The medical affairs outsourcing market was valued at US$ 1,415.00 million in 2019 and is projected to reach US$ 3,287.12 million by 2027; it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.2% from 2020 to 2027.

Growing number of clinical trials worldwide and rising adoption of outsourcing activities coupled with increasing R&D expenditures are expected to drive the growth of the medical affairs outsourcing market during the forecast period. However, the increasing costs of drug development and clinical trials hinder the market growth.

CRO service industry is highly fragmented with the presence of numerous small and medium-sized limited-service providers, and a small number of large, full-service, global CROs. Smaller CROs face a few barriers while entering into the global market, whereas the full-service CROs with global capabilities needs to build the necessary infrastructure; moreover, they should be capable of simultaneously managing multiple complex testing services across different countries and regions, establishing the required relationships with strategic partners, developing relevant therapeutic expertise to serve the needs of their customers. Since the past few years, consolidation is emerging as a prominent trend across the CRO industry, which is followed by the majority of the prime players to strengthen their service offerings and garner the major market share in the global CRO market. For instance, Parexel International Corp. acquired The Medical Affairs Company in 2017. This has led to the generation of larger CROs benefiting pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies through the wide geographic diversification, extensive therapeutic and development expertise, and enormous capital and technical resources to manage the demanding drug development programs, medical device designing and research, and regulatory affairs.

Based on services, the medical affairs outsourcing market is segmented into medical writing and publishing, medical monitoring, medical science liaisons (MSLs), medical information, and others. In 2019, medical writing and publishing accounted for the largest share in the market owing to surging requirement of professional medical writing, publishing and service provision by small, mid-sized as well as giant healthcare companies. With the increasing number of companies entering the market and launching their products, the demand for medical writers have dramatically increased thereby leading to the market growth for the medical writing and publishing segment during the coming years. On the other hand, the market for the medical science liaisons (MSLs) segment is anticipated grow at the fastest pace during 2020-2027 due to the growing requirement of expert liaisons post the medical device product launches.

In terms of application, the medical affairs outsourcing market is segmented into pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and biopharmaceutical. The pharmaceuticals segment held the largest share of the market in 2019, and is estimated to register the highest CAGR in the market during the forecast period.

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations, World Health Organization (WHO), Federal Ministry for Economic affairs and Energy, European Federation of pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), and National Institute for Health Research (NHS) are among the major secondary sources referred to while preparing the report on the medical affairs outsourcing market.