Vaccine Contract Manufacturing Market: Execution Now Defines Competitive Advantage.

12 January 2026.

Visiongain has published a new report entitled Vaccine Contract Manufacturing Market Report 2026-2036 , estimating the global market at US$3,947.4 million in 2026 and forecasting growth at a CAGR of 10.9% through 2036.

As vaccine pipelines diversify and immunisation programmes expand globally, manufacturing execution rather than scientific innovation alone is becoming the decisive competitive factor. Sponsors are increasingly prioritising partners that can deliver scale, regulatory reliability, and supply continuity across development and commercial production.

Impact of US Trade Tariffs on the Global Vaccine Contract Manufacturing Market

US trade tariffs are expected to affect the global vaccine contract manufacturing market through both direct cost transmission and second-order supply-chain realignment. Where tariffs apply to imported bioprocessing equipment, single-use technologies, specialised raw materials or selected process intermediates, contract manufacturing organisations (CMOs) would face higher input costs and more complex procurement strategies, particularly for programmes that depend on cross-border sourcing of critical components such as filters, chromatography resins, sterile packaging materials and aseptic filling consumables. In the near term, this is expected to compress margins on fixed-price contracts, extend lead times for equipment qualification and validation, and elevate the importance of dual-sourcing, strategic inventory buffers and supplier risk management to safeguard production continuity.

Over the medium term, tariff-related uncertainty is likely to accelerate regionalisation, but the scale of localisation will vary by technology platform. More conventional protein-based and viral-vector manufacturing is likely to shift towards greater regional dispersion, whereas highly specialised platforms such as mRNA are expected to remain concentrated in a limited number of advanced facilities due to technical complexity, capital intensity and regulatory constraints. Vaccine developers are expected to prioritise CMOs with US-based or tariff-shielded capacity for late-stage manufacturing and fill-finish, alongside strong regulatory track records with the US Food and Drug Administration. In response, non-US CMOs are likely to expand targeted US footprints, pursue joint ventures, or develop partnership models with domestic players to maintain market access rather than fully relocating production.

The net effect is a more geographically fragmented vaccine contract manufacturing market, characterised by stronger emphasis on supply-chain resilience, local regulatory readiness, and end-to-end execution reliability across development, fill-finish and commercial supply.

Platform Diversity as a Determinant of Manufacturing Partner Selection

Vaccine development pipelines are increasingly characterised by technological plurality rather than reliance on a narrow set of established platforms. Sponsors are progressing programmes across inactivated, subunit, recombinant, viral-vector and, in selected cases, mRNA technologies—often concurrently within the same portfolio—thereby raising the technical, operational and regulatory expectations placed on manufacturing partners.

This diversification is driving vaccine developers to prioritise contract manufacturing organisations (CMOs) that can support multiple platforms while maintaining consistent quality, process control and regulatory compliance across development, scale-up and commercial supply. As a result, manufacturing versatility, process transfer capability and platform-agnostic quality systems are becoming as important as product-specific optimisation in partner selection.

Consequently, CMOs with demonstrable cross-platform expertise, modular facility designs and proven tech-transfer capabilities are experiencing stronger and longer-term engagement. This trend is being reinforced by increasingly heterogeneous pipelines, evolving technology choices, and sponsors’ desire to preserve manufacturing optionality in the face of scientific, regulatory and market uncertainty.

What are the Current Market Drivers?

Expansion of Global Immunisation and Booster Programmes

The sustained expansion of national and international immunisation programmes represents a foundational demand driver for the vaccine contract manufacturing market. The broadening of routine vaccination schedules, periodic booster campaigns and catch-up immunisation initiatives across both paediatric and adult populations is embedding a more stable, structural baseline for vaccine production. Unlike episodic pandemic surges, this demand profile is recurrent and policy-anchored, providing contract manufacturers with greater volume visibility and planning certainty.

Vaccine sponsors are increasingly leveraging contract manufacturing organisations (CMOs) to secure reliable supply while avoiding underutilised internal capacity and capital-intensive facility ownership. CMOs are better positioned to absorb regional demand variability, manage multi-site production networks and maintain consistent regulatory compliance across jurisdictions. This outsourcing dynamic is particularly pronounced for multi-country immunisation programmes, where supply continuity, scalability and geographic coverage are critical. It is further reinforced by rising vaccination coverage targets, ageing demographics requiring adult boosters, and sustained government and multilateral funding for immunisation infrastructure.

