Virtual Clinical Trials Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Study Design (Interventional, Observational, Expanded Access), By Indication (Oncology, Cardiovascular), By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2022 - 2030

Report Overview

The global virtual clinical trials market size was estimated at 7.8 billion in 2021 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.7% from 2022 to 2030. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the market. The market is majorly driven by a rise in R&D activities, the increasing healthcare digitization, as well as adoption of telehealth. Besides, technological advancements, alliances between clinical research organizations, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology companies as well as supportive government initiatives are anticipated to drive the market. The pandemic of COVID-19 is making the clinical trial industry change the way of conducting ongoing or upcoming trials.

As per the continuum clinical report published in April 2020, approximately 30% of the surveyed clinical trial places are projected to have a huge impact on recruiting patients for new trial studies as well as retaining already-enrolled patients compliant with their study schedules. Also, 81% of the European clinical trial study sites and 56% of the U.S. sites indicated that the patients are less likely to continue participating in studies. Besides, as of March 30, around 30 pharma or biotech companies have reported disruption to a trial as a result of the crisis. Virtual trials are also known as decentralized trials had a significant role to play in the COVID-19 crisis and are set to become a norm in the way trials and real-world studies are run.

A virtual method lets people take part in the trial from their homes ensuring research can continue even when site visits cannot, hence, representing a novel approach of collecting safety and efficacy data from participants of clinical studies. Virtual visits and remote patient monitoring of in-person site visits give participants a choice and peace of mind of not being exposed to unnecessary risks. The virtual studies enable sponsors to include a larger population in the study, thus improving recruitment, engagement, and retention. Also, it enables continuous real-time data collection through digital health technologies. Eventually, virtual connectivity, monitoring as well as management can significantly decrease the effort, time commitment, and burden on the participants, CRCs, and investigators.

Study Design Insights

The interventional design segment led the Virtual/Decentralized Clinical Trials (DCTs) market and accounted for the largest revenue share of 46.7% in 2021. The rapid increase in the number of experiments to develop novel medications for various diseases and the digitalization of laboratories are factors driving the segment. The outbreak of coronavirus has raised the demand for testing and trials of new drugs and vaccines to combat the situation around the world as the traditional method of clinical trials comes with a huge risk of infection in people. Thus, propelling the demand for interventional study designs.  

The virtual trials are better suited for chronic diseases as well as less interventional observational studies including cardiovascular diseases, immunology, gastrointestinal, dermatology, respiratory, and endocrinology. The firm that first started this concept conducted an entire interventional Phase2b “site-less” clinical trial with 372 patients across 10 states using their proprietary mobile telemedicine-based platform namely “NORA”. The expanded access segment is expected to account for the highest CAGR over the forecast period. Expanded access is a potential pathway that is appropriate where the potential benefit for the patient subdues the potential risks, hence continuous emergence of new variants of COVID-19 is expected to drive demand for expanded access to new drugs over a short term.

Indication Insights

The oncology segment dominated the market for Virtual/Decentralized Clinical Trials and accounted for the largest revenue share of 25.2% in 2021. The segment is also anticipated to contribute to the maximum share of the market during the forecast period. This is attributed to the rising cases of cancer globally and the increasing number of oncology clinical trials. Cancer patients are the most vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic. Investigators and sponsors managing oncology clinical trials have quickly incorporated virtual and remote trials to keep patients safe and trials moving forward.

Besides, cancer researchers face considerable challenges in patient recruitment. As of June 2019, approximately 14, 000 oncology trials were actively recruiting with a participation rate of 3% to 8% of possible candidates, with an even more limited number in minority and geriatric populations. Low rate of enrollment poses risks to the success of specific clinical studies, they may hamper the treatment advances and corresponding benefits to outcomes. Hence, the low recruitment rate and the need for a diverse population for oncology clinical studies are anticipated to boost the adoption of virtual clinical trials.

Regional Insights

North America dominated the market for virtual clinical trials and accounted for the largest revenue share of 49.2% in 2021. The segment is expected to continue its dominance over the forecast period. This can be attributed to increasing R&D in this region, increasing the adoption of new technologies in clinical research as well as government support. Furthermore, market players are also using digital technologies to meet client needs. For instance, Parexel performed more than 100 decentralized trials including hybrid and virtual approaches. Covance also has around 1,900 LabCorp Patient Service Centers across the U.S. that bring the trial to patients.

In Asia Pacific, the market for virtual clinical trials is anticipated to expand at the fastest CAGR of 6.8% during the forecast period owing to the increasing availability of a large patient pool enabling easy recruitment of candidates along with enhanced penetration of digital technologies in the region. Furthermore, the outbreak of coronavirus is anticipated to boost the adoption of telemedicine, thus driving the market in the region. Japan was the largest market in Asia Pacific in 2020, majorly due to high healthcare and R&D expenditure and increasing demand for virtual clinical trials in the market.

Key Companies and Market Share Insights

The market for global virtual clinical trials is highly competitive. Significant factors affecting competitive nature are the quick adoption of advanced technology for improved healthcare. Besides, players are also acquiring, collaborating, partnering with other firms to gain the market share. For instance, in May 2020, Covance announced expanding its technology ecosystem to accelerate decentralized clinical trials adoption. The company is doing so through an alliance with Medable, a prominent software provider for digital clinical trials. Some of the prominent players in the virtual clinical trials market include:

• ICON, plc

• Parexel International Corporation

• IQVIA

• Covance

• PRA Health Sciences

• LEO Innovation Lab

• Medidata

• Oracle

• CRF Health

• Clinical Ink

• Medable, Inc.

Recent developments:

• In March 2020, Medable developed a new Televisit mobile application that helps patients track their clinical trial sites virtually. The application makes it possible for clinical trial research to progress in an environment where many patients are being told to stay home and avoid social interaction.

• In June 2020, Janssen Pharmaceuticals and PRA Health Sciences recently designed the first-ever completely decentralized, mobile, indication-seeking clinical trial.

• In October 2020, Medidata will focus on the Virtualization of Clinical trials in the digital transformation of patient experience by using the power of analytics.

Virtual Clinical Trials Market Report Scope

Segments Covered in the Report

This report forecasts revenue growth at global, regional, and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2017 to 2030. For the purpose of this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global virtual clinical trials market report on the basis of study design, indication, and region:

• Study Design Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030)

  • Interventional

  • Observational

  • Expanded Access

• Indication Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030)

  • Oncology

  • Cardiovascular

  • Others

• Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030)

  • North America

    • U.S.

    • Canada

  • Europe

    • U.K.

    • Germany

    • France

    • Italy

    • Spain

  • Asia Pacific

    • India

    • Japan

    • China

    • Australia

    • South Korea

  • Latin America

    • Brazil

    • Mexico

    • Argentina

    • Colombia

  • Middle East & Africa

    • South Africa

    • Saudi Arabia

    • UAE