CDMOs Are Not a Shortcut – They’re a Strategy In Partnership With YD Labs

In Partnership With YD Labs

If you’re scaling a fermentation or food tech company and weighing what to build in-house versus what to partner out, this is a conversation worth your time.

Protein Production Technology International brings together industry operators and partners to tackle a persistent misconception in food and biotech scale-up: that CDMOs are merely a stopgap or a last resort. Instead, this session reframes contract development and manufacturing organizations as long-term strategic collaborators — when structured correctly.

This webinar explores what a true CDMO strategy looks like in practice, from early development through commercial scale. The discussion digs into how companies can collaborate deeply without compromising IP, where internal capabilities still matter most, and why iterative, trust-based partnerships often outperform transactional outsourcing models.

Drawing on real-world examples, the session moves beyond abstract advice to examine what works, what fails, and how expectations on both sides can derail otherwise promising collaborations.

Whether you’re a founder navigating growth, a legal or IP lead structuring partnerships, or part of a corporate R&D team exploring open innovation, this webinar will offer practical guidance on using CDMOs as a strategic lever — not a shortcut.

From early-stage development support to long-term manufacturing partnerships, this session examines how companies can use CDMOs to accelerate progress without losing control — and what needs to be in place for these relationships to succeed.

We’ll explore:

🧩 What a strategic CDMO relationship really looks like: Moving beyond transactional outsourcing toward long-term collaboration models that evolve with the company

🔐 Protecting IP while collaborating deeply: How to structure agreements, governance, and communication so innovation is shared without exposure

🏗️ Build vs partner decisions: What capabilities make sense to keep in-house, what can be externalized, and how those choices shift as companies scale

🔄 Iterative development vs hand-off outsourcing: Why continuous collaboration often outperforms traditional “throw it over the wall” models

📉 Lessons from failure and success: What commonly goes wrong in CDMO relationships — and how experienced teams avoid repeating those mistakes

🎯 Challenging outdated assumptions: Why outsourcing still carries stigma in food tech, and how modern partnership models are changing that perception

🎙️ Who should attend:

• Founders and executive teams

• Legal and IP leads

• Corporate R&D and open innovation groups

Outsourcing still carries baggage in food and fermentation. This session challenges that mindset and offers a more nuanced, modern view of partnership — particularly relevant for teams navigating growth, constrained resources, and increasing technical complexity.

If you’re thinking seriously about CDMOs, partnership strategy, or how to scale without overbuilding too early, this webinar will give you a clearer framework for making smarter, more strategic decisions.