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U.S. Small Molecule Drug Discovery Outsourcing Market Size, Share, Trends, Industry Analysis Report By Workflow (Target Identification & Screening, Target Validation & Functional Informatics), By Service, By Therapeutics Area, By End Use – Market Forecast

Publisher Polaris Market Research & Consulting LLP
Published Aug 01, 2025
Length 129 Pages
SKU # PLRS20381520

Description

The U.S small molecule drug discovery outsourcing market size is expected to reach USD 3.68 billion by 2034, according to a new study by Polaris Market Research. The report “U.S. Small Molecule Drug Discovery Outsourcing Market Share, Size, Trends, Industry Analysis Report By Workflow (Target Identification & Screening, Target Validation & Functional Informatics), By Service, By Therapeutics Area, By End Use; Market Forecast, 2025–2034” gives a detailed insight into current market dynamics and provides analysis on future market growth.

Small molecule drug discovery outsourcing involves partnering with external organizations, such as contract research organizations (CROs), to accelerate and optimize the drug development process. These collaborations help pharmaceutical and biotech companies access specialized expertise, advanced technologies, and cost-effective solutions while reducing in-house burdens. Outsourced services include target identification, hit-to-lead optimization, preclinical testing, and medicinal chemistry. Small molecule drug discovery outsourcing is particularly valuable for small firms with limited infrastructure or large companies seeking flexible R&D capabilities. Outsourcing also enables access to innovative platforms such as AI-driven drug design and high-throughput screening through next-generation sequencing, enhancing efficiency in discovering novel therapeutics for diseases such as cancer, metabolic disorders, and infectious diseases.

The U.S. dominates small molecule drug discovery outsourcing due to its robust biopharma ecosystem, research facilities, and a high concentration of CROs. American companies outsource to both domestic and international partners to leverage cost efficiencies and specialized expertise, particularly in medicinal chemistry, computational modeling, and preclinical development. The U.S. market emphasizes quality, regulatory compliance, and rapid innovation, driving demand for integrated outsourcing solutions. Trends such as AI-powered drug discovery and sustainable chemistry are shaping the market, with hubs such as Boston and San Francisco leading collaborations.

U.S. Small Molecule Drug Discovery Outsourcing Market Report Highlights

In terms of workflow, the lead identification & candidate optimization segment accounted for a major revenue share in 2024 due to increasing reliance of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies on external partners for early-stage compound discovery.

Based on service, the chemistry services segment dominated the revenue share in 2024 due to high demand for medicinal and synthetic chemistry in the early stages of drug discovery.

In terms of therapeutic area, the oncology segment held the largest revenue share in 2024 due to the high prevalence of cancer and the urgent demand for targeted and personalized therapies.

The central nervous system segment is expected to grow at a robust pace during the forecast period, owing to the growing investments in the development of treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, psychiatric disorders, and epilepsy.

A few major companies operating in the U.S. small molecule drug discovery outsourcing market include Charles River Laboratories; Curia Global, Inc.; Eurofins Scientific; Evotec; GenScript Biotech; Labcorp; Merck & Co., Inc.; Oncodesign; Pharmaron; and Syngene International.

Polaris Market Research has segmented the U.S. small molecule drug discovery outsourcing market report on the basis of workflow, service, therapeutic area, and end use:

By Workflow Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2020–2034)

Target Identification & Screening

Target Validation & Functional Informatics

Lead Identification & Candidate Optimization

Preclinical Development

Others

By Service Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2020–2034)

Chemistry Services

Biology Services

By Therapeutic Area Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2020–2034)

Respiratory System

Pain and Anesthesia

Oncology

Ophthalmology

Hematology

Cardiovascular

Endocrine

Gastrointestinal

Immunomodulation

Anti-infective

Central Nervous System

Dermatology

Genitourinary System

By End Use Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2020–2034)

Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Companies

Academic Institutes

Table of Contents

129 Pages
1. Introduction
1.1. Report Description
1.1.1. Objectives of the Study
1.1.2. Market Scope
1.1.3. Assumptions
1.2. Stakeholders
2. Executive Summary
2.1. Market Highlights
3. Research Methodology
3.1. Overview
3.1.1. Data Mining
3.2. Data Source
3.2.1. Primary Source
3.2.2. Secondary Source
4. U.S. Small Molecule Drug Discovery Outsourcing Market Insights
4.1. Small Molecule Drug Discovery Outsourcing Market – Market Snapshot
4.2. Small Molecule Drug Discovery Outsourcing Market Dynamics
4.2.1. Drivers and Opportunities
4.2.1.1. Rising research and development expenses
4.2.1.2. Increasing need for drug development
4.2.2. Restraints and Challenges
4.2.2.1. Loss of direct control over critical processes
4.3. Porter’s Five Forces Analysis
4.3.1. Bargaining Power of Suppliers (Moderate)
4.3.2. Threats of New Entrants: (Low)
4.3.3. Bargaining Power of Buyers (Moderate)
4.3.4. Threat of Substitute (Moderate)
4.3.5. Rivalry among existing firms (High)
4.4. PESTEL Analysis
4.5. U.S. Small Molecule Drug Discovery Outsourcing Market Trends
4.6. Value Chain Analysis
5. U.S. Small Molecule Drug Discovery Outsourcing Market, by Workflow
5.1. Key Findings
5.2. Introduction
5.2.1. U.S. Small Molecule Drug Discovery Outsourcing Market, by Workflow, 2020-2034 (USD Billion)
5.3. Target Identification & Screening
5.3.1. U.S. Small Molecule Drug Discovery Outsourcing Market, by Target Identification & Screening, by Region, 2020-2034 (USD Billion)
5.4. Target Validation & Functional Informatics
5.4.1. U.S. Small Molecule Drug Discovery Outsourcing Market, by Target Validation & Functional Informatics, by Region, 2020-2034 (USD Billion)
5.5. Lead Identification & Candidate Optimization
5.5.1. U.S. Small Molecule Drug Discovery Outsourcing Market, by Lead Identification & Candidate Optimization, by Region, 2020-2034 (USD Billion)
5.6. Preclinical Development
5.6.1. U.S. Small Molecule Drug Discovery Outsourcing Market, by Preclinical Development, by Region, 2020-2034 (USD Billion)
5.7. Others
5.7.1. U.S. Small Molecule Drug Discovery Outsourcing Market, by Others, by Region, 2020-2034 (USD Billion)
6. U.S. Small Molecule Drug Discovery Outsourcing Market, by Service
6.1. Key Findings
6.2. Introduction
6.2.1. U.S. Small Molecule Drug Discovery Outsourcing Market, by Service, 2020-2034 (USD Billion)
6.3. Chemistry Services
6.3.1. U.S. Small Molecule Drug Discovery Outsourcing Market, by Chemistry Services, by Region, 2020-2034 (USD Billion)
6.4. Biology Services
6.4.1. U.S. Small Molecule Drug Discovery Outsourcing Market, by Biology Services, by Region, 2020-2034 (USD Billion)
7. U.S. Small Molecule Drug Discovery Outsourcing Market, by Therapeutics Area
7.1. Key Findings
7.2. Introduction
7.2.1. U.S. Small Molecule Drug Discovery Outsourcing Market, by Therapeutics Area, 2020-2034 (USD Billion)
7.3. Respiratory System
7.3.1. U.S. Small Molecule Drug Discovery Outsourcing Market, by Respiratory System, by Region, 2020-2034 (USD Billion)
7.4. Pain and Anesthesia
7.4.1. U.S. Small Molecule Drug Discovery Outsourcing Market, by Pain and Anesthesia, by Region, 2020-2034 (USD Billion)
7.5. Oncology
7.5.1. U.S. Small Molecule Drug Discovery Outsourcing Market, by Oncology, by Region, 2020-2034 (USD Billion)
7.6. Ophthalmology
