Spyros Kostas

The debate over localisation versus centralisation has become a major strategic issue in pharma contract manufacturing. On one hand, the US and EU are actively encouraging the reshoring of API production to reduce reliance on China, while on the other, long global supply chains are coming under increasing scrutiny for their high carbon footprint.

Centralisation continues to offer clear advantages in terms of cost efficiency, scale, and access to specialised expertise, but it also exposes vulnerabilities in resilience. Localisation, meanwhile, strengthens supply security and flexibility, yet typically comes with higher costs and greater operational complexity.

As a result, pharmaceutical companies, governments, and contract manufacturers find themselves caught in the middle and forced to weigh the trade-off between efficiency and resilience.

Join this session as we examine the benefits and limitations of each model and discuss how the industry is gravitating towards a regionalised hybrid approach.

Key discussion points include:

• The benefits and challenges of centralised manufacturing, including scale efficiencies, standardisation, and resource optimisation, but also the limitations of customisation and vulnerability to disruption.
• The advantages and challenges of localised manufacturing, such as stronger supply security and resilience, balanced against higher costs and complexity.
• Exploration of hybrid models and dual-sourcing strategies, where critical steps are localised for security, while core production remains centralised to maintain scale and efficiency.