Without question, evolving US tariff and trade policy was the story of the year, and how such policy will be implemented looms large. At the same time, the normal course of business in the bio/pharmaceutical industry—new drug approvals and the progression of pipelines, including new modalities—was also top of mind.

In this special episode of the Production to Prescription podcast, 2025: The Bio/Pharma Industry’s Year in Review, industry experts provide a snapshot of the key developments and trends across the bio/pharmaceutical manufacturing value chain in 2025 and on the industry’s radar as it moves into 2026.

Chapters

• The Global API manufacturing market (2:00 – 9:13)
• The CDMO market for injectables (9:40 – 22:46)
• Blockbuster contenders (23:12 – 29:35)
• ADCs: pipelines, products & CDMO growth (30:00 – 37:02)

The global API manufacturing market
As US tariff policy continues to unfold, the key question for the industry is what will be the impact on the supply lines for active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). Julia Morilla, Associate Content Analyst, Cortellis Product Intelligence, Clarivate, a business intelligence firm serving the life sciences and bio/pharmaceutical industries, broke down the demand–supply fundamentals and geographic dispersion of the global API manufacturing market and the potential tariff impact on API supply. The full interview from May 2025 may be found here.

The CDMO market for injectables
At the start of 2025, Novo Nordisk’s $11-billion acquisition of Catalent, which netted Novo three fill–finish sites to provide a production base for its blockbuster glucagon-1 peptide (GLP-1) agonists, was a key development in the CDMO market for injectables. As the year progressed, US tariffs and their potential impact and a shifting global supply-demand outlook also became top of mind. Ian Tzeng, Managing Director and Partner, L.E.K. Consulting, where he leads the firm’s Pharmaceutical Contract Services Practice, examined the current trends and capacity outlook for CDMOs of injectables and the potential impact of US tariffs on CDMOs and on the decision-making of pharma companies on in-sourced/outsourced activity. The full interview from September 2025 may be found here.

Blockbuster contenders
Each year, the promise of new market entries arise in the bio/pharmaceutical industry. Matthew Arnold, Principal Analyst and Content Strategist, Clarivate, a business intelligence firm serving the bio/pharmaceutical industry, provided insights on products, launched or approved in 2025, slated as potential blockbusters (defined as drugs with sales of $1 billion or more) in the mid term, and upcoming launches, approvals, and trends in new drug approvals. The full interview from October 2025 may be found here.

ADCs: pipelines, products & CDMO growth
Although a niche segment in the global bio/pharmaceutical market, antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) continue to be a strong growth area, led by their application in the oncology drug market. Gaurav Chaudhary, CEO, Roots Analysis, a business intelligence firm serving the bio/pharmaceutical industry, broke down the market, including pipeline potential, and the growth prospects in the global ADC contract manufacturing market. The full interview from November 2025 may be found here.

What’s on tap for 2026? See here for the 2026 episode schedule for the Production to Prescription podcast.

Each episode of the Production to Prescription podcast is housed on the DCAT Value Chain Insights website and also delivered through DCAT Value Chain Insights weekly email digest. Not a subscriber? Click here to subscribe to DCAT Value Chain Insights, or get each episode through: