Peptide CDMO capacity is the binding constraint on the next wave of peptide therapeutics. Bachem, PolyPeptide, CordenPharma, and AmbioPharm together hold an estimated 55–60% of global peptide CDMO revenue, and their capacity decisions determine which GLP-1, macrocyclic, and conjugate programs can actually be supplied at commercial scale.
The ResearchAndMarkets April 30 forecast pegs the global peptide and oligonucleotide CDMO market at $2.7B in 2026, growing to $4.03B by 2030 (11.9% CAGR). The current build-out: Bachem expanding Bubendorf, scaling Vista to 1-metric-ton US capacity, upgrading St Helens, and constructing the new Sisslerfeld site in Switzerland; PolyPeptide doubling SPPS capacity at Malmö, starting large-scale SPPS at Braine-l'Alleud, Belgium in late 2024, and expanding its credit facility to EUR 200M in May 2026 to fund the strategic plan to double 2023 revenue by 2028; CordenPharma confirming a $500M Boulder expansion to 42,000+ L by 2028 plus a >€500M greenfield site near Basel for €900M+ total platform investment; AmbioPharm scaling US-based supply. The TIDES USA 2026 conference (May 11–14, Boston) headlines the CMC strategy conversation.
Stories here cover capacity expansions, contract wins, and the GLP-1 supply economy. See #bachem, #cordenpharma, and #manufacturing.
PolyPeptide Group AG announced that it has expanded its existing credit facility to EUR 200 million in support of growth ambitions and progress toward doubling 2023 revenue by 2028. The Swedish-Belgian peptide CDMO is one of the four large dedicated peptide manufacturers — alongside Bachem, CordenPharma, and Sun Pharma's Hyderabad PolyPeptide platform — and has previously announced a EUR 100M expansion in Malmö plus large-scale SPPS production in Braine-l'Alleud, Belgium that started in late 2024. The credit move heads into TIDES USA 2026 (May 11–14, Boston), where capacity, GMP investment, and large-scale SPPS economics will dominate the panel agenda.
Two of the year's biggest peptide-related meetings open within 24 hours of each other next week. The European Congress on Obesity 2026 runs May 12–15 in Istanbul, with Novo Nordisk presenting 52 abstracts spanning Wegovy 7.2 mg full STEP UP data, CagriSema higher-dose Phase 3 plans, Wegovy pill efficacy and tolerability, and women's-obesity / perimenopause / migraine subgroups; the 21-expert global panel will also formally propose the 10-year prospective GLP-1 cancer-prevention trial. TIDES USA 2026 runs May 11–14 in Boston with six concurrent scientific tracks across oligonucleotides, peptides, and mRNA — featuring Bachem, PolyPeptide, CordenPharma, Gilead, and Novo Nordisk on the CMC strategy and GMP capacity panels. Hims & Hers prints Q1 May 11 the same evening.
CordenPharma's Boulder, Colorado expansion is now confirmed at $500 million, with the first phase coming online in 2026 and full completion in 2028. The site will add new large-scale manufacturing lines and a greenfield facility that more than doubles its solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) capacity to over 42,000 liters by 2028 — positioning Boulder among the largest peptide production sites worldwide. CordenPharma Colorado leased 64,000 square feet at BioMed Realty's Flatiron Park 5505 Central — Boulder's first purpose-built speculative lab building — and will add more than 200 employees to the existing 700-person workforce. The expansion sits within CordenPharma's broader €900M+ ($1B+) global peptide platform investment that also includes a >€500M greenfield site near Basel.
TIDES USA 2026 — the year's leading oligo, peptide, and mRNA therapeutics conference — opens May 11–14 in Boston, with six concurrent scientific tracks and 200+ presentations. Programmatic highlights include CMC strategy for complex dual and triple agonists under regulatory scrutiny, defining defensible starting materials for GLP-1 APIs, and how CDMOs are securing scarce GMP suite capacity dominated by big-pharma volume contracts. Bachem, PolyPeptide, CordenPharma, Gilead, and Novo Nordisk teams are scheduled to speak — the same week as Hims & Hers' Q1 print and within the new AJMC oral-peptides public-facing news cycle.
ResearchAndMarkets released a Peptide and Oligonucleotide CDMO Market Research Report on April 30 forecasting the global market expanding from $2.42B in 2025 to $2.7B in 2026 (11.9% CAGR), reaching $4.03B by 2030. The report names Bachem, PolyPeptide, CordenPharma, and AmbioPharm as the dominant capacity holders capturing roughly 55–60% of global revenue. Demand for GLP-1 receptor agonists and siRNA drugs is outpacing GMP suite availability, giving CDMOs unusual pricing power in multi-year capacity contracts. The report frames manufacturing capacity as the binding constraint on the next wave of peptide therapeutics.