Private-equity-owned CDMOs in Europe: 54 compared (2026)
54 of the 255 contract development and manufacturing organisations in A4BEE’s European census are private-equity-owned. The largest, with revenue over €1bn, are Biofarma Group, F.I.S. Fabbrica Italiana Sintetici, Famar, Pharmathen, Seqens and Zentiva Group. 24 sit between €250m and €1bn and 24 are smaller or niche.
By ownership: 54 private equity. They are spread across 20 countries, led by the United Kingdom (14), Italy (7), Germany (5), Belgium (4) and France (4). 28 of the 54 rows rest on audited reports or official company disclosures; the rest come from secondary sources or estimates.
54 companies
Private-equity-owned CDMOs in Europe
| Company | Country | Ownership | Size | Revenue (as reported) | Modalities | Data |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biofarma GroupItalian/European leader in third-party-exclusive dev, manufacture and packaging of food supplements, probiotic drugs, medical devices. | Mereto di Tomba, Italy | Private equityArdian | Tier 1 | €443.3 m | Oral solid dose | high |
| F.I.S. Fabbrica Italiana SinteticiOne of the largest small-molecule API CDMOs in the world. Strong GLP-1 growth. Controlled by Bain Capital since 2023. | Montecchio Maggiore, Italy | Private equityBain Capital | Tier 1 | €879 m (2025) | Small-molecule API | high |
| FamarOne of Europe's largest pure-play pharma/consumer-health CDMOs; 70+ yr legacy. Sterile injectables, eye drops, syrups, solids. 80 markets. | Alimos, Greece | Private equityMidEuropa | Tier 1 | not disclosed | Oral solid dose, Sterile fill-finish | high |
| PharmathenVertically integrated developer of complex drug-delivery tech offering CDMO/co-development: long-acting injectables, SR oral solids, ophthalmics. | Pallini, Greece | Private equityPartners Group | Tier 1 | not disclosed | Oral solid dose, Sterile fill-finish, Peptide | high |
| SeqensLarge API/small-molecule CDMO plus specialty ingredients; ~200 APIs. Revenue includes non-pharma specialty ingredients. | Écully, France | Private equitySK Capital | Tier 1 | ~€1.1 bn (group) | Small-molecule API, Peptide | high |
| Zentiva GroupLarge generics maker with an explicit B2B/CDMO arm (oral solids, sterile ampoules/vials, creams; APIs). Contract offering spans Prague and Bucharest. | Prague, Czechia | Private equityAdvent International | Tier 1 | ~€1.3 bn (group est.) | Small-molecule API, Oral solid dose, Sterile fill-finish | high |
| AbzenaIntegrated biologics / bioconjugate / ADC CDMO+CRO, UK-founded but increasingly US-centred — European-HQ status borderline. Fills the ADC/bioconjugation gap. | Cambridge, United Kingdom | Private equityWelsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe | Tier 2 | not disclosed | Biologics and biosimilars, Monoclonal antibody, Antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) | low |
| Adragos PharmaFSN Capital 'buy-and-build' roll-up acquiring sites from Sanofi/Fresenius Kabi. | Munich, Germany | Private equityFSN Capital | Tier 2 | n/d | Small-molecule API, Sterile fill-finish, Oral solid dose | medium |
| AxploraAPI/HPAPI specialist across German and French sites. | Munich, Germany | Private equity | Tier 2 | n/d | Small-molecule API, Antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) | low |
| CambrexSmall-molecule API + continuous flow + liquid-phase peptides; several EU sites. | East Rutherford, NJ, United States | Private equityPermira | Tier 2 | ~US$500 m–1 bn | Small-molecule API, Peptide | medium |
| Cambrex Profarmaco MilanoItalian operating entity of US-HQ Cambrex; generic APIs + custom/contract manufacturing of APIs and intermediates. | Paullo, Italy | Private equityCambrex (Permira) | Tier 2 | not disclosed | Small-molecule API | medium |
| Centrient PharmaceuticalsFormerly DSM Sinochem. Enzymatic beta-lactam antibiotics, statins, antifungals; APIs plus finished dosage and CDMO. | Rijswijk, Netherlands | Private equityBain Capital | Tier 2 | ~€560 m | Small-molecule API, Microbial and protein | high |
