EXECUTIVE INTERVIEW - Adare Pharma Solutions: Fast, Flexible, and Focused: The Secrets of a Successful CDMO Partnership

As timelines shrink and therapies grow more complex, sponsors are relying on outsourcing partners with the experience, flexibility, and oral solid dose expertise to bring effective treatments to market quickly. Drug Development & Delivery recently interviewed Steven Facer, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Adare Pharma Solutions, who shares practical insights on what makes CDMO partnerships work and what can cause them to fall short. From managing supply chain disruptions to maintaining a strong customer-first culture, he offers a candid look at the strategies that help turn operational challenges into shared success.

Q: What should sponsors look for when selecting a CDMO partner, and how can the right choice impact long-term success?

A: Choosing the right CDMO is one of the most important strategic decisions a sponsor can make. A strong CDMO partnership can accelerate development, reduce costs, and de-risk the path to market, but the wrong fit can lead to misalignment, delays, and added complexity. Beyond just assessing capabilities and infrastructure, sponsors should evaluate how well a potential CDMO understands their program goals, communicates across functions, and supports cross-disciplinary teams comprising, for example, regulatory affairs, quality, and project management. It’s also important to choose a CDMO that is properly scaled for a sponsor’s program and can integrate seamlessly with their team and values.

At Adare, we approach every engagement with the mindset of a long-term partner, not just a service provider. Our integrated solutions span the spectrum of CDMO services, from development through manufacturing and packaging, and we’re especially strong in important areas like novel oral solid dosage forms and patient-centric technologies. We’re large enough to offer a full range of capabilities, yet agile enough to give every project the attention it deserves. This reflects our customer-centric culture: we listen, we adapt, and we focus on what success means to the customer.

Q: With global supply chain disruptions an ongoing concern, how can CDMOs help sponsors minimize risk and maintain continuity?

A: Global supply chains have faced extraordinary challenges over the past few years, from a global pandemic to tariffs, inflation, and transportation bottlenecks. Such disruptions subject sponsors to intense pressure, so outsourcing partners must provide more stability, greater flexibility, and faster turnaround. A strong global network with responsive infrastructure is the best way for a CDMO to help sponsors safeguard their supply chains and keep projects on track.

Adare has built a network of development and manufacturing facilities in both the US and Europe, the world’s two biggest pharma markets. This gives sponsors the regional access and security they need to keep their projects moving with minimal disruptions. We focus on flexible operations and diversified sourcing to ensure that sponsor projects overcome supply chain challenges and maintain momentum. We’re also supporting customers who are reshoring manufacturing to the US or strengthening their European operations. We are committed to helping our customers navigate an unpredictable and ever-shifting landscape.

Q: How can CDMOs best support sponsors navigating the increasingly complex drug commercialization process?

A: Sponsors are under ever-increasing pressure to manage timelines, solve technical challenges, and bring products to market efficiently. That’s where the right CDMO can make a real difference. The most effective CDMOs don’t just offer specialized capabilities, they are strategic partners evolving to meet sponsor needs every step of the way.

Adare’s approach is built around that kind of partnership. We offer fully integrated, end-to-end CDMO services, giving sponsors a consistent provider from early formulation through commercial manufacturing and packaging. We understand the real-world challenges our customers face, from patient adherence to therapeutic performance, and leverage our specialized dosage form technologies to help overcome these hurdles. By maintaining close collaboration and clear communication throughout the process, we can streamline transitions, catch issues early, and help accelerate the path to market.

Q: Oral solid dosage forms continue to dominate the global pharmaceutical market. What accounts for their continued popularity?

A: Oral solids are the go-to format for a reason: they’re familiar, they’re flexible, and they’re efficient. They offer sponsors a cost-effective way to deliver precise, consistent dosing. Patients prefer them because they offer a level of convenience that other delivery methods often can’t match: they’re simple to take, easy to travel with, and don’t require any special devices or handling restrictions. From a manufacturing standpoint, oral solid dose is well understood, scalable, and compatible with a wide range of APIs. It’s a proven platform that still offers plenty of room for innovation.

Oral solid dosage forms are the foundation of Adare’s expertise. We provide sponsors with deep technical capabilities in tablets and capsules as well as novel formats like multiparticulates, orally disintegrating tablets, and sprinkle formulations. Our teams specialize in innovative oral solid dose technologies that efficiently solve challenges like customized release, taste masking, and flexible dosing.

Q: Tech transfer is a critical phase in commercialization. How can CDMOs ensure a smooth and efficient transfer from development to commercial manufacturing?

