Toxicology Services Market Introduction & Overview

Toxicology is the scientific study of the adverse effects of chemical compounds, environmental agents and pharmaceutical compounds in living organisms and the environment. Substances may have toxic effects on living organisms disturbing the growth pattern or could cause discomfort leading to disease and death. Therefore to avoid adverse events, measuring the risk of certain substances and their actions on the body and environment is important before a substance is launched into the market. Toxicology service providers investigate mechanisms of toxicity associated with exposures to chemical compounds and its effects on human health. It is a multidisciplinary field that includes metabolomics, drug discovery, bioinformatics and proteomics among others and helps in deciding the dose of a substance to be administered. It tests the safety and biological effects of certain compounds by observing and reporting symptoms associated with these compounds and deals with mechanisms, detection, and treatment of toxic substances.

The global toxicology services market is driven by factors, such as increasing investment of pharmaceutical & biotechnology, chemical and cosmetics companies in the R&D sector, drug discovery & pipeline drugs, and stringent regulations making toxicology testing mandatory. Also, extensive use of cosmetics by women around the globe and concerns about the safety of these products are boosting the growth of toxicology services market. Moreover, regulations to protect living organisms and the environment are further adding to the market growth. However, high cost and high technical requirements might restrain the market growth to a certain extent.

The global toxicology services market can be segmented into method, industry, and region.

Toxicology Services Market By Method

Based on the method, the market can be segmented into in vivo method, in vitro method, and in silico method. The in vivo method dominates the market as it is better suited for observing the overall effects of the substance on the experimental model. However, the in vivo method involves a lengthy process and raises ethical issues as it involves testing on animals.­­ Ethical issues with in vivo method of testing have given rise to alternative methods of toxicology testing such as in vitro and in silico method of testing.

Toxicology Services Market By Industry

Based on the industry the market can be segmented into pharmaceutical & biotechnology, medical devices, cosmetics, chemical, and other industries. The pharmaceutical & biotechnology segment will hold the largest market share during the forecast period owing to increasing expenditure in R&D for the development of novel drugs and to avoid end-stage drug failures. Also, the growing demand for personalized medicine and determination of drug dose to minimize adverse repercussions is boosting the toxicology services market. Moreover, stringent government regulations aiming to protect human as well as environment from hazardous effects of substances are further adding to the market growth. The cosmetic industry is expected to grow at a significant CAGR during the forecast period majorly due to its widespread use by women around the world and increasing consumer health awareness trends in the cosmetics segment which will be responsible for its high growth during the forecast period.

Toxicology Services Market By Region

Based on the region, the market can be segmented into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Rest of the World (ROW). North America dominated the market owing to increased health care spending, supportive government healthcare policies, the presence of a large number of players providing toxicology services, government initiatives for technological development and rising awareness among people through toxicology databases.  Asia Pacific is expected to expand at a significant CAGR during the forecast period majorly due to emerging CROs that offer toxicology services as per guidelines set at a low cost.

Toxicology Services Market Prominent Players

Some of the key players operating in the global toxicology services market include Charles River, ITR Canada, Eurofins Scientific, WuXi AppTec, SGS SA, Merck KGaA, Evotec SE, Vipragen, GVK Biosciences Private Limited, Bioanalytical Systems, Inc. among others.