Drug Screening Market Report 2025

The drug screening market size has grown rapidly in recent years. It will grow from $8.57 billion in 2024 to $9.79 billion in 2025 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.2%. The growth in the historic period can be attributed to pharmaceutical drug testing, healthcare and clinical diagnostics, substance abuse treatment, research and development investments, and increasing use of drug testing kits and devices.

The drug screening market size is expected to see rapid growth in the next few years. It will grow to $17.1 billion in 2029 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15%. The growth in the forecast period can be attributed to legalization of cannabis and opioid crisis, increasing sports events, point-of-care and rapid testing, evolving drug policies and regulations, growing workplace wellness and health programs, and international market expansion. Major trends in the forecast period include advanced drug detection technologies, telemedicine and remote testing, research and development investments, innovative drug testing kits and devices, and technological advancements in testing.

The growth of the drug screening market is expected to be driven by the increasing prevalence of drug and alcohol consumption. Drug addiction, a condition affecting both brain and behavior, leads to the inability to control the use of legal or illegal substances such as alcohol, marijuana, and nicotine. As drug and alcohol addiction rise, the associated health risks also increase, necessitating the demand for drug screening. In 2022, global concerns about drug and alcohol consumption persisted, with the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) reporting a 3.8% year-over-year increase in drug use among Americans aged 12 and over. The report also highlighted that 21.4% of people in the same age group had used illegal drugs or misused prescription drugs in the past year. The ongoing pandemic further exacerbated drug risks, with youth cannabis intake increasing up to four times in certain regions. The escalating drug and alcohol consumption significantly contribute to the growth of the drug screening market.

The increasing demand for substance abuse treatment is expected to drive the growth of the drug screening market in the future. Substance abuse refers to the harmful use of a substance in quantities that negatively affect the user or others. Drug screening helps identify compounds that are typically not present in the body. The process begins with a screening test, which is followed by a secondary test to detect and/or confirm the presence of specific substances, so the growing demand for drug abuse treatment will support market expansion. For example, in August 2023, a report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services indicated that over 27 million people in the United States had recently reported using illicit drugs or misusing prescription medications. Furthermore, nearly a quarter of both adults and adolescents admitted to binge drinking in the past month. The annual economic cost of substance misuse is estimated at $249 billion for alcohol and $193 billion for illicit drugs. Therefore, the rising need for substance abuse treatment is propelling the growth of the drug screening market during the forecast period.

A notable trend in the drug screening market is the launch of innovative products. Major companies in this sector are actively developing and introducing innovative products to meet the rapidly growing industry demand and enhance their market positions. The COVID-19 pandemic prompted a shift in drug screening approaches, fostering innovation and new product development. Companies are striving to create more effective and widely applicable drug tests for laboratory use. For example, in September 2022, Sysmex Corporation, a Japan-based healthcare company, launched the UF-1500 Fully Automated Urine Particle Testing Analyzer. This innovative product, designed for urine sediment testing and screening, inherits the functionality and usability of the UF-5000 Fully Automated Urine Particle Analyzer while achieving a downsizing of the former model, exemplifying the trend of innovative product launches in the drug screening market.

Companies in the drug screening market are increasingly turning their attention to strategic partnerships and collaborations as a means to enhance their financial strength, fortify their product portfolios, and extend their geographical reach. Strategic collaborations involve agreements between two or more parties to jointly pursue agreed-upon objectives while maintaining their independence as organizations. An illustrative example occurred in December 2022 when PhoreMost Ltd., a UK-based biopharmaceutical company, and ThinkCyte K.K., a Japan-based biotechnology company, announced a strategic research partnership focused on advancing modern phenotypic drug screening through the application of artificial intelligence (AI). This collaboration integrates PhoreMost's SITESEEKER platform, designed to identify optimal new targets for future therapies, with ThinkCyte's Ghost Cytometry technology - a platform leveraging AI for cell characterization and sorting. By combining these innovative technologies, the partnership aims to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of phenotypic drug screening. The collaboration has the potential to identify novel drug targets and facilitate the development of effective therapeutics by leveraging AI and machine learning.

In April 2022, Saladax Biomedical, Inc., a US-based company specializing in the development, manufacturing, and marketing of assays providing rapid therapeutic drug levels, acquired a patent portfolio for antipsychotic drug testing and screening from Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, a Belgium-based pharmaceutical company. This acquisition enabled Saladax to develop tests compatible with chemistry analyzers commonly found in hospitals and a point-of-care instrument suitable for settings where centralized testing is not feasible. These tests address a significant unmet clinical need for patients with serious mental illness (SMI) by delivering rapid and actionable results to healthcare professionals. The collaboration exemplifies how strategic acquisitions contribute to addressing clinical needs and expanding the offerings in the drug screening market.

Major companies operating in the drug screening market include Laboratory Corporation, Quest Diagnostics Incorporated, OraSure Technologies Inc., Alfa Scientific Designs Inc., Abbott Laboratories, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Drägerwerk AG & Co. KGaA, LifeLoc Technologies Inc., MPD Inc., Omega Laboratories Inc., Premier Biotech Inc., Psychemedics Corporation, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Shimadzu Corporation, Siemens Healthineers AG, Medtox Scientific Inc., American Screening Corporation, Clinical Reference Laboratory Inc., Express Diagnostics International Inc., Global Drug Testing Services, Kroll Laboratory Specialists Inc., Medscreen Laboratories, National Screening Centers Inc., American Bio Medica Corporation, Mayo Clinic Laboratories, ACM Global Laboratories, Intertek Group plc, Eurofins Scientific SE.

Drug screening is an approach used for drug testing, specifically designed and optimized for clinical trials. It involves the analysis of blood, urine, hair, or saliva to detect the presence of chemicals, pollutants, and other illicit substances left in the body due to drug usage.

The main types of drug screening products include rapid testing devices, consumables, and other related items. Rapid testing devices are user-friendly screening tools that provide quicker results compared to traditional laboratory tests. Various samples, such as oral fluid, hair, urine, breath, and others, are used in drug screening. These screenings find applications in drug testing laboratories, workplaces, criminal justice and law enforcement, hospitals, drug treatment centers, individual users, pain management centers, schools, and colleges.

The drug screening market research report is one of a series of new reports that provides drug screening market statistics, including drug screening industry global market size, regional shares, competitors with a drug screening market share, detailed drug screening market segments, market trends and opportunities, and any further data you may need to thrive in the drug screening industry. This drug screening market research report delivers a complete perspective of everything you need, with an in-depth analysis of the current and future scenario of the industry.

North America was the largest region in the drug screening market in 2024. Asia-Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing region in the drug screening market during the forecast period. The regions covered in the drug screening market report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East and Africa.

The countries covered in the drug screening market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, South Korea, UK, and USA.

The drug screening market consists of sales of testing kits, reagents, and other supplies. Values in this market are ‘factory gate’ values, that is the value of goods sold by the manufacturers or creators of the goods, whether to other entities (including downstream manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors and retailers) or directly to end customers. The value of goods in this market includes related services sold by the creators of the goods.

The market value is defined as the revenues that enterprises gain from the sale of goods and/or services within the specified market and geography through sales, grants, or donations in terms of the currency (in USD unless otherwise specified).

The revenues for a specified geography are consumption values that are revenues generated by organizations in the specified geography within the market, irrespective of where they are produced. It does not include revenues from resales along the supply chain, either further along the supply chain or as part of other products.

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