8 Companies for Drug Substance and Drug Product Manufacturing in 2026

A DS/DP manufacturing provider handles the physical production of a therapy: drug substance is the active pharmaceutical ingredient itself, and drug product is that ingredient formulated, filled, and packaged into the form a patient actually receives, whether that's a syringe, vial, tablet, or inhaler. This kind of CDMO ranges from small molecule chemistry specialists who develop and scale up a synthesis route, to biologics CRDMOs supporting antibody and cell and gene therapy programs, to aseptic fill-finish specialists focused specifically on injectable products.

The companies below are listed in no particular order. Between them, these companies and providers cover small molecule and oligonucleotide CMC development, biologics discovery-through-manufacturing platforms, aseptic fill-finish for injectables, and integrated drug product and clinical packaging services.

Alcami

Alcami is a contract development and manufacturing organization headquartered in Durham, North Carolina with more than 40 years of experience advancing pharmaceuticals and biologics from development through delivery, operating five campuses across the US that support sterile fill-finish and oral solid dose drug product manufacturing. In January 2023, healthcare investors GHO Capital Partners and The Vistria Group completed a 50/50 acquisition of a controlling interest in Alcami from Madison Dearborn Partners and Ampersand Capital Partners, with Ampersand and company management reinvesting alongside the new owners. Alcami's integrated capabilities span sterile fill-finish of both biologics and small molecules, formulation development, laboratory services, and cGMP biostorage of high-value, temperature-sensitive materials. The company serves more than 1,000 clients globally and has continued to invest in new capacity and lab space to support its growth strategy under its current private equity ownership.

Catalent

Catalent is a global contract development and manufacturing organization headquartered in Somerset, New Jersey, operating more than 50 sites worldwide and employing over 18,000 people, including roughly 3,000 scientists and technicians, supporting pharma, biotech, and consumer health customers across product development, launch, and full life-cycle supply. In December 2024, Novo Holdings, the controlling shareholder of Novo Nordisk, completed a $16.5 billion all-cash acquisition of Catalent, taking the company private in one of the largest CDMO deals in the industry's history. As part of a related transaction, Novo Nordisk separately paid Novo Holdings $11 billion to acquire three of Catalent's fill-finish sites in Italy, Belgium, and Indiana, specialized in sterile drug filling and collectively employing more than 3,000 people, to expand its own GLP-1 manufacturing capacity. The Novo-Catalent deal drew opposition from competing pharma CEOs and advocacy groups concerned about reduced manufacturing capacity for competing products, though it ultimately cleared FTC review and closed in December 2024.

CatSci

CatSci was founded in 2010 by former AstraZeneca scientists who began as a catalyst screening specialist working out of a single lab in Cardiff, and has since evolved into a fully integrated CMC development partner spanning small molecules, oligonucleotides, peptides, and targeted protein degraders like molecular glues. The company now operates 14 laboratories across the UK and Europe, offering route scouting and selection, process design and optimization, and scale-up services from early development through commercial manufacture for more than 100 biotech and global pharma clients. CatSci partners with AGC Pharma Chemicals to offer scalable small molecule API manufacturing from gram to tonne scale with full tech transfer accountability. The company has also won an Innovate UK grant with partner Reach Industries to integrate machine vision and AI tools into oligonucleotide synthesis and analysis, aiming to bring greater transparency and speed to RNA therapeutics development.

Experic

Experic was founded in 2018 in Cranbury, New Jersey, with a mission to build a CDMO around client-focused service, world-class talent, and advanced technology, and has since grown to support drug product development, manufacturing, and clinical trial supply across formats including tablets, pellets, capsules, and low-dose dry powder inhalation. The company operates from a Class A cGMP facility in Cranbury alongside a clinical trial storage and logistics site in Kilbeggan, Ireland, and closed a $14 million Series B round led by Harro Höfliger Packaging Systems and East Seattle Partners to expand its capabilities. Experic received a further, undisclosed growth investment in 2024 backed by 1315 Capital, East Seattle Partners, Harro Höfliger, and Kineticos Ventures to accelerate international expansion. In March 2026, the company announced a strategic partnership with Flurry Powders to combine Flurry's spray-drying formulation expertise with Experic's GMP manufacturing for next-generation inhaled and nasal drug products.

