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Virtual Clinical Trials Market Analysis

The Global Virtual Clinical Trials Market size is estimated at USD 9.52 billion in 2024, and is expected to reach USD 14.88 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 9.34% during the forecast period (2024-2029).

The COVID-19 pandemic has shut down population movements and transport systems across large parts of the world, preventing many clinical trial patients from attending trial sites and restricting principal investigators (PIs) and other clinical staff to their homes. Hence, the flurry of trial delays and cancellations. Bristol Myers Squibb Co., Pfizer Inc., Merck & Co., and Eli-Lilly & Co. are among the growing list of companies to have announced a stop to new trial starts and pauses to recruitment into existing studies for the next several weeks. According to Continuum Clinical analysis reports published in April 2020, around 30% of the surveyed clinical trial locations are expected to have a significant impact on both enrolling patients for new trial studies and keeping patients who are currently enrolled on track with their study schedules. According to a report published by Congressional Budget Office, in April 2020, approximately 30 pharmaceutical or biotech companies had reported a trial disruption. This is where the virtual trial comes into play with telemedicine and digital technologies developed by pharmaceutical and biotech companies to reduce the clinical trials disruption.

The virtual clinical trials market is driven by the growing digitization in the healthcare sector, growth in R&D activities, and the adoption of telehealth. For example, in February 2020, Johnson & Johnson launched the Heartline virtual trial design study to see if the Apple Watch and new iPhone app may reduce the risk of stroke by detecting cardiac arrhythmia. Virtual clinical trials have higher recruitment rates, better compliance, lower drop-out rates, and are conducted faster than traditional clinical trials.

Moreover, advancements in technology, such as the launch of web-based clinical trials, collaborations between clinical research companies, biotechnology companies and pharmaceutical, and support initiatives from governments are expected to boost the market. For example, in November 2020, Parexel collaborated with the Clinical Trial Center (CTC). This collaboration may increase the research capacity of delivering early phase clinical trials. It is likely to also support the rising demand and continuation of early phase clinical studying during the pandemic. Similarly, in October 2020, Oracle collaborated with FHI Clinical for improving the efficiency of the clinical trial and helped in getting therapies to market faster.

Additionally, the increasing occurrence of people suffering from chronic diseases, such as heart diseases, infectious diseases, neurological diseases, and the rising geriatric population, are factors that propel the growth virtual clinical market. For instance, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2021), in the United States, on average, 6 out of 10 people are suffering from a chronic disease, and 4 out of 10 people are suffering from two or more, resulting in the leading cause of death in the country. According to the WHO, in 2020, chronic diseases accounted for almost three-quarters of all deaths, worldwide, and that 71% of deaths due to ischaemic heart disease (IHD), 75% of deaths due to stroke, and 70% of deaths due to diabetes may occur in developing countries. With the increasing burden of diseases, it is expected to increase the demand for the development of new drugs. This is further anticipated to fuel the technological development in the healthcare industry, thereby, augmenting the market growth.

However, a greater amount of collection data prove and manage reliability to regulators, technology failure, and data accuracy, which are some of the challenges anticipated to hamper the growth of the global virtual clinical trials market.

Virtual Clinical Trials Industry Segmentation

Virtual clinical trials, also known as remote or decentralized trials, are a relatively new and yet underutilized method of conducting clinical trial research taking full advantage of technologies, such as apps, electronic monitoring devices, and online social engagement platforms. The virtual clinical trials market is segmented by study design (observational, interventional, and expanded access), indication type (cardiovascular disease, oncology, and other indication types), and geography (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle-East and Africa, and South America). The report offers the value (in USD million) for the above segments.