7.6.1. U.S. Small Molecule Drug Discovery Outsourcing Market, by Ophthalmology, by Region, 2020-2034 (USD Billion)
7.7. Hematology
7.7.1. U.S. Small Molecule Drug Discovery Outsourcing Market, by Hematology, by Region, 2020-2034 (USD Billion)
7.8. Cardiovascular
7.8.1. U.S. Small Molecule Drug Discovery Outsourcing Market, by Cardiovascular, by Region, 2020-2034 (USD Billion)
7.9. Endocrine
7.9.1. U.S. Small Molecule Drug Discovery Outsourcing Market, by Endocrine, by Region, 2020-2034 (USD Billion)
7.10. Gastrointestinal
7.10.1. U.S. Small Molecule Drug Discovery Outsourcing Market, by Gastrointestinal, by Region, 2020-2034 (USD Billion)
7.11. Immunomodulation
7.11.1. U.S. Small Molecule Drug Discovery Outsourcing Market, by Immunomodulation, by Region, 2020-2034 (USD Billion)
7.12. Anti-infective
7.12.1. U.S. Small Molecule Drug Discovery Outsourcing Market, by Anti-infective, by Region, 2020-2034 (USD Billion)
7.13. Central Nervous System
7.13.1. U.S. Small Molecule Drug Discovery Outsourcing Market, by Central Nervous System, by Region, 2020-2034 (USD Billion)
7.14. Dermatology
7.14.1. U.S. Small Molecule Drug Discovery Outsourcing Market, by Dermatology, by Region, 2020-2034 (USD Billion)
7.15. Genitourinary System
7.15.1. U.S. Small Molecule Drug Discovery Outsourcing Market, by Genitourinary System, by Region, 2020-2034 (USD Billion)
8. U.S. Small Molecule Drug Discovery Outsourcing Market, by End Use
8.1. Key Findings
8.2. Introduction
8.2.1. U.S. Small Molecule Drug Discovery Outsourcing Market, by End Use, 2020-2034 (USD Billion)
8.3. Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Companies
8.3.1. U.S. Small Molecule Drug Discovery Outsourcing Market, by Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Companies, by Region, 2020-2034 (USD Billion)
8.4. Academic Institutes
8.4.1. U.S. Small Molecule Drug Discovery Outsourcing Market, by Academic Institutes, by Region, 2020-2034 (USD Billion)
9. Competitive Landscape
9.1. Expansion and Acquisition Analysis
9.1.1. Expansion
9.1.2. Acquisitions
9.2. Partnerships/Collaborations/Agreements/Exhibitions
10. Company Profiles
10.1. Charles River Laboratories
10.1.1. Company Overview
10.1.2. Financial Performance
10.1.3. Product Benchmarking
10.1.4. Recent Development
10.2. Curia Global, Inc.
10.2.1. Company Overview
10.2.2. Financial Performance
10.2.3. Product Benchmarking
10.2.4. Recent Development
10.3. Eurofins Scientific
10.3.1. Company Overview
10.3.2. Financial Performance
10.3.3. Product Benchmarking
10.3.4. Recent Development
10.4. Evotec
10.4.1. Company Overview
10.4.2. Financial Performance
10.4.3. Product Benchmarking
10.4.4. Recent Development
10.5. GenScript Biotech
10.5.1. Company Overview
10.5.2. Financial Performance
10.5.3. Product Benchmarking
10.5.4. Recent Development
10.6. Labcorp
10.6.1. Company Overview
10.6.2. Financial Performance
10.6.3. Product Benchmarking
10.6.4. Recent Development
10.7. Oncodesign
10.7.1. Company Overview
10.7.2. Financial Performance
10.7.3. Product Benchmarking
10.7.4. Recent Development
10.8. Pharmaron
10.8.1. Company Overview
10.8.2. Financial Performance
10.8.3. Product Benchmarking
10.8.4. Recent Development
10.9. Syngene
10.9.1. Company Overview
10.9.2. Financial Performance
10.9.3. Product Benchmarking
10.9.4. Recent Development
10.10. Merck
10.10.1. Company Overview
10.10.2. Financial Performance
10.10.3. Product Benchmarking
10.10.4. Recent Development

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