A: Tech transfer is where a project moves from theory to practice, and small missteps can lead to costly delays, rework, or even regulatory setbacks. To be successful, a tech transfer depends on early planning, clear communication, thorough documentation, and close collaboration between development and manufacturing teams.

Other CDMOs might see tech transfers as a simple hand-off, but Adare approaches tech transfers as a fully integrated process, one that starts long before manufacturing begins. Our commercial manufacturing teams are involved early in development to ensure that scale-up considerations, process design, and quality requirements are aligned from the outset. Technical leads and project managers are dedicated across the program lifecycle to keep communication seamless and timelines on track. To stay ahead of potential issues we follow a structured, risk-based approach that includes detailed transfer protocols, comprehensive documentation, and frequent cross-functional reviews.

We also have extensive experience helping sponsors seamlessly move existing products into our network. With more than 65 products successfully manufactured across our network, we know how to manage the complexities of commercial-stage transfers while maintaining continuity, compliance, and product quality.

Q: How can CDMOs evolve their capabilities to support the growing complexity of today’s drug development landscape?

A: As drug development becomes more complex, it’s no longer enough for CDMOs to offer a narrow set of services or operate in silos. Today’s sponsors are looking for integrated solutions, flexible capacity, and teams that can pivot quickly as programs evolve. They want to work with partners who embrace new technologies, anticipate potential roadblocks, and offer practical strategies to move their programs forward.

As our customers’ needs evolve, we’re making sure our capabilities keep pace by investing in tools and technologies representing the future of drug development. A great example is our partnership with Laxxon Medical, which provides 3D screen printing capabilities enabling a new generation of personalized and precision therapies.

We provide pharmaceutical companies of all sizes with the capabilities and technical expertise needed to move quickly and confidently even as the drug development and manufacturing world grows more complex.

Q: What specific advantages does 3D screen printing offer for sponsors looking to develop more complex or targeted therapies?

A: I believe that 3D screen printing represents a transformative opportunity for drug development by enabling complex drug delivery systems that simply can’t be achieved via traditional methods.

The 3D screen printing process avoids the scalability and formulation challenges of laser- and nozzle-based 3D printing methods, which have long struggled with high costs, API degradation, and limited production volumes. In contrast, 3D screen printing is a scalable, additive manufacturing process that facilitates precise, layer-by-layer construction of drug formulations.

This allows integration of immediate, extended, delayed, and sequential release mechanisms within a single tablet. We can also use the technology to easily incorporate multiple APIs with distinct pharmacokinetic profiles into one dosage form, offering unprecedented therapeutic flexibility. Importantly, 3D screen printing is designed for scalability: the same process can move seamlessly from lab prototyping to full-scale commercial production without major changes.

As personalized medicine and patient-centric therapies become the norm, we’re going to see 3D screen printing play a major role in helping sponsors bring smarter, more targeted products to market.

Q: As global operations become the norm for CDMOs, how can companies keep quality systems aligned and avoid gaps between sites?

A: Maintaining consistent quality across facilities around the world is a major challenge for CDMO networks. Sponsors expect the same level of quality and compliance across geographies.

We’ve worked hard to build a global quality model at Adare that enables consistency and trust across our sites. We operate under a harmonized approach, incorporating quality-by-design principles into all projects and maintaining consistent practices at all our facilities. Our teams undergo rigorous, continuous training across regions to align and maintain best practices. We manage our global sites as part of an integrated network, not as isolated operations, and we ensure compliance across markets via regular audits, standardized documentation, and extensive communication between sites. We undergo regular inspections by agencies like the FDA, DEA, and AIFA, giving our customers confidence that their products will meet their rigorous quality expectations.

Q: You mentioned a customer-centric culture earlier. Why is that so important in today’s CDMO landscape?

A: Bringing a drug product to market is a complex, expensive, and time-consuming process. Sponsors need outsourcing partners who listen, adapt quickly, and deliver tailored solutions. A truly customer-centric culture fosters open communication, faster problem-solving, and streamlined processes.

Every sponsor’s needs are different, so at Adare we tailor our approach accordingly. New customers benefit from a personalized onboarding process designed to ensure a smooth transition and immediate connection with our teams. Every customer is paired with a dedicated project manager who provides consistent support throughout the commercialization journey. That continuity facilitates long-term relationships and personalized support that evolves with the project.

Adare’s cross-functional teams — spanning commercial, development, manufacturing, quality, and regulatory — stay aligned throughout each program, and we offer extensive support services to help customers navigate challenges that arise along the way. We take a proactive approach to problem solving, flagging potential issues before they become real obstacles. Most importantly, we communicate continuously to keep customers informed, engaged, and confident. A customer-centric partnership is built around one simple idea: when our customers succeed, we succeed.