Dublin, Oct. 01, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- "Drug Discovery - Market Share Analysis, Industry Trends & Statistics, Growth Forecasts (2026-2031)" has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.
The global drug discovery market is projected to grow from USD 107.17 billion in 2025 and USD 113.24 billion in 2026 to USD 152.73 billion by 2031. The market is expected to register a compound annual growth rate of 6.13% from 2026 to 2031, supported by artificial intelligence, machine learning, biologics development, outsourced research services, and rising investment in advanced discovery platforms.
AI-Driven Drug Discovery Gains Mainstream Adoption
Artificial intelligence is becoming a central component of pharmaceutical research and development. Generative platforms reduced target-to-hit timelines by as much as 50% during 2024 and 2025 by improving binding-affinity predictions and ADMET profiling. Xaira Therapeutics highlighted the commercial potential of this approach by announcing its first oncology candidate only 14 months after its founding.
Major pharmaceutical and technology companies are also increasing their investment in AI-enabled drug discovery. NVIDIA and Eli Lilly launched a USD 1 billion initiative combining genomic and proteomic datasets to identify targets for metabolic and neurodegenerative diseases. Chai Discovery and Genesis Therapeutics raised USD 130 million and USD 200 million, respectively, in 2024, demonstrating strong investor interest in transformer-based models that can identify off-target risks earlier in development.
Regulatory oversight is evolving alongside adoption. Draft FDA guidance issued in 2025 calls for sponsors to document model provenance, increasing demand for transparent AI platforms, traceable datasets, and validated data pipelines.
Biologics Complexity Supports Outsourced Drug Discovery
Biologics generated 38.28% of drug-type revenue in 2025 and are forecast to expand at an 8.18% CAGR through 2031. Growth is being driven by antibody-drug conjugates, bispecific formats, and cell therapies, all of which require specialized infrastructure and technical expertise.
Service providers are responding with additional capacity. WuXi Biologics commissioned 12,000 liters of bioreactor capacity in Ireland, while Lonza opened a USD 400 million Singapore facility supporting antibody discovery. Rising costs associated with post-translational optimization and immunogenicity testing are encouraging pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to work with external providers that offer validated expression systems and integrated discovery capabilities.
Higher Costs Reshape Drug Discovery Strategies
Discovery spending per candidate increased by approximately 8% to 12% between 2023 and 2025 as specialist wages rose and reagent supply chains tightened. Smaller biotechnology companies faced the greatest pressure, with 18 companies valued below USD 500 million exiting the market in 2024 after encountering funding challenges before investigational new drug filings.
Contract research organizations have also raised fees in response to higher utility, labor, and instrumentation expenses. Sponsors are addressing these pressures by consolidating projects with fewer vendors and moving selected early-stage activities to lower-cost research hubs in India and Eastern Europe. Additional market drivers include venture-capital funding for platform biotechnology companies and accelerated FDA Fast Track designations for rare-disease assets. Clinical translation failures in novel modalities remain a significant restraint.
Drug Discovery Technology and Process Trends
Hit generation and high-throughput screening represented 36.02% of 2025 revenue, reflecting continued investment in robotic liquid handling systems and compound libraries. However, sponsors are increasingly using virtual screening to prioritize compounds before physical testing. Target identification and validation accounted for approximately 22% of spending, while lead optimization represented about 28% of discovery budgets.
Preclinical candidate selection is projected to grow at a 7.06% CAGR, exceeding the overall market rate. Sponsors are investing more heavily in toxicology, pharmacokinetics, formulation, and AI-guided ADMET analysis to reduce costly clinical-stage failures. Thermo Fisher Scientific introduced a cloud-connected optimization toolkit that combines laboratory screening with computational modeling, reducing lead-refinement timelines by 20%.
High-throughput screening accounted for 34.27% of technology revenue in 2025, although growth is moderating as machine-learning triage reduces laboratory workloads. AI-based drug discovery platforms are expected to record the fastest technology growth at a 9.63% CAGR. Bioinformatics and in-silico modeling represented approximately 24% of technology spending, supported by expanding cloud infrastructure and lower simulation costs.
Industry milestones are reinforcing confidence in software-led discovery. Schrodinger's physics-based algorithms supported eight preclinical candidates advancing to investigational new drug filings in 2024, while Exscientia dosed the first patient in a study involving an AI-designed molecule during the same year.
Regional Drug Discovery Market Outlook
North America held 43.78% of global drug discovery market revenue in 2025, supported by strong venture-capital activity, an established scientific workforce, and proximity to the FDA. Cost inflation and talent shortages are nevertheless encouraging companies in the region to expand outsourcing relationships.
Asia-Pacific is forecast to achieve the fastest regional growth, with an 11.27% CAGR through 2031. India offers an estimated 40% to 50% cost advantage and added approximately 2,200 scientists and 1.2 million square feet of laboratory space in 2024. Japan continues to fund biotechnology innovation hubs connecting academic and commercial research, while Singapore's tax incentives for biologics investment are strengthening the region's position as a global drug discovery and development center.
