How strategic integration drives progress in drug development: A leader’s perspective from CPHI Frankfurt
Key takeaways
- Connecting CDMO, CRO, and supply chain operations reduces inefficiencies and accelerates timelines.
- Modeling shows up to 30–50% faster time to first GMP batch and higher ROI than traditional outsourcing models.
- At Thermo Fisher, more than 700 programs across 14 therapeutic areas have leveraged this approach to cut development time and improve predictability.
- Thermo Fisher is expanding AI modeling, real-time digital oversight, and outcome-based contracting for next-generation drug development.
“Everyone is chasing speed, but the real differentiator is how you preserve quality while moving faster,” according to Jennifer Cannon, President of Commercial Operations at Thermo Fisher Scientific.
In a presentation at CPHI Frankfurt 2025 titled, “What’s your next move—and what will it cost you?”, Cannon challenged the audience to rethink how value is created in today’s high-pressure biotech environment. As companies face mounting investor expectations, tighter funding cycles, and growing regulatory complexity, traditional outsourcing models are no longer enough.
How Thermo Fisher provides an integrated framework
“The industry has long relied on coordination between multiple partners, but coordination alone can’t deliver the reliability, visibility, and speed development now demands,” she said, explaining that Thermo Fisher’s Accelerator™ Drug Development was designed to overcome the disconnects that occur when development, manufacturing, and supply functions operate in isolation.
By connecting CDMO, CRO, and clinical supply services through shared governance, unified oversight, and digital continuity, Accelerator Drug Development brings every function into the same ecosystem, she explained. “It enables programs to move more smoothly between development stages, reducing friction, redundancy, and time lost to handoffs.”
To date, more than 250 biotech and biopharma customers have partnered with Thermo Fisher through the integrated framework, spanning more than 700 programs and 14 therapeutic areas. About two-thirds of those programs include services across both CDMO and CRO functions, while others connect development, manufacturing, and clinical packaging within Thermo Fisher’s CDMO network to improve efficiency and coordination.
Why strategic integration in drug development matters
Cannon emphasized that integration only matters if it delivers measurable results, such as accelerating development timelines, improving predictability, and reducing risk in ways customers can quantify. Recent modeling from the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development indicates that the degree of integration enabled through Accelerator Drug Development achieves that goal by shortening time to first GMP batch by 30–50% and delivering higher ROI compared with traditional outsourcing models.
Real-world success
To illustrate what this looks like in practice, Cannon highlighted two recent customer examples.
In one case, a bispecific antibody program benefited from end-to-end integration across development, manufacturing, and supply, achieving IND submission six weeks ahead of the sponsor’s aggressive 12-month target—and completing IND-enabling GMP manufacturing roughly one year faster than industry averages for similar molecules.
In another, a small-molecule project leveraged a single governance structure and connected digital systems across formulation, process development, and clinical packaging to align global teams. The approach reduced cycle time from API development to clinical packaging by nearly 30%, while eliminating redundant validation steps and minimizing supply risk.
Together, Cannon said, these examples show how true operational integration can help emerging biotechs reach critical milestones faster and how it can also help established biopharma companies scale production efficiently and sustain their market position.
What’s ahead for Accelerator™ Drug Development
Several enhancements aimed at deepening integration and improving predictability across programs are on the horizon for Accelerator™ Drug Development, according to Cannon. Upcoming developments include:
- Expanded digital enablement across Thermo Fisher’s global network to enhance visibility and control in real time
- AI-driven process modeling to identify optimization opportunities earlier in development
- Outcome-based contracting options to better align project goals with measurable performance
- Continuous improvement initiatives that embed learning from ongoing programs into future workflows
“Our goal isn’t just to move faster,” Cannon said. “It’s to give customers the confidence that progress is predictable, and that quality, reliability, and speed can coexist.”
She closed by urging the industry to view integration not as a structural challenge but as a shared opportunity. “True innovation happens when systems connect, teams align, and data flows freely. That’s the future we’re building toward.”
To learn more about how strategic integration across CDMO, CRO, and clinical supply services translates to measurable ROI, read Value reimagined: Unlocking ROI and efficiency in drug development, featuring the Tufts CSDD research showing up to 113x ROI and $62.9M in projected value for some programs.
