CEO Benedikt von Braunmühl shares his expectations for CDMOS in 2024

In Vivo Editor-in-chief Lucie Ellis-Taitt spoke recently with Benedikt von Braunmühl, our CEO, about the CDMO landscape, the global economy, the importance of AI and our growth plans in the USA.

As a trained economist with an extensive career in the medical technology and pharmaceutical industry, Benedikt von Braunmühl is very familiar with the contract development and manufacturing landscape. This industry, which according to the consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal can grow by around 7% annually despite layoffs and reach a market size of 223.5 billion dollars by 2030, will continue to consolidate. According to Alvarez & Marsal, other trends include the increase in the market share of the Big Five to 40% and the pharmaceutical industry's preference for full-service CDMOs.

CDMO with a focus on complex molecules and gene therapy
Benedikt von Braunmühl sees opportunities for Rentschler Biopharma in these trends, as the mergers bring integration processes during which the needs of clients and customers are easily forgotten. "The other consequence is that the merged companies become less attractive for all those employees who want to work directly with clients and offer them the best solutions." In this respect, we are excellently positioned and highly attractive. CDMO giants are also not suitable for every client, which offers us good opportunities in the field of complex molecules and gene therapy.

Growth potential in the USA
In the interview, Benedikt von Braunmühl also explained our growth plans to create sustainable benefits and achieve the common goal with clients: to create safe treatment options for patients. To accompany today's biopharma industry, we are focused on expanding our presence in the US and increasing our ability to offer gene therapies alongside our core competencies in antibodies and proteins.

Inflation and labor shortage as industry challenges
According to von Braunmühl, rising inflation costs and exploding energy costs will continue to be a challenge in 2024. The same applies to the shortage of skilled workers: "It is extremely difficult to find good people in our industry." The market is always on the move and, as noted in the report by consultancy firm Pharma Ventures on value creation in the CMDO market, is becoming even more complex due to the latest innovations.

Using artificial intelligence and automation effectively
Von Braunmühl believes that artificial intelligence and automation will have a world-changing impact. There are numerous areas in which AI can play a valuable role in the healthcare sector: speeding up clinical trials, helping to identify the right patients for clinical trials and helping patients to get the right treatment more quickly. Benedikt von Braunmühl anticipates the rapid automation of a wide range of applications - and even their complete replacement by AI. Of course, in addition to the high expectations, there is also some confusion about the best possible applications. "The challenge for us is to really identify exactly where the trend is going - and where we should go," says the CEO.

If you want to learn more, you can read the full interview here.