The biologics development landscape is becoming increasingly complex, requiring partners that offer more than manufacturing capacity alone. As biotech companies navigate tighter funding environments, accelerated development timelines, and growing scientific complexity, the demand for strategic collaboration is reshaping expectations of the CDMO sector. During BIO 2026, held June 22–25 at the San Diego Convention Center, BioPharma Boardroom spoke with Bartłomiej Czubek, Senior Director of Business Development at Mabion, about the company's evolution from biosimilar developer to integrated biologics partner. He shares insights on co-development models, the growing opportunities in ADCs and biosimilars, and why the future of biologics manufacturing will be built on flexibility, shared accountability, and long-term strategic partnerships.

Mabion has expanded its biologics CDMO capabilities in recent years. What differentiates your platform today in the increasingly competitive biologics manufacturing market?

Mabion has expanded and grown significantly in recent years as a result of a clear and focused strategy. Since 2021, we have participated in more than 30 international projects, with a 100% on-schedule batch completion rate, excellent output, and no rejected batches or reports.

For biotech innovators, the key question is not only whether a CDMO has capacity, but whether it can think, move, and share accountability with them. This is where Mabion stands out. We offer not only capacity, but also openness to co-development models where, for selected programs, we can share risks, costs, and future upside with our partners.

Mabion’s core competence is Drug Substance development and manufacturing, with a strong focus on monoclonal antibodies, biosimilars, recombinant proteins, and increasingly complex antibody formats. Having evolved from a biosimilar developer into a CDMO, we understand the scientific, regulatory, and commercial challenges our clients face because we have experienced them ourselves.

Today, we provide integrated process development, analytical development, quality control, clinical and commercial Drug Substance manufacturing, stability and comparability support.

How is Mabion supporting demand for next-generation therapeutics such as antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), biosimilars, and mRNA-based products?

The demand we see from U.S. and global biotech companies is moving beyond standard fee-for-service outsourcing. Clients are looking for partners who can help shape the development path, reduce technical risk, and support financing-efficient progress toward the clinic or market. That is exactly where Mabion Biologics is evolving.

In biosimilars, we bring first-hand developer experience, strong analytical capabilities, comparability know-how, and regulatory understanding for EU and U.S. pathways. This is a key sector for us, as more patents are set to expire soon, which will pave the way for the next wave of biosimilars to enter the market. We want to play an active role in their production.

For ADCs, we are moving deliberately. Short-term as a CDMO with partners, mid-term through co-development, and longer term toward standalone capability. Celon Pharma for ADC development with possible future conjugation transfer to Mabion, KriSan support linker-payload-related work, and WPD Pharmaceuticals for process development and analytics of innovative ADCs.

What are clients prioritizing most in 2026—speed, flexibility, regulatory support, or cost efficiency—and how is Mabion adapting?

In 2026, clients are not choosing between speed, flexibility, regulatory support, and cost efficiency. They need all four, but in the right sequence. A small or mid-size biotech cannot afford a fast path that later creates comparability, CMC, or regulatory problems. Equally, a cost-efficient plan is not truly efficient if it delays the IND, clinical supply, or commercial readiness. 

Mabion is adapting by offering flexible project entry points. We can start with a cell line development partner, take over a partially developed USP/DSP process, optimize a transferred process, develop or validate analytical methods, or move directly into GMP manufacturing when a process is ready. That flexibility is particularly valuable for companies that need to preserve capital while still building a robust CMC package.

Our co-development model is also designed for this reality. Instead of a purely transactional CDMO relationship, we can structure selected projects so Mabion contributes expertise, infrastructure, and development effort while sharing risk and future value. That can help clients move faster without carrying every burden alone.

How do you see European CDMOs collaborating with U.S. biotech innovators amid ongoing global supply chain shifts?

U.S. biotech companies are rethinking supply chains. I see the best European CDMOs becoming strategic supply-chain and development partners for U.S. innovators, not simply lower-cost vendors. For U.S. biotechs, the value is geographic diversification, and flexible capacity without losing speed.

For U.S. innovators, working with Mabion can provide access to a manufacturing and analytics platform and a partner network covering complementary capabilities. We are particularly interested in emerging and mid-size biotechs that need more than a standard vendor. Many such companies have excellent science but limited internal CMC bandwidth. Mabion can help translate that science into a scalable, regulated manufacturing strategy.

The next phase of our collaboration will be more strategic. Rather than simply outsourcing the process to a foreign facility, innovators can decide for themselves how to structure this external drug development pathway. Our co-development model reflects this future: shared risk, shared costs, and shared benefits.

What milestones or partnerships should the industry watch from Mabion over the next 12–18 months?

Our priority is clear: to position Mabion as a company specialized in the development of biologics projects and commercial manufacturing, both as a co-development partner sharing risk, cost and future profits, and as a trusted CDMO partner. In the CDMO model, we will continue to demonstrate our value through ongoing collaboration with existing clients while actively engaging new partners in ADC-related development, biosimilars, complex antibodies and selected next-generation biologics.

Several milestones matter for potential clients. First, we are expanding how we engage with partners. We add co-development model where risks and profits can be shared. Second, ADC-related capabilities and collaborations will be an important area to monitor, because Mabion’s mAb, analytics, process development, and partner-network strengths are highly relevant to this space. Third, we are continuing to improve operational excellence, including capacity, project onboarding, OEE, right-first-time performance, and customer satisfaction.

For potential customers, the message is simple: if you need a partner who can combine disciplined GMP execution with entrepreneurial flexibility, now is the right time to speak with us. The Mabion Biologics team will be available at BIO International Convention in the Polish Pavilion, booth 1411. Bring us your molecule, your CMC challenge, or your co-development idea.