Drug Discovery - Market Insights, Competitive Landscape, and Market Forecast - 2030

Drug Discovery Market By Workflow (Target Identification & Screening, Target Validation & Functional Informatics, Lead Identification & Candidate Optimization, Preclinical Development, And Others), By Drug Type (Small Molecule Drugs And Biologic Drugs), By Technology (High Throughput Screening, Pharmacogenomics, Combinatorial Chemistry, Nanotechnology, And Others), By Service Provider (Pharmaceutical Companies, Contract Research Organizations (CROS), And Others), and by geography is expected to advance at a respectable CAGR forecast till 2027 owing to the increasing prevalence of various chronic diseases and the increasing investments by government and private companies for research & developmental activities concerning to the drug discovery across the globe.

The global drug discovery market will grow at a CAGR of 7.64% during the forecast period from 2022 to 2027 to reach USD 97,007.77 million by 2027. The drug discovery market is observing substantial market growth primarily owing to the increasing prevalence of chronic and rare diseases such as cancers, cardiovascular, diabetes, and sickle cell anemia, among others. Further, the growing interest in including AI in drug discovery and development owing to its advantages, increasing R&D expenditure and investments in the development of novel drug molecules, the presence of a robust number of pipeline products across the globe, surging number of biologics and generic drugs, increasing new drug launches and approvals, presence of key players and CRO's in the market, and others will create a requisite for drug discovery services in the market. Therefore, the market for drug discovery is estimated to grow at a substantial CAGR during the forecast period from 2022 to 2027.

Drug Discovery Market Dynamics:

One of the key aspects influencing the growth of the drug discovery market can be the high capital investment in the drug discovery and development process. Following the conventional method of drug discovery and drug development results in the consumption of 12-14 years till a final product reaches the market for end users. For instance, as per the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, on average, a drug takes about 10 years to reach the market with clinical trials themselves accounting for 6-7 years out of the total time. The same source further stated that the average cost to develop each successful drug comes out to be approximately USD 2.5 billion. The drug discovery step in the drug development process is extremely daunting as there is a vast chemical space, comprising >1060 molecules that may serve as the starting point for developing potential drugs. The advantages offered by various drug discovery services in terms of machine learning, neural networks can recognize hit and lead compounds, and provide a quicker validation of the drug target and optimization of the drug structure design. Therefore, all the aforementioned factors point towards the advantages of drug discovery services helping in faster identification of targets, lead compounds, and subsequent development of the drug, thereby presenting a positive growth outlook for the drug discovery market during the forecast period (2022-2027).

Another factor driving the drug discovery market is the rising burden of various chronic diseases such as cancers, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, hemoglobin diseases, and rare diseases, among others. For instance, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) 2022, it was estimated that each year over 300,000 babies with severe forms of these diseases are born worldwide, the majority in low and middle-income countries. Moreover, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) 2022, cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for nearly 10 million deaths in 2020. The new cases of breast cancer in 2020 were 2.26 million cases, across the globe. Thus, the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases will increase the demand for new drugs for treatment in the market which will ultimately increase the demand for various drug discovery services in the market.

The rapid growth of the pharmaceutical industry is also expected to drive the drug discovery market in the coming years. The biopharmaceutical industry is expanding rapidly as a result of increased government and corporate investments in the development of new medicines to treat chronic diseases. Furthermore, favorable government regulations, combined with the active role of authorities such as the FDA and EMA, are fueling market growth.

However, the huge capital investment with low-profit margins, stringent government regulations approval process, and others may halt the drug discovery market growth.

The drug discovery market was positively impacted during the period of COVID- 19 pandemic. During the COVID-19 pandemic, majorly all countries' health systems were rapidly investing in research and development to combat the virus. Various potential compounds were screened from the CHEMBL, ZINC, FDA-approved drugs, and molecules under clinical trials. Also, research groups worldwide were identifying new molecules or drugs for the treatment of COVID-19 by screening both novel and existing drugs for their ability to alleviate symptoms and stem viral replication. Thus, owing to the rising demand for research & development for COVID-19 drugs and vaccines, the demand for the drug discovery market increased drastically driving the market growth.

