Life Sciences Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Market

Market Definition:

The global Life Sciences BPO Market size was valued at USD 337.97 billion in 2022 and is predicted to reach USD 735.40 billion by 2030 with a CAGR of 10.2% from 2022-2030. Life Sciences Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) refers to the practice in which pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, and other life sciences companies contract out specific business processes and tasks to specialized external service providers.

These outsourcing arrangements involve various functions such as research and development, clinical trials management, regulatory compliance, pharmacovigilance, manufacturing, supply chain management, and data management. The aim of Life Sciences BPO is to streamline operations, reduce costs, and access specialized expertise, allowing life sciences companies to focus on their core competencies and innovations while delegating certain processes to trusted third-party partners.

Market Dynamics and Trends

The globalization of clinical trials, with its demand for diverse patient populations and adherence to varying regulatory environments, is fueling the growth of the Life Science BPO market. Moreover, the rising R&D costs in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors are further incentivizing companies to outsource non-core functions such as clinical trials, data management, and regulatory affairs, effectively mitigating these escalating expenses and contributing to the expansion of the market.

Furthermore, with the increasing healthcare expenditure globally, there's a growing need for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device companies to optimize their operations, reduce costs, and enhance efficiency through outsourcing their non-core functions while focusing on their core research, development, and innovation efforts, which increases the demand for life science BPO. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, U.S. health care spending grew 2.7 percent in 2021, reaching USD 4.3 trillion. Also, in 2021, the total expenditure on health care in China reached around USD 1212 billion. This included government spending, collective spending, and private out-of-pocket spending on health care. 

However, lack of trust in third-party providers as well as companies are concerned about the security and confidentiality of their sensitive data when outsourcing, and may hesitate to share this information with external providers is restraining the growth of the market during the forecast period. On the contrary, the increasing integration of digital technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and the Internet of Things (IoT) by the BPO providers to enhance efficiency and automate repetitive tasks to process large amounts of data more quickly & accurately is expected to create ample growth opportunities for the market in the coming years. 

Market Segmentations and Scope of the Study

The life sciences BPO market report is segmented on the basis of service type, application, end user and geography. On the basis of service type, the market is divided into contract research organizations, contract manufacturing organizations, and contract sales & marketing organizations. Contract research organization is further sub-divided into drug discovery, pre-clinical trials, clinical trials, medical writing, pharmacovigilance, clinical data management, regulatory services, clinical monitoring, protocol development and site management. Contract manufacturing organizations is further sub-divided into active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), final dosage form, and packaging.

On the basis of application, the market is classified into clinical testing methods, environmental testing methods, and others. On the basis of end user, the market is categorized into hospitals & clinics, diagnostic laboratories, and others. Geographic breakdown and analysis of each of the aforesaid segments includes regions comprising of North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW.

Geographical Analysis

Asia Pacific holds the dominant share of life sciences BPO market and is expected to continue its dominance during the forecast period. The increasing burden of chronic diseases and the growing aging population in countries such as China and India in turn drives the growth of the market. According to China’s seventh national census of 2020, the number of people 60 years and above was 264.02 million (18.70% of the total population), and the number of people 65 years and above was 190.64 million (13.50%). The aging population in the region is leading to an increase in the incidence of chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and heart disease, which in turn is driving the demand for new and innovative therapies. This increased demand for new therapies is driving pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to outsource various functions, such as drug development, clinical research, and medical device manufacturing, to BPO service providers which is further expected to accelerate the growth of the market. 

Moreover, increasing initiatives taken by the government to improve the healthcare coupled with rising expenditure on healthcare infrastructure are expected to boost the life sciences BPO market as this creates a demand for services such as clinical trial management, data management, regulatory compliance, and medical coding that support the healthcare industry. For instance, in October 2021, the Indian government announced the launch of PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission, with an outlay of USD 8.57 billion in the budget of 2021-22. It is the largest pan-India health infrastructure scheme that aims to provide a much-needed fillip to India's capacity to address emergent public health issues. This facilitates will bring a paradigm shift in India’s healthcare infrastructure.

On the other hand, North America is expected to show a steady rise in the life sciences BPO market share. This is attributed to the presence of a large number of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies such as Pfizer, Abbvie and Johnson & Johnson in the region outsourcing their operations to global BPO providers. For instance, in February 2021, Pfizer outsourced its business operations worth USD1.5 billion to Infosys. The outsourcing was aimed toward enabling the pharmaceutical giant to optimize resources and concentrate more effectively on its core research and development initiatives.