| CIPANAPI CDMO via fermentation and chemical synthesis (founded 1960). FDA-approved; anti-infectives, psychotropics. Part of Suanfarma. | Castanheira do Ribatejo, Portugal | Private equitySuanfarma | Tier 2 | not disclosed | Small-molecule API, Microbial and protein | high |
| CordenPharmaPeptide + lipid/LNP specialist riding the GLP-1 boom (e.g. Viking deal). | Basel, Switzerland | Private equity | Tier 2 | ~US$530 m | Peptide, mRNA and LNP, Sterile fill-finish, Small-molecule API | medium |
| Doppel FarmaceuticiFull-service finished-dose CDMO: solids, semi-solids, liquids, sprays, and aseptic/terminally-sterilized injectable vials. | Cortemaggiore, Italy | Private equityTrilantic Europe | Tier 2 | €112.8 m (2024) | Oral solid dose, Sterile fill-finish | high |
| EthypharmHybrid specialty pharma + CDMO; CDMO arm specializes in controlled substances, HPAPIs and modified-release oral. | Saint-Cloud, France | Private equityPAI Partners | Tier 2 | €135 m (2024, SAS) | Oral solid dose, Small-molecule API | medium |
| FarmabiosWorld leader in steroid chemistry (>80 APIs) + CDMO for HPAPIs, cytotoxics, hormones. Italian site of Axplora group. | Gropello Cairoli, Italy | Private equityAxplora | Tier 2 | not disclosed | Small-molecule API | high |
| GeneticLeading Italian CDMO in respiratory + ophthalmic. BFS sterile monodose, eye drops, nasal sprays, pMDI/DPI inhalers. | Fisciano, Italy | Private equityRenaissance Partners | Tier 2 | not disclosed | Sterile fill-finish, Oral solid dose | high |
| LabomarNutraceutical/food-supplement finished-dose CDMO (supplements, medical devices, pharmaceuticals) for third parties. | Istrana, Italy | Private equityCharterhouse Capital | Tier 2 | €135 m (2025) | Oral solid dose | low |
| Meribel Pharma SolutionsFormed 2025 from Synerlab + 7 Recipharm sites; classic multi-site integration play. | London, United Kingdom | Private equityBlue Wolf | Tier 2 | ~€300 m est. | Sterile fill-finish, Oral solid dose | medium |
| Minaris Advanced TherapiesCell & gene therapy CDMO (formerly Minaris Regenerative Medicine / Apceth). Merged with WuXi Advanced Therapies in 2025; Ottobrunn is the European base. | Ottobrunn, Germany | Private equityAltaris Capital Partners | Tier 2 | not disclosed | Cell and gene therapy | high |
| NextPharma | London, United Kingdom | Private equity | Tier 2 | ~€229 m | Oral solid dose, Sterile fill-finish | medium |
| NorthX BiologicsBiologics CDMO built on the former Cobra Biologics Matfors site; Swedish national innovation hub for ATMPs. | Matfors, Sweden | Private equityFlerie Invest | Tier 2 | not disclosed | Microbial and protein, Biologics and biosimilars, mRNA and LNP, Viral vector and vaccine, Cell and gene therapy, Monoclonal antibody, Sterile fill-finish | low |
| Olainfarm (Olpha)One of the largest Baltic pharma companies (rebranded Olpha); contract manufacturing and co-development across APIs, intermediates and solid FDFs. | Olaine, Latvia | Private equityAB City holding | Tier 2 | not disclosed | Small-molecule API, Oral solid dose | high |
| Quotient SciencesFull-service third-party CDMO (drug substance/product + clinical). UK-HQ under European PE. | Nottingham, United Kingdom | Private equityPermira | Tier 2 | not disclosed | Small-molecule API, Oral solid dose, Peptide, Sterile fill-finish | low |
| Recipharm | Stockholm, Sweden | Private equityEQT | Tier 2 | €827 m (2024) | Sterile fill-finish, Oral solid dose, Biologics and biosimilars, mRNA and LNP, Viral vector and vaccine | high |
| Saneca PharmaceuticalsSlovakia's largest pharma and a genuine API + FDF CDMO (carve-out of former Zentiva/Sanofi API business). Opiate/narcotic API specialist plus oral solids. | Hlohovec, Slovakia | Private equity | Tier 2 | not disclosed | Small-molecule API, Oral solid dose, Sterile fill-finish | high |
| SUANFARMASpain-HQ B2B life-sciences; CDMO offers end-to-end small-molecule dev/manufacturing combining fermentation and synthesis. | Alcobendas, Spain | Private equityArchiMed | Tier 2 | not disclosed | Small-molecule API, Microbial and protein | high |
