Outsourcing of drug discovery work to hit USD21bn in 2016

Reduced R&D spending and lower profit margins will push more pharmaceutical firms to outsource clinical work this year, a study conducted by Kalorama Information showed. According to the study, the value of drug discovery work outsourced to contract research organisations will increase 20% year-on-year to USD21bn this year. That would mean that more drug discovery work will be outsourced this year as pharmaceutical firms seek to reduce the risk of failure and cut costs. The study further revealed that over the next 4-5 years, almost half of the drug discovery research will be contracted to outsourcing organizations.