Access TOC
Get a SampleAugust 2024
The global drug discovery outsourcing market size is calculated at USD 4.45 billion in 2025 and is forecasted to reach around USD 8.43 billion by 2034, accelerating at a CAGR of 7.34% from 2025 to 2034. The North America drug discovery outsourcing market size surpassed USD 1.46 billion in 2024 and is expanding at a CAGR of 7.36% during the forecast period. The market sizing and forecasts are revenue-based (USD Million/Billion), with 2024 as the base year.
The global drug discovery outsourcing market size was accounted for USD 4.15 billion in 2024 and is anticipated to reach around USD 8.43 billion by 2034, growing at a CAGR of 7.34% from 2025 to 2034.
The U.S. drug discovery outsourcing market size was evaluated at USD 1.17 billion in 2024 and is predicted to be worth around USD 2.39 billion by 2034, rising at a CAGR of 7.40% from 2025 to 2034.
North America dominated the global drug discovery outsourcing market with the largest market share of 32.20% in 2024. The presence of numerous top contract research organizations and contract manufacturing organizations in the region along with the presence of various top pharmaceutical industry players collectively contributes towards the growth of the drug discovery outsourcing market. Moreover, the huge demand for the new and innovative drugs in this region owing to the increased prevalence of various chronic diseases has favored the market growth in the past years. US holds the patent and intellectual property rights for most of the newly developed drugs.
Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing market during the forecast period. The rapidly growing geriatric population and rising prevalence of various diseases is supplementing the demand for the new drugs. As per the United Nations, around 80% of the global geriatric population is expected to live in the low and middle income countries. Furthermore, the presence of several top research organizations is supplementing the growth of the drug discovery outsourcing market in the region. The availability of cheap factors of production in this region is attracting foreign investments towards setting up drug manufacturing facilities in Asia Pacific.
The drug discovery outsourcing market deals with practices used by biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies to reduce the cost of drug development. There are various outsourcing models that have been created over the years to meet drug development service demands. The global market is experiencing significant growth leading to the increase in adoption of outsourcing services and a rise in focus on drug development across the globe. In addition, the increase in public-private partnerships focused on developing new molecules, the increasing prevalence of various diseases, and the growing need for innovative drug options have significantly enhanced collaborations between service providers and drug developers. In addition, increasing pressure on pharmaceutical companies to develop within limited budgets and shorter timelines creates significant opportunities for contract service providers and hence opens up service expansions in the industry are further anticipated for market growth during the forecast period.
The global drug discovery outsourcing market is primarily driven by the growing investments in the research and development of various new and innovative drugs. The surging growth and popularity of the global biopharmaceutical industry is a major factor which is estimated to boost the growth of the global drug discovery outsourcing market. The biopharmaceuticals alone accounts for 20% of the total pharmaceutical industry. The recent developments of various new drugs in the biopharmaceutical industry that can effectively cure various diseases such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and respiratory diseases is significantly driving the growth of the global drug discovery outsourcing market. The presence of numerous contract manufacturing organizations and contract research organizations in the market are exponentially contributing towards the growth of the market. Moreover, the development of various life-saving drugs in the biosimilar and the biologic industry is expected to increase the investments in the drug discovery activities across the globe.
The rising prevalence of various chronic diseases and rapidly growing geriatric population is expected to augment the growth of the drug discovery outsourcing market. The world is witnessing an alarming surge in the prevalence of diseases such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, neurological disorders, and respiratory diseases. This rising burden of various diseases is encouraging the pharmaceutical industry to invest heavily on the research and development of various life-saving drugs. This further fuels the growth of the drug discovery outsourcing market across the globe. The geriatric people are the major consumers of drugs and various therapies as they are susceptible to diseases and spend more on the healthcare. Therefore, the growing global geriatric population will positively impact the market growth. As per the United Nations, the geriatric population is estimated to reach at 2 billion by 2050. Furthermore, the active participation of the government authorities such as FDA and EMA on the research results and clinical trials of various new drugs and diagnostic tests is encouraging the drug discovery activities in the market.