| Unither PharmaceuticalsWorld leader in Blow-Fill-Seal sterile unit-dose liquids; also effervescent/oral formats. | Amiens, France | Private equityArdian | Tier 2 | €371 m (2022) | Sterile fill-finish, Oral solid dose | high |
| VibalogicsSpecialist virus/viral-vector and oncolytic-virus CDMO; PE-backed. German HQ with a US site added later. | Cuxhaven, Germany | Private equityAmpersand Capital Partners | Tier 2 | not disclosed | Viral vector and vaccine, Cell and gene therapy | high |
| 3PBIOVIANMerger of 3P Biopharmaceuticals (Spain) + Biovian (Finland). | Noáin, Spain | Private equityKeensight | Tier 3 | ~US$81 m | Microbial and protein, Viral vector and vaccine, Cell and gene therapy | medium |
| ArdenaNanomedicine/LNP + drug-substance/product + bioanalytical CDMO. | Ghent, Belgium | Private equityGHO Capital | Tier 3 | n/d | mRNA and LNP, Oral solid dose, Sterile fill-finish | medium |
| Bath ASUOne of the UK's largest independent aseptic 'specials' manufacturers — patient-specific chemo, CIVAS, PCA injectables for 220+ NHS trusts. | Corsham, United Kingdom | Private equity | Tier 3 | not disclosed | Sterile fill-finish | medium |
| BDD PharmaSmall CDMO/CRO for modified/controlled-release oral formulation dev (proprietary OralogiK). More formulation-dev than commercial scale. | Glasgow, United Kingdom | Private equity | Tier 3 | not disclosed | Small-molecule API, Oral solid dose | low |
| BespakDrug-delivery / combination-product CDMO (pMDI valves, DPI devices, inhaled/nasal). Spun out of Recipharm into a standalone EQT-backed CDMO (2024). | King's Lynn, United Kingdom | Private equityEQT | Tier 3 | not disclosed | Sterile fill-finish | medium |
| CatSciContract development organisation (route scouting, API/HPAPI process dev, analytical) — the 'D' of CDMO; outsources scale-up. | Cardiff, United Kingdom | Private equityKeensight Capital | Tier 3 | not disclosed | Small-molecule API | low |
| CellisticiPSC-based cell-therapy CDMO (launched 2022 by Ncardia). Venture-backed. | Gosselies, Belgium | Private equityNcardia | Tier 3 | not disclosed | Cell and gene therapy | medium |
| CenexiSterile fill-finish specialist (injectables, ampoules, HPAPI sterile). | Fontenay-sous-Bois, France | Private equityCathay Capital | Tier 3 | €191 m (2023) | Sterile fill-finish | high |
| Cerbios-Pharma~50-year-old CDMO for HPAPIs, ADCs, recombinant proteins and live biotherapeutics; acquired by HAS Healthcare 2025. | Lugano, Switzerland | Private equityHAS Healthcare | Tier 3 | not disclosed | Small-molecule API, Antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), Biologics and biosimilars, Microbial and protein | high |
| Chanelle PharmaIreland's largest indigenous generics maker (human + veterinary); explicitly offers CMO/CDMO services alongside own generics. | Loughrea, Ireland | Private equityExponent Private Equity | Tier 3 | not disclosed | Small-molecule API, Oral solid dose, Sterile fill-finish | high |
| CoripharmaIndependent Icelandic generics CDMO (est. 2018) on the former Actavis site; solid oral dose, specialising in low-volume generics. Geothermal/hydro-powered. | Hafnarfjörður, Iceland | Private equity | Tier 3 | not disclosed | Oral solid dose | high |
| eTheRNA immunotherapiesVenture-backed RNA/mRNA-LNP firm offering contract dev/manufacturing; positions as tech partner. Financial restructuring reported. | Niel, Belgium | Private equity | Tier 3 | not disclosed | mRNA and LNP | low |
| eXmoor PharmaIndependent full-service cell & gene therapy CDMO + CMC consultancy. | Bristol, United Kingdom | Private equityMVM Partners | Tier 3 | not disclosed | Cell and gene therapy, Viral vector and vaccine, Biologics and biosimilars | medium |
| NextPharma GöttingenGerman solid-dosage sites (incl. allphamed Pharbil) of the privately held European NextPharma group. | Göttingen, Germany | Private equity | Tier 3 | not disclosed | Oral solid dose, Sterile fill-finish | low |
