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Drug Discovery Market Analysis

The Drug Discovery Market size is estimated at USD 100.10 billion in 2024, and is expected to reach USD 137.72 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 6.59% during the forecast period (2024-2029).

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the health systems of various countries rapidly invested in research and development to combat the virus. Potential compounds were screened from the CHEMBL, ZINC, FDA-approved drugs, and molecules under clinical trials. Research groups worldwide have identified drugs for the treatment of COVID-19 by screening both novel and existing drugs for their ability to alleviate symptoms and stop viral replication. Thus, the drug discovery market was positively impacted due to the urge to find a cure for COVID-19. Furthermore, post the pandemic, there is a rise in investments in different modalities of drug development, such as gene and cell therapies for both COVID-19 diseases and other novel diseases, which is expected to impact the market's growth as per the analysis positively. Furthermore, the research for developing antiviral drugs for COVID-19 is still in progress. For instance, in May 2022, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) awarded approximately USD 577 million to establish nine Antiviral Drug Discovery (AViDD) Centers for Pathogens of Pandemic Concern. The AViDD centers will carry out creative, interdisciplinary research to create candidate COVID-19 antivirals, particularly those that can be used outside of a hospital setting, as well as antivirals that target particular viral families with a high potential to trigger a pandemic in the future. Such grants are expected to drive the drug discovery market's growth post-pandemic.

The propelling factors for the growth of the drug discovery market include the rising burden of a wide range of diseases (such as cardiovascular and CNS-related disorders), rising healthcare expenditure, and the upcoming patent expiration of blockbuster drugs.

Cardiovascular diseases, infectious diseases, diabetes, and kidney-related complications are highly prevalent worldwide. According to key facts about cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) published by the WHO in June 2021, CVDs are the leading cause of death globally, representing around 32% of all global deaths. CVD remains the leading cause of death and disability and remains highly complicated, costly, and burdensome. Moreover, new strategies are required to streamline and reduce the costs of clinical trials while placing greater importance on the patient experience and voice. Thus, the increasing burden of a diverse range of diseases among all age groups and its burden globally drive the demand for drug discovery and its market.

Furthermore, there has been an upsurge in the usage of advanced technologies, such as high-throughput process development, bioinformatics, and combinatorial chemistry, for better drug candidate identification. Drug discovery has evolved significantly with emerging technologies, helping the process become more refined, accurate, and time-efficient. The adoption of artificial intelligence systems in disease diagnostics and treatment design is growing, and this is expected to witness robust growth in the coming years. For instance, in March 2020, Existencia, an AI-based drug discovery company, entered a collaborative agreement with Diamond Light Source and Scripps Research to identify COVID-19 antiviral therapies. Thus, these factors are anticipated to contribute to the market's growth over the forecast period.

However, the huge capital investment, low-profit margins, and stringent drug discovery regulations are expected to hinder the market growth.

Drug Discovery Market Trends

Biologics Drug Segment is Expected to Show a Significant Growth Over the Forecast Period.

Drug Discovery Industry Segmentation

As per the scope of the report, drug discovery is a process aimed at identifying a compound that is 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. In the recent past, drug discovery has evolved significantly with emerging technologies, helping the process become more refined, accurate, and time-consuming. 

The drug discovery market is segmented by drug type (small molecule drugs and biologic drugs), technology (high throughput screening, pharmacogenomics, combinatorial chemistry, nanotechnology, and other technologies), end user (pharmaceutical companies, contract research organizations (CROs), and other end users), and geography (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa, and South America). The report offers market forecasts and revenues in terms of value in USD million for the above segments.