Drug Discovery Outsourcing Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Drug Type (Small, Large Molecules), By Workflow, By Therapeutics Area, By Service Type, By End Use, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2025 - 2030

Drug Discovery Outsourcing Market Growth & Trends

The global drug discovery outsourcing market size is expected to reach USD 10.23 billion by 2030 and is expected to expand at a CAGR of 7.58% from 2025 to 2030, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc., The COVID-19 pandemic has brought pharmaceutical companies in limelight. Drug discovery is a costly and lengthy process. This has urged pharmaceutical and biotech companies to opt for outsourcing their research activities to academic and private Contract Research Organizations (CROs). Rising partnerships between public or private entities accelerate drug discovery processes, which, in turn, increase the global demand for outsourcing services for drug discovery.

This scenario is expected to sustain post-Covid implications as well. A rise in cases of chronic diseases has urged companies to develop medicines that extend life expectancy. According to the United Nations, people aged 65 years between 2015 and 2020 are expected to live an additional 17 years. Some of the key therapeutic areas where companies are actively involved in outsourcing include oncology, cardiovascular, and anti-infectives. In November 2020, AstraZeneca collaborated with 9 of the foremost oncology medical centers to expedite research in some of the hardest-to-treat cancers. The company will be funding clinical and non-clinical research proposals from members of this network.

The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the value of drug discovery and development. People across the world are waiting for a vaccine while several companies are proactively involved in developing an effective vaccine to combat COVID-19. Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE received first approval for the vaccine following a worldwide Phase 3 trial of a potential strain to combat the virus. As for clinical trials, many of them are halted, while some are functional by adopting remote monitoring technologies. Thus, the pandemic has brought the pharmaceutical industry to center stage with drug discovery outsourcing becoming a key aspect to develop effective treatments against the virus. This is expected to boost the market revenue for the next 2 years i.e. a short-term boom, after which it shall regain its original growth curve.

Drug Discovery Outsourcing Market Report Highlights

• On the basis of workflow segment, the market is segmented into target identification & screening, target validation & functional informatics, lead identification & candidate optimization, preclinical development, and other associated workflow.
• On the basis of therapeutics area segment, the market is segmented into Respiratory System, Pain and Anesthesia, Oncology, Ophthalmology, Hematology, Cardiovascular, Endocrine, Gastrointestinal, Immunomodulation, Anti-Infective, Central Nervous System, Dermatology, and Genitourinary System.
• On the basis of drug type segment, the market is segmented into Small Molecules, and Large Molecules (Biopharmaceuticals).
• On the basis of service type segment, the market is segmented into Chemistry Services, and Biology Services. The chemistry segment dominated the market with the largest revenue share in 2024, owing to increasing number of outsourcing projects for small molecules across the industry.
• On the basis of end use segment, the market is segmented into Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology companies, Academic Institutes, and Others. The pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies segment dominated the market with the largest revenue share in 2024.
• Asia Pacific market held the largest market share of 45.99% in 2024. This growth can be attributed to various factors, such as rising healthcare expenditure and growing demand for pharmaceutical products.

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