Also, the increasing government funding for research and development in the life sciences industry is also driving the life sciences BPO market growth in the region. The government is investing in research and development to support the growth of the life sciences industry, which is expected to lead to an increase in demand for BPO services in the industry. For instance, in September 2022, The US government announced an investment of USD 40 million to expand the role of biomanufacturing for active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), antibiotics.

Competitive Landscape

Various players operating in the life sciences BPO industry such as Accenture plc, Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation, Tata Consultancy Services Limited, Xerox Corporation, WNS (Holdings) Limited, Infosys Limited, International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), Lonza Group AG, Parexel International Corporation, IQVIA Holdings Inc. These market players are adopting strategies such as acquisition and partnership across various regions to maintain their dominance in the global market. 

For instance, in October 2021, Parexel, a leading provider of life science BPO services, announced a strategic partnership with Kyoto University Hospital. The collaboration aims to enhance clinical research opportunities and improve efficiency in supporting clinical studies. It also further helps to bring new and innovative medicines to market.

Also, in February 2020, Catalen acquired MaSTherCell for USD 315 million. This acquisition allows Catalent to combine MaSTherCell's expert teams and capabilities with its own resources and experience in scaling new platforms, and also to build-out MaSTherCell development and commercial manufacturing capabilities. Thus, it indicates the growing trend of companies in the life sciences industry with specialized BPO providers to expand their capabilities and services offered to clients.

Key Benefits

• The report provides quantitative analysis and estimations of the life science BPO market from 2022 to 2030, which assists in identifying the prevailing market opportunities.

• The study comprises a deep dive analysis of the life science BPO market including the current and future trends to depict prevalent investment pockets in the market.

• Information related to key drivers, restraints, and opportunities and their impact on the global market is provided in the report. 

• Competitive analysis of the players, along with their market share is provided in the report.

• SWOT analysis and Porters Five Forces model is elaborated in the study.

• Value chain analysis in the market study provides a clear picture of roles of stakeholders.

Life Sciences BPO Market Key Segments

By Service Type

• Contract Research Organizations

  • Drug Discovery

  • Pre-Clinical Trials

  • Clinical Trials

  • Medical Writing

  • Pharmacovigilance

  • Clinical Data Management

  • Regulatory Services

  • Clinical Monitoring

  • Protocol Development

  • Site Management

• Contract Manufacturing Organizations

  • Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) 

  • Final Dosage Form

  • Packaging

• Contract Sales & Marketing Organizations

By Application

• Clinical Testing Methods

• Environmental Testing Methods

• Others

By End User

• Hospitals & Clinics

• Diagnostic Laboratories

• Others

By Region

• North America    

  • US

  • Canada

  • Mexico

• Europe    

  • UK

  • Germany

  • France

  • Spain

  • Italy

  • Netherlands

  • Denmark

  • Finland

  • Norway

  • Sweden

  • Russia

  • Rest of Europe

• Asia-Pacific    

  • China

  • Japan

  • India

  • Australia

  • South Korea

  • Thailand

  • Singapore

  • Rest of Asia-Pacific

• RoW    

  • Latin America

  • Middle East

  • Africa

Key players

• Accenture plc

• Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation

• Tata Consultancy Services Limited

• Xerox Corporation

• WNS (Holdings) Limited

• Infosys Limited

• International Business Machines Corporation (IBM)

• Lonza Group AG

• Parexel International Corporation

• IQVIA Holdings Inc.

Report Scope and Segmentation

Parameters	Details
Market Size in 2022	USD 337.97 Billion
Revenue Forecast in 2030	USD 735.40 Billion
Growth Rate	CAGR of 10.2% from 2023 to 2030
Analysis Period	2022–2030
Base Year Considered	2022
Forecast Period	2023–2030
Market Size Estimation	Billion (USD)
Growth Factors	Globalization of clinical trials Rising R&D costs in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors; Increasing healthcare expenditure globally.
Countries Covered	26
Companies Profiled	10
Market Share	Available for 10 companies
Customization Scope	Free customization (equivalent up to 80 working hours of analysts) after purchase. Addition or alteration to country, regional, and segment scope.
Pricing and Purchase Options	Avail customized purchase options to meet your exact research needs.