Key Topics Covered:
1 Introduction
1.1 Study Assumptions & Market Definition
1.2 Scope of the Study
2 Research Methodology
3 Executive Summary
4 Market Landscape
4.1 Market Overview
4.2 Market Drivers
4.2.1 AI-Driven Target Identification Gains Mainstream Adoption
4.2.2 Rising Biologics Pipeline Complexity Boosts Outsourced Discovery
4.2.3 Venture-Capital Funding Surge for Platform Biotech (Post-2025)
4.2.4 Accelerated FDA Fast-Track Designations for Rare-Disease Assets
4.2.5 DNA-Encoded Libraries Slash Early-Stage Cycle-Times
4.2.6 Open-Science Consortia Lowering IP Barriers In Pre-Competitive Space
4.3 Market Restraints
4.3.1 Escalating Discovery Costs Amid Macro-Inflationary Pressure
4.3.2 Clinical Translation Failures in Novel Modalities
4.3.3 Data-Integrity Gaps in AI Training Sets
4.3.4 Growing Cyber-Biosecurity Threats to Proprietary Pipelines
4.4 Regulatory Landscape
4.5 Technological Outlook
4.6 Porter's Five Forces Analysis
4.6.1 Threat of New Entrants
4.6.2 Bargaining Power of Buyers
4.6.3 Bargaining Power of Suppliers
4.6.4 Threat of Substitute Products
4.6.5 Intensity of Competitive Rivalry
5 Market Size & Growth Forecasts
5.1 By Process Phase
5.1.1 Target Identification & Validation
5.1.2 Hit Generation / High-throughput Screening
5.1.3 Lead Optimization
5.1.4 Pre-clinical Candidate Selection
5.2 By Technology
5.2.1 High-throughput Screening (HTS)
5.2.2 Bioinformatics & In-silico Modelling
5.2.3 Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
5.2.4 Combinatorial Chemistry
5.2.5 DNA-Encoded Libraries & Other Emerging Tech
5.3 By Drug Type
5.3.1 Small-Molecule
5.3.2 Biologics & Large-Molecule
5.4 By Therapeutic Area
5.4.1 Oncology
5.4.2 Central Nervous System Disorders
5.4.3 Cardiovascular Diseases
5.4.4 Infectious Diseases
5.4.5 Metabolic Disorders
5.4.6 Other Therapeutic Areas
5.5 By End User
5.5.1 Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Companies
5.5.2 Contract Research Organizations (CROs)
5.5.3 Academic & Research Institutes
5.6 By Geography
5.6.1 North America
5.6.1.1 United States
5.6.1.2 Canada
5.6.1.3 Mexico
5.6.2 Europe
5.6.2.1 Germany
5.6.2.2 United Kingdom
5.6.2.3 France
5.6.2.4 Italy
5.6.2.5 Spain
5.6.2.6 Rest of Europe
5.6.3 Asia-Pacific
5.6.3.1 China
5.6.3.2 Japan
5.6.3.3 India
5.6.3.4 Australia
5.6.3.5 South Korea
5.6.3.6 Rest of Asia-Pacific
5.6.4 Middle East & Africa
5.6.4.1 GCC
5.6.4.2 South Africa
5.6.4.3 Rest of Middle East & Africa
5.6.5 South America
5.6.5.1 Brazil
5.6.5.2 Argentina
5.6.5.3 Rest of South America
6 Competitive Landscape
6.1 Market Concentration
6.2 Market Share Analysis
6.3 Company Profiles (includes Global Level Overview, Market Level Overview, Core Segments, Financials as Available, Strategic Information, Market Rank/Share for Key Companies, Products & Services, and Recent Developments)
6.3.1 AbbVie Inc.
6.3.2 Amgen Inc.
6.3.3 AstraZeneca PLC
6.3.4 Bayer AG
6.3.5 BeiGene Ltd.
6.3.6 Becton, Dickinson and Company
6.3.7 Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH
6.3.8 Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
6.3.9 Charles River Laboratories International Inc.
6.3.10 Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited
6.3.11 Eli Lilly and Company
6.3.12 Exscientia plc
6.3.13 Gilead Sciences, Inc.
6.3.14 GlaxoSmithKline plc
6.3.15 Johnson & Johnson
6.3.16 Merck & Co., Inc.
6.3.17 Novartis AG
6.3.18 Pfizer Inc.
6.3.19 Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.
6.3.20 Roche Holding AG
6.3.21 Sanofi S.A.
6.3.22 Schrodinger Inc.
6.3.23 Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited
6.3.24 Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.
6.3.25 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated
6.3.26 WuXi AppTec
7 Market Opportunities & Future Outlook
7.1 White-space & Unmet-Need Assessment
For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/a7vz3s
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