Incog BioPharma Services

INCOG BioPharma Services was founded in 2020 in Fishers, Indiana, after founder and CEO Cory Lewis, drawing on his experience in contract manufacturing, set out to build a fill-finish CDMO focused on better customer service than he felt the industry typically delivered to biopharma clients. The company's 90,000-square-foot facility opened in May 2022 and provides sterile fill-finish, device assembly, and final packaging for injectable biologics and peptides in syringes, vials, and cartridges, completing an FDA inspection with zero observations in 2024. INCOG broke ground on a second, 113,000-square-foot building adjacent to its original campus to support automated device assembly for autoinjectors, pens, and wearable injectors, and in December 2025 announced a further $200 million investment in its Fishers campus with plans to grow to nearly 1,000 employees by 2030. The company was also named a finalist for ISPE's Facility of the Year Award, reflecting its focus on safety and efficiency in its facility design.

PCI Pharma Services

PCI Pharma Services, whose name originally stood for Packaging Coordinators, Inc., is a global CDMO with more than 50 years of experience delivering supply-chain healthcare services, operating over 30 GMP sites across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Australia and supporting roughly 25 percent of the world's top 200 drugs. The company has changed private equity hands multiple times, including a 2020 majority stake acquisition by Kohlberg & Company from Partners Group, and more recently received a strategic investment co-led by Bain Capital and Kohlberg with continued backing from Mubadala Investment Company. PCI's integrated offering spans drug development and manufacturing, advanced drug delivery and drug-device combination products, clinical trial services, and commercial packaging, supported by a workforce of more than 8,000 employees. The company has grown through acquisitions including Anderson Packaging, Biotec Services International, and Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma Services, and reports achieving more than 90 successful product launches each year.

Vetter Pharma

Vetter Pharma traces its history to 1950, when pharmacist Helmut Vetter leased the Marien-Apotheke pharmacy in Ravensburg, Germany and founded what began as a small pharmaceutical business before evolving into a dedicated CDMO for the aseptic filling of syringes, cartridges, and vials. The company remains family-owned 75 years later, employing more than 7,400 people across production facilities in Germany, Austria, and the US, plus sales offices in Singapore, Japan, South Korea, and China, and reported revenue of roughly €1.1 billion in 2024. Vetter does not manufacture its own active pharmaceutical ingredients, focusing instead on aseptic fill-and-finish services, device assembly, and packaging that support customers from early clinical drug product development through commercial manufacturing and lifecycle management. The company maintains a strong regulatory track record across the FDA, EMA, Japan's PMDA, and Germany's Regierungspräsidium, and has helped supply injectable therapies for conditions including cancer and multiple sclerosis.

WuXi Biologics

WuXi Biologics was founded in 2010 in Wuxi, China as a spin-off of WuXi AppTec by Dr. Ge Li, who serves as Chairman, building the company into a Contract Research, Development, and Manufacturing Organization (CRDMO) that offers integrated services from biologics discovery through commercial-scale manufacturing. The company employs more than 12,000 people across facilities in China, the US, Ireland, Germany, and Singapore, and by some industry estimates supports roughly one in five of all global novel biological entity IND applications, alongside a portfolio of 252 antibody drug conjugate (ADC) projects representing close to a third of the global ADC development pipeline. WuXi Biologics reported 2024 revenue of approximately $2.6 billion, a 9.6 percent increase year-over-year, and in 2023 spun off its bioconjugate CRDMO unit, WuXi XDC, through a Hong Kong IPO that raised roughly $520 million. The company has continued to navigate geopolitical pressure in the US, including the proposed BIOSECURE Act targeting certain Chinese biotech firms, while maintaining GMP certifications from regulators including the EMA and Ireland's HPRA and a reported 100 percent success rate across pre-approval inspections.

Explore the full DS/DP Manufacturing landscape

The companies above represent a portion of a much larger field.

Diligent's platform includes over 155 DS/DP Manufacturing Vendors, with Vendor qualification data available on demand. Talk to our team about accessing qualification data for this category.

This article is intended as an informational overview of vendors operating in this space. Inclusion on this list does not constitute an endorsement, recommendation, or qualification by Diligent.