Computer-Aided Drug Discovery Market Growth to Boost SaaS Demand in Pharma

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The global Computer-Aided Drug Discovery (CADD) market will grow from $2.845 billion in 2021 to $7.232 billion in 2030 at a double-digit CAGR of 11.3%. The report, published by Acumen Research, provides an overview of the market and growth areas for different market segments. The CADD market is expected to bring improvements and developments to the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors.

Rapid technological advancements, digitalization, and increased adoption of enterprise software all contribute to market growth. Another factor is the increased incidence of chronic and undiagnosed conditions that often require companies to innovate and shorten their product’s time to market.

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) also impact the growth of the CADD market. AI and ML enable more efficient processes and research that ultimately affect drug development. Also, the desire to treat degenerative diseases like diabetes and cancer contributes to the growth of computer-aided drug discovery.

North America is expected to remain the dominant region in this market during the forecast period. The emphasis on discovering medications bolstered by the pandemic, the increased R&D spending by big pharma and biotech companies, and the need to streamline internal expenses, and the skyrocketing levels of chronic disease all fuel the CADD market growth in this region.

Adoption of SaaS Solutions in CADD

SaaS is already dominating the healthcare industry as healthcare providers continuously implement various software solutions into their operations. It also plays an important role in two industries related to healthcare—the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.

SaaS companies that provide project management software or business intelligence platforms, for example, support pharmaceutical companies by facilitating collaboration among internal teams and external suppliers regardless of where they are located in the world.  SaaS products have few barriers to entry—often only requiring an internet connection and some onboarding—so, they can be implemented immediately to address the evolving needs of various departments.

Moreover, many SaaS products integrate AI and ML in their features, which pharmaceutical companies can leverage for drug discovery and production. A very tangible example is how pharmaceutical companies used AI and ML to fast-track the development of COVID-19 vaccines. They also used data analytics (another service provided by SaaS vendors) to facilitate the vaccine trial process. Other areas of drug manufacturing that can benefit from AI-powered SaaS apps include R&D, operations (to streamline workflows), and procurement.

Agility and innovation are also crucial in CADD activities. Pharmaceutical companies must be able to respond quickly to changing priorities based on realities and circumstances occurring in society. This means the digital tools they’re using must also be highly customizable to meet different stakeholders’ needs. Low-code/no-code (LCNC) SaaS platforms are the solutions that can best step up during such situations. LCNC platforms empower business leaders, managers, and non-IT personnel to develop completely functional apps for their team’s needs even without IT and software training.

As we learned from the report, there are many compelling reasons why pharmaceutical and biotech companies will heavily invest in CADD. We see software solutions delivered via the SaaS model as among the most important tools that should be included in the IT budgets of pharmaceutical and biotech companies.