Small Molecule Drug Discovery Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2021-2026)

Market Overview

The global small molecule drug discovery market is expected to register a CAGR of nearly 8.05% during the forecast period, with a revenue of approximately USD 32,150 million in 2020 and expected to reach 51,160 million by 2026.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the health system of countries is heavily investing in research and development to combat the virus. Research groups across the world have set about identifying small molecule drugs for the treatment of COVID-19, by screening both novel and existing drugs for their ability to alleviate symptoms and stem viral replication. Thus, in view of the ongoing pandemic, the small molecule drug discovery market is expected to be positively impacted by the urge to find a curb on COVID-19.

The rising applications of small molecule drugs in the treatment of chronic disorders are leading to the rising demand for small molecule drugs in the market. According to the Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics 2019, there were around 116.4 million that account for 46% of adults in the United States were estimated to have hypertension. As per the American Cancer Society, in 2020, approximately 1.8 million new cancer cases are anticipated to be diagnosed, and around 606,520 cancer deaths might occur in the United States. The incresae in chronic diseases is expected to increase the demand for treatment resulting in high growth of the market.

Rising technological advancements and the preference of small molecules along with the rising disease complications, has led major players to increase their R&D expenditure, which is further acting as the major growth factors for the global small molecule drug discovery market.

However, high drug development cost and strict regulation for drug devlopment is expected to limit the market growth over forecast period.

Scope of the Report

As per the scope of the report, small molecule drug discovery represents all the costs incurred by a drug discovery company during the discovery phase (all four stages, including target identification/validation, hit generation and selection, lead identification, and lead optimization). A small molecule is a substance that can enter cells easily, as it has a low molecular weight. These are used as drugs for therapeutic purposes and includes chemically synthesized drug molecule as well as all the biologically synthesized drug molecules.

The small molecule drug discovery market is segmented by therapeutic area (oncology, central nervous system, cardiovascular, respiratory, metabolic disorders, gastrointestinal, orthopedics, anti-infective, dermatology, immunology, other therapeutic areas), process/phase (target id/validation, hit generation and selection, lead identification, lead optimization) and geography (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa, and South America). The market report also covers the estimated market sizes and trends for 17 different countries across major regions, globally. The report offers the value (in USD million) for the above segments.

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Key Market Trends

Target Identification and Validation is Expected to hold its Significant Market Share in the Process/Phase Segment And Expected To Continue To Do The Same Over Forecast Period

Target identification is done to identify the direct molecular target, such as protein or nucleic acid, of a small molecule. In the case of clinical pharmacology, target identification is aimed to find out the efficacy of the target of the drug molecule. The main objective of target validation is to identify and access the chances of a molecular target in achieving the development of pharmaceuticals for therapeutic application.

Three key distinct and complementary approaches are used for target identification and validation, which include genetic interaction methods, direct biochemical methods, and computational interference methods. In many cases, combinations of multiple approaches may be required for the full characterization of the target.

Technology plays a crucial role in every aspect of small molecule drug discovery, starting from target identification and validation to lead optimization. Hence, technological advancements have been acting as a driving factor for the industry. In February 2018, Emulate announced that it formed a strategic R&D collaboration with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited to use intestine-chip for new drug target identification and validation in drug development for GI diseases. The continued focus resulted in a higher number of target identification, validation, and drug development.

The outbreak of novel coronavirus has drawn global attention, prompting the urgent need to find specific and broad-spectrum antiviral drugs. A significant number of major biotech firms are in the midst of a race to investigate the Sars-Cov-2 genome and prepare therapeutics for the same. For instance, in November 2020, South Korean pharma company Samsung Biologics had entered a long-term agreement with Eli Lilly and Company to manufacture its investigational Covid-19 virus-neutralizing antibody, bamlanivimab. Therefore, it is expected to further drive the segment studied over the forecast period.

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