# Custom synthesis (CDMO): Trading

Six countries that do most of the world's contract drug-making

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/custom_synthesis/trading/

Six countries that do most of the world's contract drug-making What this tab covers How it is bought and sold: buyers and sellers, price benchmarks and who publishes them, exchanges, contract types, traders, how Indian buyers price it, recent price points, and good sources to follow.

#### Who buys, and where

- Switzerland, US, China, India, Korea, Japan

#### Who sells, and from where

- Big pharma, mid-size and venture-funded biotech

#### Price benchmarks

| Benchmark | Publisher | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| **No price benchmark; GEN A-List CDMO revenue ranking** | GEN | annual revenue |

#### Contract types

- Master services agreements with project work orders
- Long-term commercial supply agreements with volume commitments
- Capacity reservation (take-or-pay)
- Risk-sharing or milestone-linked deals

#### Traders and distributors

- Not applicable

#### How Indian buyers price it

- Priced per project or per kg in US dollars; Indian CDMOs compete on cost against Chinese peers and on location against Western peers

#### Good sources to follow
[GEN Top 10 CDMOs](https://www.genengnews.com/topics/bioprocessing/top-10-contract-development-and-manufacturing-organizations-2026/)free research site · GEN

annual CDMO revenue rankings
[FDA Law Blog](https://www.thefdalawblog.com/)free blog · Hyman, Phelps and McNamara

BIOSECURE and FDA regulatory analysis
[DCAT Value Chain Insights](https://www.dcatvci.org/)free newsletter · DCAT

CDMO and supplier industry news
[IntuitionLabs CDMO rankings](https://intuitionlabs.ai/articles/top-cdmo-companies-2026-ranked)free research site · IntuitionLabs

CDMO company profiles

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/custom_synthesis/index.md)
- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/custom_synthesis/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/custom_synthesis/correlation/index.md)
- [Production route](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/custom_synthesis/routes/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/custom_synthesis/production/index.md)
- [Feedstocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/custom_synthesis/feedstocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/custom_synthesis/cycles/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/custom_synthesis/movement/index.md)
- [Regulation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/custom_synthesis/regulation/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/custom_synthesis/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/custom_synthesis/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/custom_synthesis/links/index.md)