Drug Discovery CROs

This page provides a list of curated industry service providers (contract research organizations) that provide outsourced contract drug discovery services of particular interest to drug discovery professionals working at biotechs or pharmaceutical companies.

The table below lists drug discovery CROs specializing in all kinds of drug discovery services, from X-ray crystallography CROs to CROs specializing in assay development, to integrated drug discovery CROs. You can search and explore the table for CRO specializations from chemistry to solid form development to physicochemical property measurement to protein purification and protein crystallization.

If your company would like to be included in this list of drug discovery CROs, contact us with the information for the table.

CompanyTypeEst. EmployeesRelevant Specialty
WuXi AppTecCRO22,233An integrated chemistry and biology research platform to create, identify and support preclinical candidates, from discovery to development.
EurofinsCRO17,158Assay panels
PharmaronCRO14,000Synthesis and preclinical discovery services
Charles RiverCRO10,608In vitro and in vivo pre-clinical research models
Syngene International LimitedCRO8,500+ (~6,000 scientists)Preclinical Drug Discovery
AlmacCRO3,082API services, CMC, GMP
EvotecCRO3,030High-throughput screening, preclinical discovery services
Sai Life SciencesCRO2,500Integrated drug discovery services, exploratory biology, discovery chemistry, DMPK, toxicology, Genotox., and Comp. Chem.
PromegaCRO2,500Cell-based and biochemical assays, custom assay
MedChemExpressCRO2,500Relevant specialty: small molecules, recombinant proteins, screening libraries, custom synthesis
AragenCRO2,500Chemistry CRO and CDMO
Jubilant BiosysCRO2500Discovery, Development & Manufacturing
Curia GlobalCRO2,077Medicinal chemistry services and process development
VivaCRO2000Drug discovery one-stop CMC and CDMO service partner
TCG LifesciencesCRO1,200Synthesis and preclinical discovery services
EnamineCRO1,100Chemistry & Biology CRO
NuvisanCRO1,000Integrated drug discovery CRO
ExcelraCRO1000Data & Analytics Solution
MedicilonCRO1000Drug Discovery CRO
NovasepCRO866Custom synthesis, API manufacturing, membrane filtration
Pharma ResourcesCRO850Focusing on chemistry related CRO/CDMO/CMO services
SelvitaCRO780Fully Integrated CRO
ChemPartnerCRO738Synthesis and preclinical discovery services
Frontage LaboratoriesCRO737Pharmaceutical biotech drugs
BirdoTechCRO700MedChem Support
BioLegendCRO549Antibodies, flow cytometry, immunoassay kits
AlmeloCRO500Custom synthesis, cGMP manufacturing, biocatalysis
SymeresCRO500Integrated drug discovery & API development
Cayman ChemicalCRO500Preclinical discovery, lipidomics, synthesis, GM
Sygnature DiscoveryCRO500Preclinical services, protein crystallography
BioduroCRO428Synthesis and preclinical discovery services
HitGenCRO397DNA-encoded libraries
Crown BioscienceCRO350In vitro and in vivo pre-clinical research models
SymeresCRO329Medicinal chemistry, parallel chemistry, API
SYNthesis med chemCRO270Synthetic & medicinal chemistry
SchrodingerCRO250Computational chemistry software, molecular modeling
Cobra BiologicsCRO250DNA, gene therapies, immunotherapies, viral vectors
NuChem SciencesCRO240Medicinal chemistry, CMC and biology
Oncodesign ServicesCRO230Integrated Services
NicoyaCRO200Diagnostics, nanotechnology, sensors, lifesciences
NovAliXCRO200Drug discovery, chemistry, biophysics & biology
LakePharmaCRO193Protein sciences
Absorption SystemsCRO157Preclinical DMPK
ParazaCRO155Synthesis and preclinical discovery services
Genesis Drug Discovery & Development (GD3)CRO150Integrated drug discovery & development services
Charnwood MolecularCRO130Target to Candidate
X-ChemCRO120DNA-encoded libraries
EdelrisCRO100AS-MS screening, compound collection, medicinal chem
SpiroChemCRO89Elite Discovery Chemistry CRO
Reaction BiologyCRO80Assays
Lead Discovery CenterCRO75Integrated small molecule drug discovery
Vernalis (HitGen)CRO75Fragment and structure-based design
SolvoCRO75Drug transporter assays, drug-drug interaction
DomainexCRO70Preclinical discovery services
LCC (Liverpool ChiroChem Ltd)CRO65Chirally-pure scaffolds, fragments and lead
