January 24, 2019

In Vitro ADME Testing: The Rise of Service Providers

By Arun Gupta ADME Testing, Contract Research Organizations, Drug Discovery 0 Comments

It is important to note that the process of drug discovery is extremely demanding, both in terms of capital and time. In fact, the overall amount spent on R&D initiatives in the pharmaceutical / biotechnology sector has increased from around USD 128 billion in 2008 to USD 165 billion in 2018. Moreover, only a small fraction of early stage therapeutic candidates are able to make it past preclinical evaluation. According to a study conducted on terminated drug development programs, the high rate of failure of drugs in clinical trials was primarily attributed to problems associated with their pharmacokinetic profiles, absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion (ADME) properties and inherent toxicity.

Current industry practices have widened the opportunity for companies providing in vitro ADME testing services

Presently, close to 100 firms are actively engaged in the in vitro ADME testing market, offering a wide variety of services to the pharmaceutical industry

With companies distributed across various geographies, the market landscape is highly fragmented; over time, offshoring has become a popular trend, along with a growing preference to partner with one stop shops

Majority of service providers are based in the developed regions; the market is characterized by the presence of established players and new entrants / small-sized companies

Companies involved in this domain are steadily expanding their capabilities in order to enhance their respective services portfolios and comply to evolving industry benchmarks

Stakeholders are actively expanding their existing capabilities to cater to the increasing demand; this is evident in the number of acquisitions (35+) reported over the past decade

Driven by a growing demand for effective therapeutics and an increase in drug discovery efforts across various therapeutic areas, the market is expected to witness sustained growth in future at a healthy CAGR of over 6%