Have you experienced problems with distinguishing between CMOs and CDMOs and finally (chemical) CROs or CRDMOs?

Navigating the CRO, CDMO and Custom Synthesis Landscape: Why Even Experienced Buyers Often Get It Wrong

As a manager of a smaller (chemical custom) synthesis company I have been dealing with this issue for more than 20 years. From my experience, there is even more uncertainty about this question now than decades ago.

So, our sales team and I spend the larger part of nearly any initial discussion with new leads for explaining the entire industry of chemical custom manufacturing, contract synthesis, toll manufacturing, contract research and development instead of highlighting the very focus of our company ChiroBlock.

Of course, this (as every problem) also can also be seen as an opportunity to involve the prospect in a longer talk and trying to form the first bonds between both sides. On the other hand, it costs resources and – to be honest – is a little bit nerve-recking.

Does anyone have an idea why potential buyers in this industry very often show this lack of overall understanding of the market participants? Perhaps I am naive but we are talking about a mature B2B business and not about a situation where a consumer is looking for mortgage once in their lifetime and need guidance through all the different types of potential money lenders such as insurances, local banks, online banks, building societies and cooperatives with all their different contract options…

I think, there are three possible reasons:

• These terms / abbreviations are too young and not really established in the industry:
  • However – if you look them up on the internet – you find thousands of entries and explanations. There even exist Wikipedia definitions:
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contract_manufacturing_organization
• These terms are too vague and potentially misleading:
  • This might be the case: A „contract research organisation“ could certainly be read as everything from an academic research institution to an industrial service provider in any field from astronomy to material sciences
• The (potential) customers have not really prepared themselves about these terms and the overall contract service market prior to a request.

Did I miss a reason? What do you think?

There is yet another factor that might contribute to the general confusion:

All these terms originate in the pharmaceutical industry – but over the years, the entire process industry has, in a sense, „hijacked“ them. So, decades ago a CRO just was an institution organising phase II and phase II studies on the way towards a new API on behalf of a large pharmaceutical company.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contract_research_organization

Nowadays, a (chemical) CRO – as for instance „ChiroBlock“ – also can be a synthetic chemistry company developing new synthesis routes towards any chemical compound exclusively for a client of any industry – from cosmetics to electronics, recycling, crop sciences or new materials.

However, this development should not affect or confuse a requestor from one of the „non-pharma“ – branches.

A more severe fact might be a situation in that service providers change the name of their services opportunistically according to a client’s request…

So, I have observed classical contract manufacturers (CMOs) who suddenly claimed to be a CRO just because they consider their work of adjusting a synthesis process to their very equipment as being „research“ or at least „development“…

Any idea of how to avoid misconceptions when addressing prospective customers as a (chemical / non-pharmaceutical) CRO / CDMO?

#CustomSynthesis, #ChemicalContractManufacturing, #ChiroBlock, #ContractResearch