Drug Discovery Outsourcing Market: Current Analysis and Forecast (2022-2030)

Drug discovery outsourcing is the practice of outsourcing various stages of the drug discovery process to specialized service providers and contract research organizations (CROs). This includes services such as target identification and validation, lead generation and optimization, preclinical development, and clinical trials. By outsourcing drug discovery services, pharmaceutical companies can access specialized expertise, advanced technologies, and cost-effective solutions to accelerate drug development timelines and reduce R&D costs. The drug discovery outsourcing market is expected to continue growing in the coming years, driven by increasing demand for innovative and effective drugs, rising R&D costs, and a shortage of in-house resources.

The drug discovery outsourcing market is expected to grow at a steady rate of around 7% owing to the increasing cases of diseases such as cancer, CVD, and other rare diseases. Moreover, developing a new drug requires a range of specialized skills and technologies, including expertise in genomics, proteomics, and bioinformatics. By outsourcing these services, pharmaceutical companies can access a wider range of expertise and technologies, allowing them to develop more innovative and effective drugs. For instance, Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. and Valence Discovery announced a strategic partnership in April 2021 to accelerate preclinical drug discovery efforts and give customers access to Valence's artificial intelligence platform for molecular property prediction and generative chemistry.

Based on type, the drug discovery outsourcing market is segmented into medical chemistry service and biology service. The finished goods segment accounted for a significant market share in 2020 and it is estimated that it will grow rapidly during the projected timeframe. This is mainly due to these services providing essential services such as lead optimization, hit-to-lead (H2L) identification, and synthetic route scouting. Also, enable pharmaceutical companies to accelerate the drug discovery process and bring innovative drugs to the market faster.

Based on drug type, the drug discovery outsourcing market is segmented into small molecule and large molecules (biopharmaceuticals). The large molecules category is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR due to the growing number of drug and product approvals globally which is further attributed to increasing funding and investment by major key players or other biopharmaceutical companies to develop biologics & biosimilars.

Based on therapeutic area, the market is fragmented into oncology, infectious disease, respiratory disease, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and others. The oncology segment grabbed a considerable market share, and it is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR during the forecast period. This is mainly due to the increasing focus on the identification of novel targets to support cancer treatment and the growing number of patients with various types of cancer and the increasing number of elderly population will contribute to the growth of the market. For instance, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), there were an estimated 18.1 million new cases of cancer worldwide in 2020.

For a better understanding of the market adoption of the drug discovery outsourcing industry, the market is analyzed based on its worldwide presence in the countries such as North America (U.S., Canada, Rest of North America), Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, India, Rest of Asia-Pacific), Rest of World. APAC is anticipated to grow at a substantial CAGR during the forecast period. This is because of highly populated nations along with the high prevalence rate of genetic problems and diseases. Additionally, these nations have favorable regulatory environments and the availability of low-cost skilled labor and high-quality data, particularly in China and India, which will drive the growth of this market.

Some of the major players operating in the market include: Curia Global, Inc.; Laboratory Corporation of America® Holdings; Genscript; Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.; Charles River Laboratories; WuXi AppTec; Merck & Co., Inc.; Qiagen; Jubilant Biosys Ltd.; Eurofins DiscoverX Products