Drug Discovery Market Segment Analysis:

Drug Discovery Market by Workflow (Target Identification & Screening, Target Validation & Functional Informatics, Lead Identification & Candidate Optimization, Preclinical Development, and Others), Drug Type (Small Molecule Drugs and Biologic Drugs), Technology (High Throughput Screening, Pharmacogenomics, Combinatorial Chemistry, Nanotechnology, and Others), Service Provider (Pharmaceutical Companies, Contract Research Organizations (CROs), and Others), and Geography (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World).

In the drug type segment of the drug discovery market, the biologics segment is expected to have a significant revenue share in the year 2021. This was primarily owing to the increasing demand for biologics in the treatment of various chronic diseases such as cancers and others. Moreover, the expanding launches and strategic investments, and other activities by the key players related to the segment will support the market growth during the forecast period.

Biologics have several advantages, including highly effective and potent action, fewer side effects, and the potential to cure diseases rather than simply treat symptoms, which has significantly increased demand for these products. The efficacy and safety of biopharmaceuticals have resulted in their widespread use, propelling the global drug discovery market.

Also, in this new era of medicine, new drugs are targeting the underlying causes of disease in unprecedented ways, and conditions once thought to be fatal are now manageable, if not curable. Further, recent therapeutic advances have the potential to cure the disease while also assisting patients in avoiding serious disease complications such as cirrhosis, advanced liver disease, and liver cancer.

North America is expected to dominate the overall Drug Discovery Market:

Among all the regions, North America is expected to dominate global drug discovery in the year 2021 and is expected to do the same during the forecast period from 2022-2027.

This can be ascribed to the increasing demand for drug discovery among the patients in the region owing to the increasing prevalence of various chronic diseases in the region. Further, the surging number of generic drugs and biosimilars, the presence of key domicile players, and rising new drug approvals in the region are the reasons which act as a supportive factor for North America drug discovery market growth.

For instance, according to GLOBOCAN 2021 data, the total number of new cancer cases was 2,281,658 in the United States, in 2020. Moreover, the American Cancer Society estimates that in 2022, approximately 287,850 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in women in the United States. Therefore, the rising prevalence of cancers in the country is boosting the development of cancer drug development, thereby providing a conducive environment for the drug discovery market to grow in the United States.

Furthermore, various strategic steps by the key players is expected to boast the market for drug discovery in the North America. For instance, in January 2020, Bayer entered a collaboration agreement with artificial intelligence drug discovery company Exscientia to identify and optimize novel lead structures for potential drug candidates in treating cardiovascular and oncological diseases. Also, in September 2022, CytoReason entered a multi-year partnership with Pfizer to use CytoReason's artificial intelligence technology for Pfizer's drug development program. Such collaborations among key market players in the United States to implement AI technology in drug discovery are expected to drive the growth of this market studied in this region.

The region has great opportunities for biosimilars, as they carry a higher price, more efficacy, and lesser side effects. In 2020, the United States market was estimated to become one of the major competitors of biosimilars. Along with this, many new drug molecules are getting approved by US FDA, which will further propel the demand of drug discovery in the upcoming years. For instance, in December 2022, TG Therapeutics, Inc. got approval for BRIUMVI™ (ublituximab-xiiy) injection, a new drug molecule used to treat relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis. Many other new drug entities such as lenacapavir, adagrasib, olutasidenib, and others were approved by US FDA in 2022.

Drug Discovery Market Key Players:

Some of the key market players operating in the drug discovery market are Existencia, Evotec, Curia Global, Inc., Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings., GenScript, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Charles River Laboratories., WuXi AppTec, Dalton Pharma Services, Oncodesign, Jubilant Biosys Ltd., IBM Corporation, Numedii Inc, Deep Genomics, NVIDIA Corporation, Pharmaron, Domainex, TCG Lifesciences Pvt. Ltd., Cloud Pharmaceuticals Inc, Alphabet Inc (DeepMind), and others.