SynSmart Rasayan Research LLCCRO60custom synthesis services
ProterosCRO59Protein crystallography, cryo-EM
BiognosysCRO59Proteomic analysis
Red Glead DiscoveryCRO55Integrated drug discovery services
IktosCRO54 Artificial intelligence for new drug design
BioAscent Discovery LtdCRO51Drug discovery
AxxamCRO51Preclinical Discovery Services
Acme BioscienceCRO50Custom synthesis
Creative Biostructure Drug DiscoveryCRO50Preclinical discovery services based on structure
PionCRO47Analytical services (e.g. LogD)
ZoBioCRO46ZoBio offers an integrated fragment-based drug discovery engine based on orthogonal technologies and 18 years of experience. The engine consists of high throughput protein engineering, a highly diverse fragment library, proprietary biophysical technologies and complementary structural biology approaches designed to enable the broadest possible target space.
Confluence Discovery TechnologiesCRO45Custom-built solutions and consultation to progress new drug ideas to IND and enhance early clinical pursuits. Experts in mechanistic enzymology, cell biology and immunology, in vivo pharmacology, translational biomarkers, and medicinal chemistry.
SB Drug DiscoveryCRO45Assay development, high-throughput screening
ChemspaceCRO40ML & virtual screening
HITSCRO40AI drug discovery
SpecsCRO40Compound handling and chemistry services
DiscoverRXCRO40Assay panels, in vitro screening
Apex Molecular LtdCRO40Small molecule synthesis, high potency synthesis
ArctorisCRO38Superlative Drug Discovery
Pelago BioscienceCRO38CETSA® cellular thermal shift assay
Key OrganicsCRO36Provision of intermediates, screening compounds
J-StarCRO34Crystallization, formulation, GMP API
VisikolCRO313D Cell culture, high content screening
Metrion BiosciencesCRO30Cardiac safety, ion channel assays, assay dev
Venenum BiodesignCRO28ADME & bioanalytical services
FCTDICRO28Drug Discovery
Comparative Bioscience, IncCRO26preclinical in vivo studies
SARomicsCRO25Protein crystallography, NMR & fragment screening
Pivot Park Screening CentreCRO25High-Throughput Screening
TCG GreenChemCRO25Synthesis and preclinical discovery services
AIM BiotechCRO25In vitro and preclinical drug discovery services
Amuna Pharmaceuticals LLP CRO25Synthetic chemistry, medicinal chemistry
ChemotargetsCRO25De novo drug design, prediction of safety and efficacy
nanoimagingservicesCRO24CryoEM
Hypha DiscoveryCRO24Drug metabolite synthesis, purification and characterization. We are a specialist CRO supporting pharma companies worldwide through production of metabolites and late-stage drug derivatives. We are experts in scalable synthesis, purification, and identification of metabolites and possess a wealth of experience in the purification and structure elucidation of natural products.
AnalizaCRO23Non-GLP discovery screening, physchem properties
InoviemCRO20Target ID, MoA on human tissues & patient stratification
BioBlocksCRO19Drug Discovery CRO
InvivotekCRO18Evaluation of Therapeutic Candidates
AcelleraCRO18Computational Drug Discovery
SPD ChemicalsCRO15FTEs, FFS & Custom synthesis
Aelius BiotechCRO15Gastrointestinal absorption models
PentagritCRO15Efficacy screening, toxicity testing, zebrafish models
Quintara DiscoveryCRO14In vitro ADME, GLP, non-GLP bioanalysis
Panlabs (Eurofins)CRO14Assay panels
New England Drug Discovery PartnersCRO13Structure-Based Drug Design
R2M PharmaCRO13Preclinical drug discovery
Asha PharmaCRO12Solid form screening and selection
PharmOptimaCRO10Ocular Drug Development
CrystalsFirst GmbHCRO10Structure-based drug discovery
The Solubility CompanyCRO10Solid form specific solubility analysis
Chemo DynamicsCRO10GMP infrastructure focused on small molecules
Lotus SeparationsCRO10Chiral separation
MAG-LABCRO10protein ligand complexes, protein sciences
ExamolCRO10Computational Platform/Marketplace
Immunocure Discovery SolutionsCRO10Discovery CRO
Integrated Analytical SolutionsCRO8GLP & non-GLP Bioanalytical Services
Accelero BiostructuresCRO5Structure-based drug discovery
UbiquigentCRO5Deubiquitinating enzyme assays (DUB) and kits
ChemBio Discovery, IncCRO3Computational Modeling & Discovery
NexusPharmaCRO1PDX Models