GLOBAL LIPID CMO MARKET: OVERVIEW
As per Roots Analysis, the global lipid CMO market valued at USD 2.4 billion in the current year is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.8% during the forecast period.
The market sizing and opportunity analysis has been segmented across the following parameters:
Type of Lipid
- Liposomes / Lipid Nanoparticles
- Phospholipids
- Pegylated Lipids
- Ionizable Lipids (Cationic / Anionic Lipids)
- Triglycerides
- Sphingolipids
- Neutral Lipids
- Others
Company Size
- Small
- Mid-Sized
- Large / Very Large
Scale Of Operation
- Preclinical
- Clinical
- Commercial
Key Geographical Regions
- North America
- Europe
- Asia-Pacific
- Middle East and North Africa
- Latin America
- Rest of the World
GLOBAL LIPID CMO MARKET: GROWTH AND TRENDS
Currently, ~ 90% of drug candidates in the development stage and nearly 40% of approved pharmaceutical products face challenges related to solubility and permeability. As a result, under modern regulatory standards, many promising therapeutic leads fail to progress through clinical trials and reach the market due to poor bioavailability. To address these issues, innovators in the biopharmaceutical industry have devised various strategies to enhance the physicochemical properties and overall drug-like behavior of pharmaceutical compounds. Among these approaches, lipid nanoparticles and other lipid-based excipients, which improve permeability across biological membranes have attracted significant interest from drug developers. In fact, the novel mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines utilized lipid nanoparticles to effectively deliver their active ingredients to target antigen-presenting cells within the human body.

Furthermore, numerous companies are leveraging lipid-based solutions to reformulate existing drug candidates and enhance their bioavailability, driving significant growth in the demand for lipid drug carriers and excipients. However, manufacturing certain medically relevant lipids, particularly those used in liposome and lipid nanoparticle formulations remains highly complex, capital-intensive, and challenging. Consequently, an increasing number of pharmaceutical companies are opting to outsource lipid manufacturing to specialized providers. Partnering with contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs) for medical-grade lipids offers several advantages, including access to advanced technologies, greater production capacity and enhanced operational flexibility. Moreover, we anticipate that the growing demand for high-quality lipids will significantly propel market growth in the specialty contract manufacturing sector over the forecast period.
GLOBAL LIPID CMO MARKET: KEY INSIGHTS
The report delves into the current state of global lipid CMO market and identifies potential growth opportunities within industry. Some key findings from the report include:
- Presently, around 60 players, across the world, claim to provide contract manufacturing services to support the development and production of lipids for use in therapeutic development, as well as other associated products.
- Several CMOs engaged in this industry have the required capabilities to offer a range of services for different types of lipid-based products; many CMOs have the capacity to operate across all scales.
- Close to 35% of players offering contract manufacturing services for lipid-based DDS claim to have the required capabilities and expertise to manufacture liposomes / LNPs at the commercial scale.

- Nearly 40% of the stakeholders established post-2010 have the capability to offer contract manufacturing services at both clinical and commercial scales; around 60% of these players are based in the US.
- Prominent examples of very large players offering liposomes / LNPs include (in alphabetical order) AMRI, CordenPharma, Evonik, Fresenius Kabi, Fujifilm, Merck and TTY Biopharm.
- In order to acquire supply chain competencies and meet the evolving needs of sponsors, lipid contract manufacturers have established a presence in key geographical regions.
- In pursuit of competitive edge, companies have made / revealed intentions to make investments, in terms of both effort and capital, to augment their existing service portfolios and affiliated offerings.
- Recently, there has been a surge in partnership activity within this industry; most deals were inked for the purpose of acquiring the proprietary capabilities of other players
- The lipid CMO industry witnessed a surge in the number of deals owing to the sudden increase in demand for lipid nanoparticles for the production of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine candidates, globally.
- Close to 50% of the partnerships inked were manufacturing agreements. Further, around 65% of these agreements were signed for the production of either lipid-based drug delivery systems or excipients.
- Nearly 75% of the partnership activity is centered in North America. Examples of firms that have signed deals within players based in North America, include ABITEC, AMRI, Catalent and Precision NanoSystems.
- To keep pace with the growing demand for lipids, CMOs / CDMOs have undertaken a number of expansion initiatives in the recent past; the maximum number of such instances involved facilities based in the US.
- Lipid-based formulations have emerged as a popular approach for improving drug bioavailability over the past years; close to 55 companies have developed various lipid-related technologies for this purpose.
- The supply side of this market is primarily driven by mid-to-large sized CMOs; interestingly, close to 65% of the currently available capacity is installed in production plants located in North America.

