The CXO industry sells research, development, and manufacturing services to drug developers instead of drug candidates of its own. Its size follows two variables: how much the industry spends on R&D and how much of that work is outsourced. Global CRO outsourcing has passed 50 percent, and China now supplies close to a third of the world’s newly entered drug pipelines. Why the CXO industry sells picks and shovels, not lottery tickets Innovative drug R&D is a high-risk, long-cycle bet. Most candidates fail, and the few that win have to pay for all the losses. CXO companies sit on the other side of that trade. They charge fees for work,…