Recent Developmental Activities in the Drug Discovery Market:

• In January 2022, Evotec and Boehringer Ingelheim formed a target and drug development collaboration focused on iPSC-based disease modeling for ophthalmologic illnesses.
• In December 2021, Toxikon Corporation, a contract research company, was acquired by Labcorp. Toxikon's acquisition is expected to broaden the company's product portfolio.
• In November 2020, Genesis Therapeutics entered AI-driven, multi-target drug discovery partnership with Genentech. The collaboration leverages Genesis' graph machine learning and drug discovery expertise to identify innovative drug candidates for therapeutic targets in multiple disease areas.
• In January 2020, Bayer entered a collaboration agreement with artificial intelligence drug discovery company Exscientia to identify and optimize novel lead structures for potential drug candidates in treating cardiovascular and oncological diseases.

Key Takeaways from the Drug Discovery Market Report Study

• Market size analysis for current drug discovery market size (2021), and market forecast for 5 years (2022-2027)
• The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on this market is significant. To capture and analyze suitable indicators, our experts are closely watching the drug discovery market.
• Top key product/services/technology developments, mergers, acquisitions, partnerships, and joint ventures happened for the last 3 years
• Key companies dominating the global drug discovery market.
• Various opportunities available for the other competitor in the drug discovery market space.
• What are the top-performing segments in 2021? How these segments will perform in 2027.
• Which are the top-performing regions and countries in the current drug discovery market scenario?
• Which are the regions and countries where companies should have concentrated on opportunities for drug discovery market growth in the coming future?

Target Audience who can be benefited from this Drug Discovery Market Report Study

• Drug discovery service providers
• Research organizations and consulting companies
• Drug discovery-related organizations, associations, forums, and other alliances
• Government and corporate offices
• Start-up companies, venture capitalists, and private equity firms
• Distributors and Traders dealing in drug discovery
• Various end users who want to know more about the drug discovery market and the latest developments in the drug discovery market.

Frequently Asked Questions for the Drug Discovery Market:

1. What is drug discovery?

Drug Discovery is a process aimed at identifying a compound therapeutically useful in treating and curing diseases. Typically, a drug discovery effort addresses a biological target that has been shown to play a role in the development of the disease or starts from a molecule with interesting biological activities.

2. What is the global market for drug discovery?

The global drug discovery market will grow at a CAGR of 7.64% during the forecast period from 2022 to 2027 to reach USD 97,007.77 million by 2027.

3. What are the drivers for the global drug discovery market?

The drug discovery market is witnessing positive market growth owing to the factors such as the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, the growing interest in including AI in drug discovery and development owing to its advantages, increasing R&D expenditure, and investments in the development of novel drug molecules, the presence of a robust number of pipeline products across the globe, surging number of biologics and generic drugs, increasing new drug launches and approvals, presence of key players and CRO's in the market, and others will create an exigency for the drug discovery market.

4. Who are the key players operating in the global drug discovery market?

Some of the key market players operating in the drug discovery market include Existencia, Evotec, Curia Global, Inc., Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings., GenScript, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Charles River Laboratories., WuXi AppTec, Dalton Pharma Services, Oncodesign, Jubilant Biosys Ltd., IBM Corporation, Numedii Inc, Deep Genomics, NVIDIA Corporation, Pharmaron, Domainex, TCG Lifesciences Pvt. Ltd., Cloud Pharmaceuticals Inc, Alphabet Inc (DeepMind), and others.

5. Which region has the highest share of the drug discovery market?

Among all the regions, North America is estimated to hold a significant revenue share in the global drug discovery market. This can be ascribed to the increasing demand for drug discovery among the patients in the region owing to the increasing prevalence of various chronic diseases in the region. Further, the surging number of generic drugs and biosimilars, the presence of key domicile players, and rising new drug approvals in the region are the reasons which act as a supportive factor for North America drug discovery market growth.


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