| Report Coverage | Details |
| Market Size in 2024 | USD 4.15 Billion |
| Market Size in 2025 | USD 4.45 Billion |
| Market Size by 2034 | USD 8.43 Billion |
| Growth Rate from 2025 to 2034 | CAGR of 7.34% |
| Largest Market | North America |
| Base Year | 2024 |
| Forecast Period | 2025 to 2034 |
| Segments Covered | Workflow, Therapeutic Area, Drug Type, Region |
| Regions Covered | North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East & Africa (MEA) |
Rising prevalence of chronic diseases in geriatric population
The rising prevalence of various chronic diseases and the rapidly growing geriatric population is expected to augment the growth of the drug discovery outsourcing market. The world is witnessing an alarming surge in the prevalence of diseases such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, neurological disorders, and respiratory diseases. This rising burden of various diseases is encouraging the pharmaceutical industry to invest heavily in the research and development of various life-saving drugs. These further fuel the growth of the drug discovery outsourcing market across the globe. Geriatric people are the major consumers of drugs and various therapies as they are susceptible to diseases and spend more on healthcare. Therefore, the growing global geriatric population will positively impact market growth
High cost of drug development
The high cost of drug development is one of the major factors restraining market growth. Drug development is a long-term, time-consuming, and expensive process. Higher costs related to preclinical studies for drug discovery are the major challenge in the market. Various pharmaceutical companies spend millions on drug development and many drugs fail in late-stage clinical trials and early-stage are expected to restrain the growth of the drug outsourcing market.
Growing focus on the development of personalized medicines
Various pharmaceutical companies are focused on research and development systems and tailoring external resources for the development of innovative drugs at high rates. For the integration of human genetics research in drug development and discovery programs, companies have entered partnerships with drug discovery and academia service providers. In addition, proteomics and genomics find a range of applications in drug discovery such as novel antibody drug development, target validation & identification, and safety application & biomarker development.
Personalized medicine includes the usage of patient-centric data to improve employed therapies that have fewer side effects and are more effective. For instance, in July 2024, Insilico launched PandaOmics, an AI-powered hardware platform for personalized medicine research and on-premise drug discovery.
The Lead identification and candidate optimization segment contributed the highest market share of 33% in 2024. The increased efficiencies and the economies of scale associated with this segment has resulted in its significance. It is considered to be the most important workflow during the initial stage of the drug discovery process. The rising adoption of the advanced silico technology and computer aided drug discovery systems has supported the market growth significantly. Furthermore, the growing demand for the skilled resources having a knowledge of computer software, analytical chemistry, and metabolism is supplementing the growth of this segment.
The respiratory systems segment captured the biggest market share in 2024. The rising investments towards the development of the drugs that can cure respiratory diseases owing to the rising pollution levels and growing burden of respiratory diseases across the globe is expected to boost the market growth. According to the World Health Organization, around 65 million people across the globe suffer from COPD and around 3 million dies due to it every year. Around 334 million people are suffering from asthma and around 14% of the global children are affected from it.
Based on the therapeutic area, the oncology segment is estimated to be the most opportunistic segment during the forecast period. The huge demand for the cancer curing drugs is boosting the growth of the oncology drug discovery outsourcing market. The increased prevalence of various types of cancer among the population has encouraged the investments towards the drug discovery activities pertaining to the cancer treatment. 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. The new cancer cases are expected to rise by 47% from 2020 to 2040, globally. Therefore, it is estimated that around 28.4 million new cancer cases will be recorded in 2040 across the globe. The most prevailing types of cancer includes breast, lungs, colorectal, and prostate cancer.
The small molecules/pharmaceuticals segment has held the largest market share of 78% in 2024. The small molecules drugs are characterized with certain features such as easy to characterize, simple, and well-defined. The small molecules drugs are considered more effective in treating diseases. The small molecules can easily treat the infected cells, provide effective treatment, and results in low or no side-effects. Therefore, these features of the small molecules has attracted huge investments and resulted in the growth of this segment.
On the other hand, the biologics is estimated to be the most opportunistic segment during the forecast period. The recent developments of the various life-saving drugs in the biopharmaceuticals has surged the demand for the biologic drugs across the globe. Furthermore, the rising awareness regarding the availability of biologics to cure diseases like cancer, diabetes, and CVDs is expected to drive the growth of this segment.
By Workflow
By Therapeutic Area
By Drug Type
By Geography
For questions or customization requests, please reach out to us at sales@precedenceresearch.com
No cookie-cutter, only authentic analysis – take the 1st step to become a Precedence Research client
August 2024
June 2023
January 2025
November 2024