Increasing Technological Complexity of Vaccine Manufacturing

The technological complexity of vaccine development and production continues to intensify as pipelines diversify across recombinant, subunit, viral-vector and, in selected cases, mRNA platforms. These modalities require platform-specific infrastructure, advanced analytical controls, stringent contamination risk management and specialised technical expertise that many sponsors cannot efficiently replicate in-house at scale.

As process complexity increases, vaccine developers are progressively engaging specialised CMOs with established platform capabilities, robust quality systems and strong regulatory track records. CMOs are being integrated earlier in development to support process design, tech-transfer, scale-up, validation and commercial readiness. This earlier and deeper engagement is structurally strengthening outsourcing demand, driven by technology diversification, tighter regulatory expectations, and sponsors’ need to reduce technical, operational and scale-up risk across the development-to-commercial lifecycle.

Where are the Market Opportunities?

Growth in Regional and Localised Vaccine Manufacturing Capacity

An important opportunity within the vaccine contract manufacturing market lies in the expansion of regional and localised manufacturing networks. Vaccine developers and public health authorities are increasingly reassessing reliance on globally concentrated supply chains, particularly in light of recent disruptions and geopolitical uncertainty. This has led to a greater emphasis on manufacturing closer to end markets to improve supply security and regulatory alignment.

Expansion of Value-Added Services Beyond Core Manufacturing

A material opportunity within the vaccine contract manufacturing market lies in the expansion of value-added services beyond core bulk production. Vaccine developers are increasingly seeking integrated partners capable of supporting process development, analytical testing, regulatory documentation, technology transfer and commercial scale-up within a unified operating framework.

Contract manufacturing organisations (CMOs) that can provide end-to-end execution across development, fill-finish and lifecycle management are well positioned to secure longer-term engagements. As technical complexity and regulatory scrutiny intensify, sponsors are prioritising partners that reduce operational risk and accelerate time-to-market rather than relying solely on standalone production capacity.

Competitive Landscape

Major players operating in the vaccine contract manufacturing market include Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma, Batavia Biosciences B.V., Bavarian Nordic, Catalent, Inc, Charles River Laboratories, Curia Global, Inc., Emergent BioSolutions, FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation, ICON plc, IDT Biologika, Lonza, Recipharm AB, Richter-Helm BioLogics GmbH & Co. KG, WuXi Biologics. These organisations have adopted various strategies comprising M&A, investment in R&D, collaborations, partnerships, regional business expansion, and new product launches.

Recent Developments

On 28^th October 2025, Recipharm announced that its Advanced Bio division was awarded a major additional grant from The Gates Foundation. The initial grant from the foundation focused on advancing Process Analytical Technologies (PAT) in xRNA manufacturing, while the new funding will support integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into PAT to enable continuous manufacturing of xRNA vaccines. The initiative aims to accelerate the development of a digital, next-generation manufacturing platform that reduces production costs and improves vaccine access for LMICs.
On 11^th September 2025, Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. announced two strategic collaborations across its contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), aimed at advancing novel oncology research and development. These collaborations include forming an alliance with the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy and supporting a streamlined manufacturing process for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles’ Phase I Clinical Trials.
On 22^nd April 2025, FUJIFILM Biotechnologies announced a 10-year manufacturing supply agreement, valued at over $3 billion, with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to provide U.S.-based production of its industry-leading biologic medicines, which treat millions of patients worldwide. Under the terms of the agreement, FUJIFILM Biotechnologies will provide US-based manufacturing for Regeneron over the 10-year period through current and planned expansions at its new large-scale biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Holly Springs, North Carolina,
On 17^th March 2025, Curia Global, Inc. announced expansion plans to its Glasgow, UK facility and provided updates on the ongoing expansion in Albuquerque, NM. Curia’s sterile fill-finish facility in Glasgow will add an integrated, isolator-based vial filling line and lyophilizer suitable for a broad range of drug product including highly potent capabilities, more than doubling current GMP batch size.

About Visiongain

Established in 1998, Visiongain is an independent publisher of analyst-led market intelligence, delivering data-driven research, forecasts, and strategic insight across global industries and emerging markets. Visiongain supports evidence-based decision-making for investment, procurement, and long-term strategic planning.