Contract Research Organization (CRO) Services Market

Report Overview

The global contract research organization (CRO) services market was pegged at US$ 47.36 billion in 2020 and is expected to witness a CAGR of 8.8% during the forecast period.

Market Fundamentals

Contract research organizations (CROs) are companies that provide support and services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, research institutes, and medical device manufacturers. CROs provide services for drug, vaccine, and medical device development. The services provided by CROs include pre-clinical research, clinical research, clinical trials management, commercialization, and pharmacovigilance. Conducting a clinical trial requires series of activities such as designing a protocol, evaluation of reports as well as submission of the materials to the FDA. Contract research organizations help the companies to carry all these activities along with conducting clinical trials.

Outsourcing activities to CROs have several benefits including faster clinical trials, conducting trials at a comparatively lower cost, improved focus on the core business process, and reduced need for recruiting specialized professionals for conducting these activities.

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Market Dynamics

The global contract research organization (CRO) services market is mainly driven by increasing incidences of infectious diseases, autoimmune diseases, and cancer, among others. Moreover, increasing R&D activities, an increasing number of ongoing clinical trials, and rising funding for R&D are also expected to provide lucrative growth to the contract research organization (CRO) services market. However, stringent regulations for the development of drugs, vaccines, and medical devices are a restraining factor for the market growth to a certain extent.

Market Ecosystem

The global contract research organization (CRO) services market has been analyzed from four perspectives: Service Type, Disease Indication, End User, and Region.

Contract Research Organization (CRO) Services Market by Service Type

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Based on service type, the contract research organization (CRO) services market has been segmented into early phase development, clinical research services, laboratory services, and consulting services. Clinical research services held the largest market share in 2020, owing to the rising prevalence of rare, autoimmune diseases and cancer; the increasing development of new drugs and vaccines; and the growing acceptance of evidence-based medicine among patients.

Contract Research Organization (CRO) Services Market by Disease Indication

Based on the disease indication, the market is segmented into oncology, infectious diseases, cardiovascular, central nervous system (CNS), respiratory, autoimmune disorders, and others. The oncology segment is anticipated to hold the largest market share in 2020. The largest share of this segment can be mainly attributed to factors such as the rising prevalence of cancer and increasing research and development for various cancer drugs.

Contract Research Organization (CRO) Services Market by End User

Based on the end-user, the market has been segmented into pharmaceutical & biopharmaceutical companies, medical device companies, and research & academic institutes. Pharmaceutical & biopharmaceutical companies held the largest market share in 2020, owing to greater outsourcing activities from these companies to reduce labor and also save the time which can be utilized for core business development.

Contract Research Organization (CRO) Services Market by Region

Regionally, the global contract research organization (CRO) services market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Rest of the World (RoW). North America held the largest market share of the global contract research organization (CRO) services market in 2020. The large share of this region can be attributed to several factors such as the large number of ongoing R&D activities of new molecules coupled with ample private-public funding for R&D. Moreover, as COVID-19 has soared out of control in the U.S., multiple pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies are working on finding the cure for COVID-19. In order to fast-track the developments of drugs & vaccines, companies are outsourcing the development of their compounds. For instance, in January 2021, ICON plc supported Pfizer and BioNTech for conducting the clinical trials of their investigational COVID-19 vaccine program.

Competitive Landscape

Some of the prominent players operating in the global contract research organization (CRO) services market include:-

• IQVIA
• Charles River Laboratories
• WuXi AppTec
• Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings
• Parexel International Corporation
• PPD Inc
• Eurofins Scientific
• Icon plc
• Syneos Health
• PRA Health Sciences, among others.

Strategic Developments

• In October 2020, ICON plc was re-selected by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to continue being part of its exclusive Medical Countermeasures Clinical Studies Network (CSN)
• In Jul 2020, IQVIA entered into a strategic alliance with LMC Manna Research, to launch IQVIA's first clinical investigation site in Canada. IQVIA and LMC Manna will collaborate on research programs for optimizing processes; reducing the time required to start clinical research; align procedures; and support a noteworthy increase in complex clinical and real-world evidence studies in Canada.
• In December 2018, IQVIA was awarded the 2018 Scrip Award for Best Contract Research Organization-Full-Service Provider.

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