KATE HAMMEKE
vice president of market research at Industry Standard Research, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

Abstract

The price of goods and/or services is frequently top of mind when making a purchase decision in both consumer and business transactions. However, Low cost has appeared among the top five CDMO selection metrics for small molecule drug substance manufacturing just two times in the past five years. So how does the cost of services factor into outsourcing decisions? A review of Industry Standard Research’s data on outsourcing drivers will help shed light on how and when cost comes into consideration when choosing a CDMO.

INTRODUCTION
A recent analysis of ISR data on factors driving CDMO selection for small molecule drug substance over the prior five years showed that the importance of Low cost varied from year to year (1). The attribute earned an average five-year ranking of 5.2 out of the 28 different CDMO characteristics presented to survey participants, making it the sixth highest ranking selection metric. Contract manufacturer attributes such as Proven ability to manufacture small molecule API, Reliable, on-time delivery, Strong regulatory track record, Has capacity to meet our demands and Prior positive experience with the service provider all averaged a higher combined ranking when aggregating ISR’s CDMO Benchmarking data from 2018 to 2022. While attributes like Track record for meeting quality performance metrics and Scientific knowledge also made appearances in the top-five selection metrics during the timeframe. This article will further explore how cost influences CDMO selection and what other factors are at play.

DISCUSSION
Previously, ISR shared details on how the most popular selection metrics for small molecul ...