- In the mid-long term, we expect lipid-based formulation developers to continue outsourcing their manufacturing operations to CMOs / CDMOs, thereby, enabling this services market to grow at a CAGR of more than 10.8%.
Example Players in the Lipid CMO Market
- Avanti Polar Lipids
- Creative Biolabs
- Exelead
- FormuMax Scientific
- T&T Scientific
- Ardena
- Corden Pharma
- Evonik
- Fresenius Kabi
- Merck KGaA
- Fujifilm
- Nagase Medicals
- Nippon Fine Chemical
- TTY Biopharm
- VCARE Bio Labs
PRIMARY RESEARCH OVERVIEW
The opinions and insights presented in this study were influenced by discussions conducted with multiple stakeholders. The research report features detailed transcripts of interviews conducted with the following industry stakeholders:
- Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Company A
- Associate Director, Formulation Development, Company B
- Acting Manager, Biotech Process Development and Director, Process Development - Chemistry, Company C
GLOBAL LIPID CMO MARKET
- Market Sizing and Opportunity Analysis: The report features an in-depth analysis of the global lipid CMO market, focusing on key market segments, including [A] type of lipid, [B] company size, [C] scale of operation and [D] key geographical regions.
- Market Landscape: A comprehensive evaluation of companies offering contract services for the manufacturing of lipids, considering various parameters, such as [A] year of establishment, [B] company size, [C] scale of operation, [D] location of headquarters, [E] location of manufacturing facilities, [F] type of product, [G] type of service(s) offered and [H] type of lipid manufactured.
- Company Competitiveness Analysis: An insightful competitive analysis of the lipid manufacturers, examining factors, such as [A] supplier power and [B] service strength.
- Company Profiles: In-depth profiles of companies that offer various lipid manufacturing services, across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, focusing on [A] company overview, [B] financial performance (if available), [C] service portfolio and [D] recent developments and an informed future outlook.
- Partnerships and Collaborations: An in-depth analysis of the deals inked by stakeholders in this domain, based on several parameters, such as [A] year of partnership, [B] type of partnership, [C] type of focus area, [D] most active players (in terms of the number of partnerships signed) and [E] geographical distribution of partnership activity.
- Recent Expansions: A detailed analysis of the recent expansions, based on several relevant parameters, including [A] year of expansion, [B] type of expansion, [C] scale of operation, [D] type of product, [E] amount invested, [F] company size, [G] location of headquarters, [H] geographical location of the expanded facility, [I] most active players and [J] geographical distribution of the expansion activity.
- Capacity Analysis: A comprehensive analysis of global installed capacity for lipids, based on several relevant parameters, such as [A] company size, [B] scale of operation and [C] key geographical regions.
- Make Versus Buy Decision Making Framework: A detailed analysis, highlighting the various factors that need to be taken into consideration by lipid developers while deciding whether to manufacture their respective products in-house or engage the services of a CMO.
- Case study: An elaborate discussion on the wide adoption of lipids as drug delivery systems in mRNA vaccines.
KEY QUESTIONS ANSWERED IN THIS REPORT
- How many companies are currently engaged in this market?
- Which are the leading companies in this market?
- What factors are likely to influence the evolution of this market?
- What is the current and future market size?
- What is the CAGR of this market?
- How is the current and future market opportunity likely to be distributed across key market segments?
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