How to Master Tech Transfers: Practical Strategies for Turning Complexity into Competitive Advantage

At CDMO Live 2025, Dr. Uwe Hanenberg, Head of Product Implementation at Recipharm, led a roundtable discussion that provided actionable insights for improving pharmaceutical technology transfer outcomes.

The Problem: Half of All Tech Transfers Face Quality Issues

During the roundtable discussion, a revealing moment occurred when participants were asked about quality issues. “It turned out that approximately 50% of Tech Transfers experience quality problems – a figure that surprised even industry veterans.” says Hanenberg.

This statistic underscores why effective technology transfer has become a critical differentiator in the CDMO market, directly impacting both short-term and long-term success.

Four Critical Areas to Focus Your Efforts

The discussion identified specific “hot areas for potential challenges during Tech Transfers” which are also the areas where CDMOs can differentiate themselves most:

• Communication and transparency (be pro-active)
• Documentation and knowledge management
• Clear alignment and mutual understanding of expectations and deliverables
• Process robustness

Eliminate the Contract-to-Execution Gap

A practical challenge highlighted was the disconnect between business development and project implementation. As Hanenberg explained: “A significant issue emerged around the gap between contract signing and project start. Here seem to be in some companies an ‘agility-break’ between signing business and the start of the work. There’s some in some companies obviously a second knowledge transfer needed, leading to long time between signing a contract starting the project…”

Practical solution: Maintain team continuity from sales through implementation to avoid this costly knowledge transfer gap.

Essential Project Management Tools and Frameworks

Participants shared various project management approaches they employ, ranging from cross-functional teams and specialised software to structured governance mechanisms including stage gates, steering committees, and escalation processes. Risk assessments—covering quality, business, and EHS dimensions—were highlighted as essential components.

When asked about key enablers for cross-functional collaboration, participants emphasised “Overall Portfolio Management and well structured Project Management,” with successful alignment across departments requiring a “Good Plan, QTTP, mutual understanding of requirements.”

Best Practices for Knowledge Transfer

The roundtable addressed practical knowledge capture strategies, with key discussion points including: “Get the right departments involved, in particular QA. Link Knowledge Management to Resource Management.”

However, participants acknowledged a real-world constraint: “due to business interests of the customer (IP, business secrets) not all knowledge can be shared in every case.”

Actionable Takeaways for Implementation

The roundtable concluded with specific, implementable recommendations:

• Address the quality crisis: “Up to 50% of current Tech Transfers are facing Quality issues”
• Build robust systems upfront: “Focus on robust documentation and knowledge management systems from the outset”
• Maintain team continuity: “Eliminate the ‘before and after signature’ disconnect by maintaining team continuity”
• Implement comprehensive risk management: “Implement comprehensive risk assessments to ensure product robustness, in particular in non-like-to-like transfers”

The Bottom Line

In the competitive CDMO landscape, mastering technology transfer isn’t just about avoiding problems—it’s about systematically implementing these practical strategies to build lasting competitive advantage through enhanced reliability, reduced timelines, and superior quality outcomes.

Download the full CDMO Live Report for summaries of all the talks at CDMO Live 2025: