Europe Medical Affairs Outsourcing Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Industry (Biopharmaceutical, Pharmaceutical), By Services (MSLs, Medical Writing & Publishing), And Segment Forecasts, 2020 - 2027

Report Overview

The Europe medical affairs outsourcing market size was valued at USD 217.6 million in 2019 and is projected to register a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 9.8% from 2020 to 2027. The market growth can be attributed to the increase in the number of clinical trials and orphan therapies as well as a rise in the prevalence of rare diseases in Europe.

In addition, pharmaceutical and medical devices companies are outsourcing these services to Contract Research Organizations (CROs) to limit the liability exposure by working with a well-trained outsource company, lower operational costs, reduce regulatory compliance risk, and minimize process delays. Medical affairs service providers have grown significantly in the region owing to rising R&D expenditure and increasing focus of pharmaceutical companies on containing cost.

Biopharmaceutical companies are now ready to outsource their medical affairs activities to achieve better quality and cost. This trend is expected to continue in the future due to the increase in capabilities of CROs to manage each medical affairs function, which would reduce the need for additional efforts of biopharmaceutical companies. Collaborations of pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, and medical device companies with CROs are also expected to have a positive impact on the market.

The medical affairs department separates commercial and R&D functions to reduce commercial influence on R&D due to increased scrutiny of the promotion of a therapeutic product by regulatory agencies. It acts as a liaison between the two functions, facilitating the transition of drugs from R&D to commercial. Such stringent regulations are expected to drive the outsourcing of medical affairs activities to more efficient third-parties.

Services Insights

The medical writing & publishing segment accounted for the largest revenue share of more than 33% in 2019. Most of the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies outsource their clinical data management to professional medical writing & publishing service providers. With an increasing number of newly launched pharmaceutical products, there is a higher demand for professional medical writers in the industry, which is one of the key factors anticipated to boost the segment growth.

Medical Science Liaisons (MSLs) are expected to be the fastest-growing segment over the forecast period. The MSLs are medical specialists with advanced training. They are experts in communicating complex medical information to a variety of stakeholders. To overcome insufficient and non-uniform training, pharmaceutical & medical devices companies outsource MSLs activities to CROs, which is one of the factors driving the segment.

End-use insights

The pharmaceutical industry segment accounted for the largest revenue share of more than 51% in 2019. The segment is projected to retain its dominant position throughout the forecast years owing to surge in patent expiration.

Due to various patent expiration, the requirement of medical affairs service providers has increased for the preparation of drafts of new patents. Pharmaceutical companies are outsourcing medical affairs services to manage R&D value; scale back investment cost for training a medical affairs team; and procure high-quality documents.

Regional Insights

Germany market accounted for the largest revenue with 53.3% share in 2019 and is expected to continue its dominance over the forecast period. Presence of skilled and experienced medical affairs workforce is one of the primary factors expected to drive the medical affairs outsourcing market in Germany. It is also expected to grow at a higher CAGR over the forecast period.

Key Companies & Market Share Insights

Major companies in the market are adopting various growth strategies, such as partnership, merger, and acquisitions, and expansion of the product portfolio, to retain their market position. For instance, Parexel International Corporation acquired The Medical Affairs Company in 2017. This acquisition has strengthened the commercialization and medical affairs service offering of the former company. Some prominent players in the market include:

• Syneos Health Inc.

• Ashfield Healthcare Communications

• ZEINCRO Group

• Wuxi Clinical Development, Inc.

• SGS SA

• ICON plc

• IQVIA Holdings Inc.

• The Medical Affairs Company (TMAC)

• Indegene

• PPD Inc.

Europe Medical Affairs Outsourcing Market Report Scope

Segments Covered in the Report

This report forecasts revenue growth at regional and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2016 to 2027. For the purpose of this study, Grand View Research has segmented the Europe medical affairs outsourcing market report on the basis of services, industry, and country:

• Services Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2027)

  • Medical Writing & Publishing

  • Medical Monitoring

  • Medical Science Liaisons (MSLs)

  • Medical Information

  • Others

• Industry Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2027)

  • Pharmaceutical

  • Biopharmaceutical

  • Medical Devices

    • Therapeutic Medical Devices

    • Diagnostic Medical Devices

• Country Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2027)

  • Europe

    • The U.K.

    • Germany

    • France

    • Italy

    • Spain