the fastest CAGR from 2025 to 2034, as antibiotic suspensions are used to manage bacterial infections in offspring. It is applied in treating infections of the throat, skin, lungs, and ears caused by bacteria. A bacterial infection arises when damaging bacteria enter and grow in the body. Injectables have a fast onset of action and are commonly applied in emergency conditions where instant effects are required.
By client type, the generic drug manufacturers segment led the antibiotic CDMO market in 2024, as partnering with a CDMO offers a wider range of services to their clients, like testing and manufacturing. Generic drug manufacturers advantages from working with CDMOs to develop and manufacture their products, which supports them, lowers expenses, and increases their competitiveness in the healthcare sector. CDMOs operate for a wide range of organizations. From small clinical trials to large-scale manufacturing of generic drugs, the capability to increase operations, with development, manufacturing, packaging, and distribution.
On the other hand, the biotech startups segment is projected to experience the fastest CAGR from 2025 to 2034, as working with a CDMO offers major benefits to biotech startups with particular expertise, larger capacity, navigation by government requirements, and speed. CDMO offers end-to-end, fully integrated advancement and manufacturing services and solutions to biotechnology and medicinal startups.
By end-use application, the human antibiotics segment led the antibiotic CDMO market in 2024 due to these antibiotics are used to manage or prevent certain types of bacterial infection. They kill bacteria or prevent them from spreading and reproducing. Antibiotics are used in the treatment of life-threatening acute bacterial infections, medical infections, and the efficient use as prophylaxis.
On the other hand, the veterinary antibiotics segment is projected to experience the fastest CAGR from 2025 to 2034, as these drugs are predominantly used in veterinary medicine to manage infectious diseases that are caused by bacteria and some other microorganisms. There are various classes of antibiotics available for use in animals, containing penicillins, cephamycins, cephalosporins, tetracyclines, quinolones, sulfonamides, aminoglycosides, and macrolides.
North America is dominant in the market in 2024, as the most common infections in this region are mostly caused by the bacterium Escherichia coli, and increasing overuse and misuse of antibiotics in the population in this region are contributing to the rise of antibiotic resistance in North America, which drives the growth of the market. CDMO services provide flexibility and yield more cash flow than would be attainable internally, which contributes to the growth of the market.
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CDMOs are enlarged demand for drug substance development and GMP manufacturing services for moderniser small-molecule drug development projects in the U.S. There are around 300 pharmaceutical CDMOs in the U.S., which drives the growth of the market.
Contract Research Organizations (CROs) and Contract Manufacturing Organizations (CMOs) play a significant role in the life science value chain by providing inclusive services to accelerate product development plans and improve manufacturing effectiveness. It offers scalable manufacturing capacity to funding clients in accelerating innovation from development to application. The presence of major CDMOs in Canada, such as Pillar5 Pharma Inc., Laboratoires Confab Inc., Dalton Pharma Services, and Novocol Pharma, contributes to the growth of the market.
Asia Pacific is the fastest-growing region in the antibiotic CDMO market in the forecast period, as growing supportive government initiatives offer valuable support to pharmaceutical organizations' goal to bring new and intricate therapies. Increasing infectious diseases in Asia Pacific, such as influenza, dengue, Japanese encephalitis, tuberculosis, and pneumonia, are endemic, which encourages the use of specialized CDMO services.
In China, more than 7,000 cases of a mosquito-borne virus have been found in China's Guangdong province, which is increasing the demand for antibiotic CDMO services. The Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has stated that a surge in respiratory viral infections, including human metapneumovirus (hMPV) infections, in northern China in 2024, which contributes to the growth of the market.
In India, the increasing CDMO services offer various advantages like cost effectiveness, technological advancements, and a strong regulatory framework. India has recognized itself as the “pharmacy of the world” in generic drug manufacturing. In the Indian land, multiple large and mid-sized players expressively scaled their CDMO services, which contributes to the growth of the market.
Europe is notably growing in the antibiotic CDMO market, as the growing government initiatives, such as the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority and Innovative Medicines Innovative help antibiotic R&D manufacturing partnerships, which drive the growth of the market. Increasing clinical trials in the European region drive the requirement for healthcare manufacturing and development, which contributes to the growth of the market.
In Germany, pharmaceutical and biotech organizations are progressively abandoning antibiotic development and production, which increases the requirement for CDMO outsourcing services. Also, increasing spending on health research and development drives the growth of the market.
The UK is a globally renowned research home to evolving centers of healthcare and commercial growth. Growing biotech nexus, blending scientific talent with deep-pocketed investors and pharma HQs. The presence of leading hospitals and research institutes and increasing regulatory initiatives, and strong scheme funding are further growth local innovation and growing international partnerships, which drives the growth of the market.
In July 2025, Joan Petit, Chief Industrial Operations Officer of ESTEVE and General Manager of Esteve CDMO, stated, “We are proud to strengthen our CDMO solutions for pharmaceutical innovators through this acquisition, while welcoming around 70 skilled professionals to our US team.”
By Service Type
By Molecule Type
By Dosage Form
By Client Type
By End-use Application
By Region
August 2025
July 2025
July 2025
July 2025