Preclinical CRO Market Size & Trends

The global preclinical CRO market size was valued at USD 5.72 billion in 2023 and is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 8.7% from 2024 to 2030. Increased R&D budget for drug development is leading to rising demand for preclinical contract research organization (CRO) services, thus boosting the market growth during the forecast period. The surge in the number of preclinical trials involving large molecules and the growing need to curb R&D expense is expected to contribute to the growing demand for quality preclinical CRO.

With regards to the COVID-19 vaccine, preclinical studies have been performed at an exponential speed, indicative of the overwhelming role of CROs. Increasing spending on CRO services is expected to boost the market growth significantly during the forecast period. The growing demand for drugs post COVID-19 is further contributing to the market growth. Different organizations across the globe have made significant funding for developing therapeutics and medical devices post COVID-19. For instance, the U.S. federal government allocated around USD 2.3 billion towards R&D of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines from the onset of the pandemic in 2020 through March 2022.

Gather more insights about the market drivers, restrains and growth of the Global Preclinical CRO market

U.S. Preclinical CRO market size and growth rate, 2024 - 2030

Detailed Segmentation:

Service Insights

The toxicology testing segment accounted for the largest revenue share of 25.4% of the global preclinical CRO market in 2023, owing to a rise in outsourcing of noncore preclinical CRO studies and high adoption of toxicology tests. Toxicology is one of the key services, which is being outsourced to CROs owing to the improved capabilities of CROs to conduct toxicology tests. The growing rate of outsourcing noncore preclinical studies to the CROs and the growing capabilities of CROs to offer additional value-added services is expected to propel the growth of this segment during the forecast period.

Service Insights

The toxicology testing segment accounted for the largest revenue share of 25.4% of the global preclinical CRO market in 2023, owing to a rise in outsourcing of noncore preclinical CRO studies and high adoption of toxicology tests. Toxicology is one of the key services, which is being outsourced to CROs owing to the improved capabilities of CROs to conduct toxicology tests. The growing rate of outsourcing noncore preclinical studies to the CROs and the growing capabilities of CROs to offer additional value-added services is expected to propel the growth of this segment during the forecast period.

Model Type Insights

The Patient Derived Organoid (PDO) Model segment held the largest share of 80.6% in 2023. The growing impact of the patient-derived organoid (PDO) model is due to the use of direct derived cells and tissues from the patient. This helps in personalized healthcare and the specimens can be cryopreserved. For these reasons, they are becoming an essential part of preclinical studies as they help in quicker diagnosis and prognosis of malignancy.

End-use Insights

The biopharmaceutical companies segment is expected to hold the largest market share of 80.8% in 2023. The increasing trend of outsourcing end-to-end services among biopharmaceutical companies, especially amongst the small- and mid-size companies that lack sufficient expertise in the preclinical phase of drug development, is expected to boost the demand for preclinical CRO services in the future.

Regional Insights

North America accounted for the largest share of 47.2% in 2023 owing to the presence of established CROs specializing in early drug discovery, such as Charles River Laboratories and LabCorp. The U.S. is the biggest market for preclinical trial outsourcing, as several biopharmaceutical companies prefer outsourcing their preclinical trials to CROs based in the U.S., to seek benefit from the Investigational New Drug (IND) application, approved by the FDA.

Preclinical CRO Market Share Insights

The preclinical CRO market has both large, multinational CROs and smaller, specialized CROs. These include Labcorp, Charles River Labs, Eurofins Scientific, and Intertek Group. Preclinical CRO market share depends on several factors such as number of players in the market, service portfolio, therapeutic expertise, geographic reach, innovation & investments, as well as partnerships & collaborations. For instance, key companies such as Covance— Labcorp’s drug development business,provide a comprehensive suite of preclinical services, including pharmacology & safety assessment, vector & cell characterization & qualification, and biodistribution testing & services. These market players also have expertise in specific therapeutic areas or in emerging fields (e.g., immuno-oncology, gene therapy). Combined with a broad geographic reach these companies can offer clients access to diverse patient populations, regulatory environments, and research expertise.

Browse through Grand View Research's Medical Devices Industry Research Reports.

Key Preclinical CRO Companies:

  • Eurofins Scientific
  • PRA Health Sciences, Inc.
  • Wuxi AppTec
  • Medpace, Inc.
  • Charles River Laboratories International, Inc.
  • PPD (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.)
  • SGA SA
  • Intertek Group Plc (IGP)
  • LABCORP
  • Crown Bioscience

Preclinical CRO Market Segmentation

Grand View Research has segmented the global preclinical CRO market based on service, model type, end-use, and region:

Preclinical CRO Service Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2018 - 2030)

  • Bioanalysis and DMPK studies
    • In vitro ADME
    • In-vivo PK
  • Toxicology Testing
    • GLP
    • Non-GLP
  • Compound Management
    • Process R&D
    • Custom Synthesis
    • Others
  • Chemistry
    • Medicinal Chemistry
    • Computation Chemistry
  • Safety Pharmacology
  • Others

Preclinical CRO Model Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2018 - 2030)

  • Patient Derived Organoid (PDO) Model
  • Patient derived xenograft model

Preclinical CRO End-use Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2018 - 2030)

  • Biopharmaceutical Companies
  • Government and Academic Institutes
  • Medical Device Companies

Preclinical CRO Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2018 - 2030)

  • North America
    • U.S.
    • Canada
  • Europe
    • U.K.
    • Germany
    • France
    • Italy
    • Spain
    • Sweden
    • Norway
    • Denmark
  • Asia Pacific
    • Japan
    • China
    • India
    • South Korea
    • Australia
    • Thailand
  • Latin America
    • Brazil
    • Mexico
    • Argentina
  • Middle East & Africa
    • South Africa
    • Saudi Arabia
    • UAE
    • Kuwait

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Recent Developments

  • In March 2023, Crown Bioscience & JSR Life Sciences Company announced starting a new site in Singapore, which will support the company in expanding its capacity for local and global biotech & pharma companies. The site will support companies that engage in preclinical & translational oncology drug discovery and development.
  • In February 2023, Apax Partners acquired Porsolt, a recognized Global CRO. This partnership will enhance Porsolt’s service offering while expanding its product portfolio & capabilities for drug screening, safety, and efficacy for worldwide consumers.

About Grand View Research

Grand View Research is a full-time market research and consulting company registered in San Francisco, California. The company fully offers market reports, both customized and syndicates, based on intense data analysis. It also offers consulting services to business communities and academic institutions and helps them understand the global and business scenario to a significant extent. The company operates across multitude of domains such as Chemicals, Materials, Food and Beverages, Consumer Goods, Healthcare, and Information Technology to offer consulting services.

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