CDMOs in the United Kingdom: 25 compared (2026)
25 of the 255 contract development and manufacturing organisations in A4BEE’s European census are headquartered in the United Kingdom. The largest, with revenue over €1bn, are Almac Group and Fujifilm Diosynth. 4 sit between €250m and €1bn and 19 are smaller or niche.
By ownership: 5 family-owned, 14 private equity, 1 listed and 5 part of a pharma or industrial group. The most common capabilities are small-molecule API (12), sterile fill-finish (10), oral solid dose (9), biologics and biosimilars (8) and cell and gene therapy (6). 5 of the 25 rows rest on audited reports or official company disclosures; the rest come from secondary sources or estimates.
25 companies
CDMOs in the United Kingdom
| Company | HQ | Ownership | Size | Revenue (as reported) | Modalities | Data |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Almac Group£400 m+ capex program; broad clinical + diagnostics services alongside API. | Craigavon | Family-ownedMcClay charitable trust | Tier 1 | £1.027 bn FY2024 | Small-molecule API, Peptide, Antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) | high |
| Fujifilm Diosynth~US$8 bn global capex; Hillerød (DK) site runs 12 bioreactors. | Billingham | Part of a pharma or industrial groupFujifilm | Tier 1 | ~US$2.0 bn (global) | Biologics and biosimilars, Monoclonal antibody, Viral vector and vaccine, Cell and gene therapy | medium |
| AbzenaIntegrated biologics / bioconjugate / ADC CDMO+CRO, UK-founded but increasingly US-centred — European-HQ status borderline. Fills the ADC/bioconjugation gap. | Cambridge | Private equityWelsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe | Tier 2 | not disclosed | Biologics and biosimilars, Monoclonal antibody, Antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) | low |
| Meribel Pharma SolutionsFormed 2025 from Synerlab + 7 Recipharm sites; classic multi-site integration play. | London | Private equityBlue Wolf | Tier 2 | ~€300 m est. | Sterile fill-finish, Oral solid dose | medium |
| NextPharma | London | Private equity | Tier 2 | ~€229 m | Oral solid dose, Sterile fill-finish | medium |
| Quotient SciencesFull-service third-party CDMO (drug substance/product + clinical). UK-HQ under European PE. | Nottingham | Private equityPermira | Tier 2 | not disclosed | Small-molecule API, Oral solid dose, Peptide, Sterile fill-finish | low |
| Bath ASUOne of the UK's largest independent aseptic 'specials' manufacturers — patient-specific chemo, CIVAS, PCA injectables for 220+ NHS trusts. | Corsham | 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 | 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 | 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 | Private equityKeensight Capital | Tier 3 | not disclosed | Small-molecule API | low |
| Custom Pharma ServicesFull-service oral-solid-dose CDMO (tablets/capsules/powders incl. HPAPI); process dev through commercial. Est. 1979. | Hove | Family-owned | Tier 3 | not disclosed | Oral solid dose, Small-molecule API | high |
| eXmoor PharmaIndependent full-service cell & gene therapy CDMO + CMC consultancy. | Bristol | Private equityMVM Partners | Tier 3 | not disclosed | Cell and gene therapy, Viral vector and vaccine, Biologics and biosimilars | medium |
| Nova LaboratoriesIndependent aseptic-processing CDMO + 'Specials' supplier; sterile fill-finish for clinical-trial medicines. | Leicester | Family-owned | Tier 3 | not disclosed | Sterile fill-finish, Monoclonal antibody, Biologics and biosimilars, Microbial and protein | medium |
| Onyx ScientificSmall-molecule API / process-R&D CDMO; GMP API early phase to commercial. Owned by Ipca (India). | Sunderland | Part of a pharma or industrial groupIpca Laboratories (India) | Tier 3 | not disclosed | Small-molecule API | low |
| Oxford BiomedicaLSE-listed pure-play viral-vector / cell & gene therapy CDMO (lentiviral, AAV, adenoviral). | Oxford | Listed | Tier 3 | £128.8 m (FY2024) | Viral vector and vaccine, Cell and gene therapy, Biologics and biosimilars, mRNA and LNP | high |
| Pharmaron Cramlington (formerly Aesica)Third-party commercial API CDMO HQ'd in Cramlington. Was Aesica (Recipharm); sold to Pharmaron 2022 and rebranded. | Cramlington | Part of a pharma or industrial groupPharmaron (China) | Tier 3 | not disclosed | Small-molecule API | medium |
| Quay Pharma (SGS)Formulation-development + clinical/commercial CDMO HQ'd in Deeside, Wales. Acquired by SGS (Switzerland). | Deeside | Part of a pharma or industrial groupSGS | Tier 3 | not disclosed | Oral solid dose, Small-molecule API | medium |
| Rosemont PharmaceuticalsOral-liquid-medicines specialist (~60 yrs); primarily branded/specials but offers contract manufacturing/CDMO services. | Leeds | 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 | Private equityGHO Capital / Pioneer Group | Tier 3 | not disclosed | Cell and gene therapy | high |
| Sterling Pharma | Cramlington | Private equityGHO Capital | Tier 3 | ~£130 m FY2023 | Small-molecule API, Antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), Peptide | medium |
| Symbiosis Pharmaceutical ServicesIndependent sterile aseptic fill-finish CDMO (clinical + commercial): mAbs, ATMPs, viral vectors, ADCs, vaccines. FDA-inspected. | Stirling | Family-owned | Tier 3 | not disclosed | Sterile fill-finish, Monoclonal antibody, Antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), Biologics and biosimilars, Cell and gene therapy, Small-molecule API | medium |
| TouchlightCDMO making enzymatic 'doggybone DNA' (dbDNA) as template for mRNA/viral-vector/genetic medicines. First synthetic-DNA maker with MHRA GMP API cert. | London | 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 | Private equityInflexion | Tier 3 | not disclosed | Oral solid dose, Sterile fill-finish, Biologics and biosimilars | high |
| Wasdell GroupUK contract packaging + CDMO (solid/non-sterile dosage, clinical + commercial). Wound down Irish operations in 2024 — verify current status. | Swindon | Family-owned | Tier 3 | not disclosed | Oral solid dose, Sterile fill-finish | medium |
| Wockhardt UK (CP Pharmaceuticals)UK operating entity; third-party contract manufacture of sterile injectables (vials, cartridges, ampoules, lyo) alongside own generics. | Wrexham | Part of a pharma or industrial groupWockhardt (India) | Tier 3 | not disclosed | Sterile fill-finish, Small-molecule API, Biologics and biosimilars | medium |
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
- 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)