Some Recovery Forecast for Drug Discovery Market

Following the economic turndown in 2002, signs of recovery lead market analysts to forecast global drug discovery spending to reach U.S.$25.1 billion in 2006, according to a new report from the Drug Discovery Technology group of Frost & Sullivan, an international consulting firm (London, UK). The total for 2002 was $19.6 billion.

Slowed growth of R&D spending for all segments of the drug discovery market has been a persistent challenge for manufacturers and distributors of research products. While pharmaceutical companies are affected by slow top-line growth, biotech companies need to become more product-oriented and reduce their R&D spending. However, increased pressure on pharmaceutical firms to speed up discovery and development of new therapies, coupled with the critical need to expand market growth, is likely to drive R&D spending.

The shift to data mining and computational techniques has been one of the factors affecting the drug discovery industry. This has influenced the sales of consumables, reagents, and instruments. While there has been continued growth of separation products for nucleic acids and proteins, there has been a simultaneous decrease in purchase of capital equipment and related sequencing consumables.

Research product manufacturers need to strategize by developing innovative technologies in genomics and proteomics and offering sophisticated research equipment with higher throughput and greater sensitivity. Customer priority in the drug discovery sector has progressed from the basic cost and availability to include ease of use, novelty, efficacy, and miniaturization and standardization of equipment. By catering to consumer demands, research product manufacturers can anticipate benefits and may improve market share.




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