How CDMOs Can Identify and Reach Biotech Buyers

1. Build a biotech list around your actual capabilities

We narrow biotech and pharma accounts using three main criteria: molecule type, development stage and number of employees. Molecule type and stage tell you whether the program fits your capabilities and timing. Employee count helps you judge the scale of the account and how its buying team is likely to be structured. These filters give you a much better starting point than “biotech companies in the US and UK.”

Here’s an illustrative example, not a client story: a CDMO offering monoclonal-antibody development and manufacturing could start with antibody programs at stages it can support. A company working only on small molecules wouldn’t belong in that campaign. You could then use employee count to focus the list on companies whose size fits your sales strategy.

GlobalData, BiopharmIQ and Zymewire are tools we recommend looking at for this company-research and list-building work. Check which one covers your niche before committing. Keep the program, modality, stage, source date and funding notes together so the reason for including each account is easy to see.

Funding is a useful signal, but it is not the end-all be-all. A company may have announced a large raise and already selected its CDMO. A company that has not announced a recent fundraise may still have money available, or it may be preparing to raise more in the near future. Treat funding as a reason to prioritize research, then use conversations to understand the actual manufacturing plans and timing.

2. Find the people, then find their contact details

Once the company list is set, we move to the people inside those accounts. For a manufacturing campaign, CMC, technical operations, external manufacturing and sourcing are sensible roles to investigate. The right contact depends on the size of the company and the work you’re offering.

Apollo is our recommendation for this step. In our experience, it’s the most comprehensive and up-to-date option we’ve found for figuring out who works where. That’s our experience with it, not a claim that every record will be right. Check that the person still works at the company and that their role fits.

Apollo also works fine for finding emails. For phone numbers, we recommend Derrick App or an enrichment provider such as Airscale. Enrichment just means filling in missing contact details. Keep the contact’s name, role, email and phone number attached to the right account, and correct bad records as you find them.

ApolloDerrick AppAirscale

3. Make calls the main channel, with email and LinkedIn supporting

Cold calling has been our most effective outbound channel by far. We’ve found it possible to have 3–5 conversations a day with people who fit the ideal customer profile. That’s a description of our experience, not a daily promise or a claim that those conversations all become meetings.

The conversations are a big part of why we like it. You can learn about the market, hear what a buyer cares about and start building a relationship. An email reply can do some of that, but getting an actual conversation going gives you more room to understand the situation.

For a CDMO, a useful opening might be: “We help with antibody development and manufacturing. Is that something your team looks after, or should I speak with someone else?” That’s an example to adapt to your real capabilities, not a transcript from one of our calls.

We’ve found email much harder to make work when buyers already get a lot of it. LinkedIn can work when the people you’re targeting actually use it. With deeply scientific roles, such as CSOs and lab managers, we’ve found it less effective. Choose the supporting channel based on the person, not just the tools you have.

For help putting research and outreach into practice, explore Accel Bio’s CDMO lead generation.

4. Put the outreach into a sequence

A sequence is simply a plan for what happens next: a call, an email, another follow-up or a LinkedIn task. We recommend considering Close CRM, Apollo or Instantly. Ideally, your setup keeps the channels together so you can see the whole conversation.

Check the features you need before choosing. Apollo documents email steps, call tasks and LinkedIn tasks in its sequences. Close documents email, call and task steps in its workflows. Instantly is another option to consider for outreach; don’t assume every tool handles every channel in the same way.

Close workflowsApollo sequencesInstantly

5. Start calling, then use what you learn

Don’t treat the first list and message as the final version. Once outreach starts, look at where it’s getting stuck. Are the numbers wrong? Are you reaching the wrong roles? Are buyers saying the manufacturing service isn’t relevant, or that the timing is off?

Those answers call for different changes. Bad numbers point back to contact data. Wrong roles mean you need to revisit the prospect list. A mismatch on modality or development stage means the account filters need work. Changing the opening line won’t fix a list of companies that can’t use your service.

Keep US and UK results separate enough to spot differences. Track conversations, booked meetings, held meetings and accepted opportunities as different stages. Change one part of the campaign at a time where practical, so you have a chance of seeing what helped.

What this looked like for a biologics CDMO

One of our clients was a 900-person biologics CDMO. In the first six months, our campaign generated 34 meetings, with multiple deals reaching final vendor selection. That’s the kind of progress we want the conversation to move toward: real consideration by potential buyers.

There’s an important limit to that story. Final vendor selection wasn’t a signed contract, and the meeting count doesn’t tell us how many meetings were held. We keep those distinctions clear rather than turning one result into a bigger claim.

The five steps above explain our outbound approach. We’re not claiming this particular campaign used every tool named in the guide, or that a specific sequence caused those results. The practical starting point for your CDMO is a clear capability focus, a well-chosen list and a way to learn from the people you reach.