Drug Discovery Services Companies

The global drug discovery services market is projected to reach USD 27.23 billion in 2030 from USD 16.36 billion in 2025, with a significant CAGR of 10.7% during the forecast period. The market is expanding due to a number of factors, including initiatives for research on rare diseases and orphan drugs, the high cost of in-house drug development, the growing R&D expenditure from pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies, the need for more analytical testing outsourcing, technological advancements, the development of new drug discovery techniques, patent expiration, and end users' growing demand for specialized testing services.

Some of the major players in the drug discovery services market with significant global presence include Charles River Laboratories (US), Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (US), WuXi AppTec (China), and Pharmaron (China). To increase their global presence and gain a larger portion of the drug discovery services market, these companies have implemented a number of organic and inorganic growth tactics, such as partnerships, agreements, expansions, acquisitions, collaborations, and service launches. By providing drug discovery services, these organic and inorganic strategies have enabled market participants to grow internationally.

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In June 2024, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. expanded its central laboratory operations in Kentucky, which is focused on speeding up the delivery of effective medicines to patients by pharmaceutical and biotech customers. In February 2024, Charles River Laboratories merged with Wheeler Bio to incorporate the CMC platform. This advancement remarkably enhanced the discovery and safety assessment division of Charles River Laboratories.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (US) offers a complete and integrated portfolio of discovery services. It has a strong geographic footprint and operates in more than 150 countries across North America, Europe, Latin America, and Asia. It gained over USD 14 billion in revenue in 2024 from its Life Sciences Solutions segment, which provides drug discovery services. In November 2024, the company launched a suite of expanded CRO and CDMO services under its brand- Accelerator Drug Development. In June 2024, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. expanded its clinical research laboratory in Wisconsin. The new 72,500-square-foot building increases the site’s chemistry, manufacturing, and control (CMC) analytical capabilities as part of its clinical development and laboratory services.

Charles River Laboratories (US) is a global drug discovery service CRO that provides a comprehensive portfolio of drug discovery and early-stage development products and services. The company has made several acquisitions, partnerships, and cooperation deals. For example, in January 2023, the company acquired SAMDI Tech, which provides label HTS solutions for drug discovery research. In January 2025, the company signed a partnership deal with NJ Bio, a CRO that provides integrated chemistry and bioconjugation services for Antibody Drug Conjugate (ADC) development from concept to clinic. The strategic alliance combines Charles River’s end-to-end ADC discovery services with NJ Bio’s bioconjugation and manufacturing capabilities.

WuXi AppTec (China) has wide range of discovery and development services. China, the US, Germany, Iceland, Israel, and Korea make up the majority of its loyal customerbase. The organization prioritizes upholding service quality while promptly adjusting to transformational and innovative circumstances. To increase its capability and capacity in the worldwide market, the company concentrates on expansions. The business has expanded its capacity several times in the past four years. The corporation announced plans to invest up to USD 1.43 billion in July 2022 to build and open a new research and development and manufacturing facility in Singapore. Additionally, WuXi AppTec's Lab Testing Division (LTD) increased the toxicological capacity at the Suzhou safety assessment facility in November 2019.

Pharmaron (China) is one of the leading players in the global drug discovery services market. Pharmaron is one of the progressive contract research organizations (CROs) that provide fully integrated services across the drug discovery and development pipeline. With expertise spanning medicinal chemistry and biology, Pharmaron supports pharmaceutical and biotech companies in accelerating new therapeutic discovery. The company's offering specially emphasizes end-to-end solutions, from target identification to preclinical candidate selection, thus making the whole process efficient. The company focuses on both organic growth and inorganic growth strategies like acquisitions and expansions for increasing its shares in the global drug discovery services market. For example, in January 2022, Pharmaron acquired the Commercial API Manufacturing Facility in the UK from Recipharm. The synergistic integration of the Cramlington Site with Pharmaron’s existing service capabilities of discovery, process development, and early-stage cGMP API manufacturing at Hoddesdon will enable a complete end-to-end chemistry and manufacturing service offering in the UK.

Market Ranking

The drug discovery services market is highly competitive, with four main players collectively holding 45-50% of the total market share. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (US) holds a leading position with a largest market share, showcasing its broad influence through a diverse portfolio of services, follows by Charles River Laboratories (US), WuXi AppTec (China) and Pharmaron (China). Charles River Laboratories (US) operates in the drug discovery and early-stage development services sectors.

The other 50-55% of the market is shared by other regional and emerging players, resulting in enormous fragmentation and an entry opportunity for smaller players. Competition in the market is based on a combination of the following additional factors: technological advances; innovation in services; strategic cooperations; and increased demand from the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies.

Related Reports:

Drug Discovery Services Market by Process (Target Validation, Hit-to-Lead, Lead Optimization), Type (Chemistry, Biology), Therapeutic Area (Oncology, Neurology, Infectious, CVD), Drug Type (Small Molecules, Biologics), End User - Global Forecast to 2030

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