Carrie Cao, Ph.D.
Nice Insight / That’s Nice LLC
Analytical Testing
Outsourcing Trends Update
Spurred by many factors, the global analytical testing services market is experiencing
rapid growth in the range of 11% per year
Analytical testing is a critical part in every step of drug de- velopment and manufacturing. The qualitative and quan- titative results generated from validated analytical testing
provide first-hand information to control and ensure the quality
and safety of raw materials, intermediates, and finished products.
Like many other CMC (chemical, manufacturing and control) activities, analytical testing is also frequently outsourced. The global
analytical testing services market is projected to grow at a CAGR
(compound annual growth rate) of 11.3% in the next five years,
reaching $4.13 billion by 2021.1
Many factors are attributed to this rapid market growth, in-
cluding continuous outsourcing from pharmaceutical companies,
growing pipelines for biological candidates, and increasing de-
mand for more analytical details on drugs and process develop-
ment by regulatory agencies. In response to the changing mar-
ket dynamics, service providers are striving to provide analytical
testing with quality, accuracy, and robustness all within tight
timelines. As the contract research organizations (CROs) have
become more integrated, small analytical labs need to establish
their niche to succeed.
ANALYTICAL TESTING SERVICES MARKET EXHIBITS
STRONG GROWTH
Outsourcing has been widely employed by the pharmaceutical
and biotechnology industry as a business strategy to improve efficiency and reduce cost. The most commonly outsourced CMC
activity is analytical testing.2 This market is growing at a fairly fast
pace: the global healthcare analytical testing services market is
projected to expand from $2.42 billion in 2016 to $4.13 billion by
2021 at a CAGR of 11.3%, according to a newly released market
report by Markets and Markets. Among eight service types—
stability testing, raw material testing, method validation, microbial
testing, environmental monitoring, physical characterization,
batch-release testing, and bioanalytical testing—bioanalytical