| Pharma-SkanIndependent CMO producing/filling liquid and sterile pharmaceuticals and oral liquids for human and veterinary use. | Skanderborg, Denmark | Private equityBrygge Partners | Tier 3 | not disclosed | Sterile fill-finish | medium |
| PharmatoryFinnish CDMO: small-molecule synthesis, process R&D, cGMP API contract manufacturing and analytics for human and veterinary pharma. | Oulu, Finland | Private equityMB Funds | Tier 3 | not disclosed | Small-molecule API | high |
| Purna PharmaceuticalsNon-sterile CDMO: solids, semi-solids and liquids; OEB 1-5. | Puurs, Belgium | Private equityAmpersand Capital | Tier 3 | not disclosed | Oral solid dose | high |
| Rosemont PharmaceuticalsOral-liquid-medicines specialist (~60 yrs); primarily branded/specials but offers contract manufacturing/CDMO services. | Leeds, United Kingdom | Private equityInflexion | Tier 3 | not disclosed | Small-molecule API, Oral solid dose | medium |
| RoslinCTAdvanced-therapy (cell & gene) CDMO spun out of the Roslin Institute. Manufactures CASGEVY, first FDA-approved CRISPR gene therapy. | Edinburgh, United Kingdom | Private equityGHO Capital / Pioneer Group | Tier 3 | not disclosed | Cell and gene therapy | high |
| Sanochemia PharmazeutikaCDMO for sterile injectables and small-molecule APIs; also a leading MRI/CT contrast-agent maker. | Neufeld an der Leitha, Austria | Private equityEOSS Industries consortium | Tier 3 | not disclosed | Small-molecule API, Sterile fill-finish | high |
| Sterling Pharma | Cramlington, United Kingdom | Private equityGHO Capital | Tier 3 | ~£130 m FY2023 | Small-molecule API, Antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), Peptide | medium |
| ten23 healthSterile drug-product formulation & fill-finish CDMO (biologics, cell & gene therapy); absorbed swissfillon (Visp) in 2021. | Basel, Switzerland | Private equity3i Group | Tier 3 | not disclosed | Sterile fill-finish, Biologics and biosimilars, Cell and gene therapy | high |
| TouchlightCDMO making enzymatic 'doggybone DNA' (dbDNA) as template for mRNA/viral-vector/genetic medicines. First synthetic-DNA maker with MHRA GMP API cert. | London, United Kingdom | Private equity | Tier 3 | not disclosed | Cell and gene therapy, mRNA and LNP, Viral vector and vaccine | medium |
| Upperton Pharma SolutionsSpray-drying specialist CDMO: formulation + dosage-form dev for oral, nasal, pulmonary and sterile forms (small molecules + biologics). | Nottingham, United Kingdom | Private equityInflexion | Tier 3 | not disclosed | Oral solid dose, Sterile fill-finish, Biologics and biosimilars | high |
Size: Tier 1 (revenue over €1bn) · Tier 2 (€250m–€1bn) · Tier 3 (under €250m or niche).
Revenue, staff and site figures are as reported and mix audited accounts with commercial estimates, which are often wrong for private companies. Each row carries a confidence mark; verify a figure before quoting it.
Browse the census
Other European CDMO lists
By country
- CDMOs in Italy (31)
- CDMOs in Spain (30)
- CDMOs in Germany (28)
- CDMOs in the United Kingdom (25)
- CDMOs in France (15)
- CDMOs in Switzerland (14)
- CDMOs in Poland (11)
- CDMOs in Belgium (9)
- CDMOs in Sweden (9)
- CDMOs in Greece (8)
- CDMOs in Ireland (8)
- CDMOs in the Netherlands (8)
- CDMOs in Portugal (8)
- CDMOs in Denmark (7)
- CDMOs in Austria (5)
- CDMOs in Finland (5)
- CDMOs in Norway (5)
- CDMOs in Czechia (4)
- CDMOs in Lithuania (4)
- CDMOs in Bulgaria (3)
By modality
- Small-molecule API CDMOs in Europe (107)
- Oral solid dose CDMOs in Europe (94)
- Sterile fill-finish CDMOs in Europe (106)
- Biologics and biosimilars CDMOs in Europe (66)
- Monoclonal antibody CDMOs in Europe (36)
- Antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) CDMOs in Europe (15)
- Cell and gene therapy CDMOs in Europe (29)
- mRNA and LNP CDMOs in Europe (22)
- Viral vector and vaccine CDMOs in Europe (32)
- Microbial and protein CDMOs in Europe (34)
- Peptide CDMOs in Europe (24)
By ownership
- Privately owned CDMOs in Europe (155)
- Family-owned CDMOs in Europe (101)
- Private-equity-owned CDMOs in Europe