Drug Discovery Market Size, Share, and Trends 2024 to 2034

Drug Discovery Market Size and Forecast 2024 to 2034

The global drug discoverymarket size is accounted for USD 65.84 billion in 2024 and is anticipated to reach around USD 158.74 billion by 2034, expanding at a CAGR of 9.20% between 2024 and 2034.

Drug Discovery Market Key Takeaways

• North America dominated the commercial boiler market in 2023.
• By drug type, the small molecule segment dominated the market in 2023.
• By end user, the pharmaceutical companies segment led the market in 2023.

Drug Discovery Market Growth Factors

The global drug discovery market is significantly driven by the rising prevalence of various chronic diseases, rising healthcare expenditure, and patent expiration of certain popular drugs across the globe. The global population is facing a growing burden of various diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer, respiratory diseases, and neurological disorders, which is significantly fueling the demand for new and innovative drugs. The exponentially growing pharmaceutical industry owing to the rapid growth of biopharmaceuticals is expected to drive the drug discovery market in the forthcoming years. The biopharmaceutical industry is growing at a rapid pace owing to the rising investments by the government and corporate for the development of new medicines to treat chronic diseases. Moreover, the favorable government regulations coupled with the active role of the authorities such as FDA and EMA is fueling the market growth.

The changing lifestyle, shifting consumption pattern, unhealthy food habits, rising pollution levels, and physical inactivity is resulting in the growing burden of various diseases like cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, around 19.3 million new cancer cases and around 10 million cancer deaths were reported in 2020. As per the International Diabetes Federation, around 783 million people across the globe are estimated to live with diabetes by 2045. Further, over 1.2 million children and teenagers are suffering from type 1 diabetes. According to the World Health Organization, the cardiovascular diseases results in almost 18 million deaths each year and it is the leading cause of death across the globe. Thus, the demand for the innovative drugs that can cure chronic diseases is high among the global population, which in turn fuels the growth of the drug discovery market. The rising investments by the pharmaceutical companies in the research & development of various new drugs and clinical trials research is expected to propel the growth of the global drug discovery market.

Market Scope

Drug Type Insights

Based on the drug type, the small molecule segment dominated the market in 2023. This is attributable to the increased demand for the small molecule drugs among the population. The small molecule drugs can easily affect the cells and can treat the diseases owing to its small molecules and weight. Therefore, the increased awareness regarding the effectiveness of the small molecule drugs has resulted in the increased investments of the manufacturers to develop small molecule drugs.

On the other hand, the large molecule or the biologics is estimated to be the fastest-growing segment during the forecast period. The rising adoption of the new manufacturing technologies is fueling the production of the biologics. Further, the rising awareness among the population regarding the effective treatment abilities of the biologics coupled with rising healthcare expenditure is boosting the growth of the large molecule segment.

End User Insights

The pharmaceutical companies segment dominated the global drug discovery market in 2022. This is because of the rising investments by the top pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in the development of new drugs. The rising prevalence of chronic diseases and growing geriatric population is creating a huge demand for the various innovative drugs. The increased demand for the drugs across the globe has fueled the drug discovery market. Moreover, the rapid growth of the biopharmaceutical industry has significantly contributed towards the market growth.

On the other hand, the CROs segment is estimated to be the most opportunistic segment during the forecast period. The rising penetration of the several small and medium size CROs across the globe owing to the rising demand for the CRO services among the pharmaceutical companies is exponentially boosting the growth of the drug discovery market. Research is the most common activity in the drug discovery process and the small and the medium pharmaceutical companies with low financial capabilities generally tends to acquire the CRO services, which in turn fuels the growth of this segment.

Regional Insights

Based on the region, North America dominated the global drug discovery market in 2022. The nation like US leads the globe in terms of spending on research and development. Moreover, US holds the patents of the majority of the new drugs that have been produced recently. Furthermore, the increased demand for the advanced and innovative drugs owing to the increased prevalence of chronic diseases has fueled the growth of the drug discovery market in North America. Around half of the US population is suffering from either one or more chronic diseases. This has resulted in a high healthcare expenditure in the country. Moreover, the rising awareness regarding the biologics in the region is further fueling the market growth. Furthermore, the surging demand for the generic drugs, immunotherapy drugs, and biosimilars is expected to significantly impact the growth of the drug discovery market in North America.

Asia Pacific is estimated to be the most opportunistic market in the forthcoming years. This can be attributed to the presence of numerous CROs in the region. Moreover, the countries like South Korea, India, and China are investing heavily in the growth of the pharmaceutical industry, which is fueling the demand for the biopharmaceutical products. Further, the rising geriatric population across the region is expected to increase the demand for the drugs in the upcoming future, as the geriatric people are more susceptible to the chronic diseases. According to the United Nations, 80% of the global geriatric population will be living in the low and middle income countries by 2050. Hence, the region is expected to witness a surge in the drug discovery market growth in the upcoming future.

Drug Discovery Market Companies

• Pfizer Inc.
• GlaxoSmithKline PLC
• Merck & Co. Inc.
• Agilent Technologies Inc.
• Eli Lilly and Company
• F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd
• Bayer AG
• Abbott Laboratories Inc.
• AstraZeneca PLC
• Shimadzu Corp

Key Developments

• In November 2020, Genentech and Genesis Therapeutics entered into a multi-target drug discovery collaboration which was powered by AI technology for the identification of drug candidates.
• In 2019, Biocon joined hands with Mylan to launch Ogivri, a cancer drug, which is a biosimilar to Herceptin, in US.
• In January 2020, Bayer collaborated with Exscientia, an artificial intelligence drug discovery company, for the development of cardiovascular and oncology diseases related drug.

Segments Covered in the Report

By Drug Type

• Small Molecule
• Large Molecule

By End User

• Pharmaceutical Companies
• CROs
• Others

By Technology

• High Throughput Screening
• Pharmacogenomics
• Combinatorial Chemistry
• Nanotechnology
• Other Technologies

By Geography

• North America
  • U.S.
  • Canada
• Europe
  • U.K.
  • Germany
  • France
• Asia Pacific
  • China
  • India
  • Japan
  • South Korea
• MEA
• Rest of the World