Analysts at Zion Research say the worldwide CRO market will nearly double from 2014 to the end of the decade given the rise of new deals and the need for biopharma firms to take greater risks in their R&D.
This is according to the U.S. consultant's new report: "Contract Research Organization (CRO) Industry for Early-Stage Development Services and Last-Stage Development Services: Global Market Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis and Forecast, 2014-2020."
The report's authors say that the global CRO market was valued at $34 billion in 2014, but is expected to reach the dizzy heights of $59.42 billion in 2020--a growth at constant rates of 9.80 percent.
Zion said this growth is being fueled by the need for advanced clinical development programs and the increasing demand for new pharma products across the globe.
CROs are typically a more cost-effective way of managing studies in the current era of needing to take more risk into the lab; in fact, the increasingly high failure rate typically witnessed in clinical trials is expected to trigger an even greater demand for CROs by pharma and biotech firms to outsource their R&D, according to the report.
Zion's analysts also point out that the CRO industry has witnessed a large rise in strategic alliances, acquisitions and joint ventures--all helping to shore up the industry internally as it grows externally.
The report found that last-stage development services were the largest end-user segment of the CRO market, accounting for more than a 70% share of the total market in 2014. This segment is also expected to exhibit fastest growth rate during the years to come.
The analysts also noted that the Americas continue to dominate the global CRO market with around 50% share of the total market in 2014, with this being led by the U.S.
- see the release here