Small Molecule Drug Discovery Market Size (2024 - 2029)

Small Molecule Drug Discovery Market Analysis

The Small Molecule Drug Discovery Market size is estimated at USD 56.94 billion in 2024, and is expected to reach USD 86.65 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 8.76% during the forecast period (2024-2029).

Factors such as the rise in demand for small-molecule drugs, an increasing number of contract organizations for research and development, rising funding activities for research and development of small-molecule therapeutics, and increasing usage of small molecules in treating chronic diseases are expected to drive the market's growth.

Small molecule drugs are extensively used in the treatment of chronic diseases. The increasing prevalence of these chronic diseases is expected to drive the market's growth. For instance, according to the World Heart Report 2023, more than half a billion people worldwide were affected by cardiovascular diseases in 2022. According to the American Cancer Society stats for 2024, 2 million new cancer cases are projected to occur in the United States, an increase from 1.9 million cases in 2023. Such an increase in chronic diseases increases the demand for the discovery of new small molecules to manage chronic diseases more effectively. Hence, the rising prevalence of chronic diseases is expected to drive the small molecule drug discovery market during the forecast period.

The increasing research and development funding for discovering small molecules is also expected to drive the market. For instance, in order to harness the power of artificial intelligence (AI) for small molecule drug discovery, Sanofi entered a USD 140 million multi-year research collaboration with French pharmacy company Aqemia. The collaboration is poised to help reshape the landscape of drug development and improve the way new small-molecule therapeutic compounds are identified and optimized. Hence, the increasing funding activities in small molecule drug discovery are expected to drive the market.

The launch of technologically advanced products and partnerships by the market players are expected to propel the growth of the market. For instance, in July 2022, Dotmatics, one of the leaders in the research and development of scientific software connecting science, data, and decision-making, released a small-molecule drug discovery solution. It is an integrated scientific research and development platform with pre-configured workflows and expanded data management capabilities. In April 2022, Iktos and Teijin Pharma Limited signed a strategic collaboration agreement in artificial intelligence for new drug design. As per the agreement, Iktos generative modeling technology will be implemented and applied to several of Teijin Pharma's small molecule drug discovery projects to expedite the identification of potential pre-clinical candidates. Such launches and partnerships are expected to contribute to the growth of the market.

Factors such as the rising demand for small molecules in treating chronic diseases and increasing funding for small-molecule drug discovery are driving the growth of the market. However, high drug development costs and stringent regulatory scenarios are expected to restrain market growth.

Small Molecule Drug Discovery Industry Segmentation

As per the report's scope, small molecule drug discovery represents all the costs incurred by a drug discovery company during the discovery phase. A small molecule is a substance that can enter cells quickly as it has a low molecular weight. These are used as drugs for therapeutic purposes and include chemically synthesized drug molecules and all biologically synthesized drug molecules. 

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