Drug Discovery Services Market Opportunities and Strategies to 2033

This report describes and explains the drug discovery services market and covers 2018-2023, termed the historic period, and 2023-2028, 2033F termed the forecast period. The report evaluates the market across each region and for the major economies within each region.

The global drug discovery services market reached a value of nearly $16.26 billion in 2023, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.39% since 2018. The market is expected to grow from $16.26 billion in 2023 to $29.85 billion in 2028 at a rate of 12.91%. The market is then expected to grow at a CAGR of 13.70% from 2028 and reach $56.72 billion in 2033.

Growth in the historic period resulted from increased investments in pharmaceutical research and development (R&D), increased focus on personalized medicine, growing focus on drug discovery trials, government initiatives to accelerate drug discovery research and expansion of biopharmaceutical sector. Factors that negatively affected growth in the historic period were complex and time-consuming regulatory approval processes and low access to healthcare services and poor access to drugs.

Going forward, increasing aging population worldwide, growing public awareness about health and wellness, rising healthcare expenditure globally, growing incidence of chronic diseases and expanding healthcare infrastructure will drive the growth. Factor that could hinder the growth of the drug discovery services market in the future include high cost of drug discovery and increasing competition among pharmaceutical companies.

The drug discovery services market is segmented by type into chemistry services and biology services. The chemistry services market was the largest segment of the drug discovery services market segmented by type, accounting for 62.1% or $10.1 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the biology services segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the drug discovery services market segmented by type, at a CAGR of 14.19% during 2023-2028.

The drug discovery services market is segmented by process into target selection, target validation, hit-to-lead identification, lead optimization, candidate validation and other processes. The lead optimization market was the largest segment of the drug discovery services market segmented by process, accounting for 27.9% or $4.54 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the lead optimization segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the drug discovery services market segmented by process, at a CAGR of 14.91% during 2023-2028.

The drug discovery services market is segmented by end user into pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academic institutes and other end users. The pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies market was the largest segment of the drug discovery services market segmented by end user, accounting for 66.1% or $10.75 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the drug discovery services market segmented by end user, at a CAGR of 13.40% during 2023-2028.

The drug discovery services market is segmented by drug type into biologics drug and small molecule drug. The small molecule drug market was the largest segment of the drug discovery services market segmented by drug type, accounting for 73.5% or $11.95 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the biologics drug segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the drug discovery services market segmented by drug type, at a CAGR of 14.05% during 2023-2028.

North America was the largest region in the drug discovery services market, accounting for 39.7% or $6.45 billion of the total in 2023. It was followed by Western Europe, Asia-Pacific and then the other regions. Going forward, the fastest-growing regions in the drug discovery services market will be Asia-Pacific and Africa where growth will be at CAGRs of 16.42% and 15.45% respectively. These will be followed by Middle East and South America where the markets are expected to grow at CAGRs of 14.07% and 13.14% respectively.

The global drug discovery services market is concentrated, with large players operating in the market. The top ten competitors in the market made up 32.9% of the total market in 2023. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. was the largest competitor with a 8.5% share of the market, followed by Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. with 6.4%, Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings with 5.1%, Evotec SE with 4.1%, Eurofins Scientific SE with 3.1%, Syngene International Limited with 1.7%, SRI International with 1.7%, Viva Biotech with 0.9%, Jubilant Biosys Ltd. with 0.8% and WuXi AppTec Co., Ltd. with 0.6%.

The top opportunities in the drug discovery services market segmented by type will arise in the chemistry services segment, which will gain $7.78 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the drug discovery services market segmented by drug type will arise in the small molecule drug segment, which will gain $9.57 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the drug discovery services market segmented by process will arise in the lead optimization segment, which will gain $4.55 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the drug discovery services market segmented by end user will arise in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies segment, which will gain $9.41 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The drug discovery services market size will gain the most in the USA at $3.88 billion.

Market-trend-based strategies for the drug discovery services market include integration of AI-driven tools for faster and more efficient drug discovery, advanced robotic and automation technologies for revolutionizing drug discovery, transforming drug development with cutting-edge computational technologies, comprehensive drug discovery solutions for enhanced biotech industry support, strategic partnerships and collaborations among major players and launch of generative AI microservices to advance drug discovery, medtech and digital health.

Player-adopted strategies in the drug discovery services market include focuses on strengthening its business operations through new product launches, expanding their business expertise through new product developments and strengthening its market position through strategic partnerships.

To take advantage of the opportunities, the analyst recommends the drug discovery services companies to Focus on Leveraging AI in Drug Discovery Services, focus on robotics and automation in drug discovery services, focus on computational technologies in drug discovery, focus on comprehensive drug discovery solutions, focus on biology services segment growth, focus on strategic partnerships in drug discovery, expand in emerging markets, provide competitively priced offerings, participate in trade shows and events, continue to use B2B promotions and focus on pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies segment.