Drug discovery companies identify, validate and develop new therapeutic candidates for the prevention and treatment of disease. The sector combines biology, chemistry, data science and clinical expertise to bring new medicines from concept to clinic.
This category includes companies working on:
Browse 495 UK drug discovery companies below.
Quantum simulation and AI platform for enzyme-targeted drug discovery
Kuano is a computational drug discovery company combining quantum simulation with artificial intelligence to design inhibitors against enzyme targets. The platform models transition states during enzyme reactions, quantum mechanical events inaccessible to classical structure-based methods generating a Quantum…
Global CDMO for biologics development and manufacture
Lonza is one of the world's largest contract development and manufacturing organisations, providing services across biologics, cell and gene therapy, and small molecules. Its primary UK site in Slough is a multi-product cGMP facility specialising in mammalian biopharmaceutical development and manufacture. The…
Genetic insights to guide drug discovery and development
Sequoia Genetics is a contract research organisation applying human genetic data to inform drug discovery and clinical development. The company works with pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology firms, investors, and academic institutions to generate and interpret genetic insights that can guide target validation and…
Specialist life science research product distributor for UK and Ireland
Cambridge Bioscience is a specialist distributor of life science research products and services, supplying academic, pharmaceutical and biotechnology organisations across the UK and Ireland. The company curates a portfolio of reagents, antibodies, biochemicals, instruments and genomics tools from global manufacturing…
UK national centre advancing alternatives to animal research
The NC3Rs is a UK scientific organisation dedicated to the replacement, reduction, and refinement of animals in research and testing. Funded primarily through MRC and BBSRC, it supports the development and adoption of 3Rs approaches across academia, pharma, and regulatory science through grant funding, early career…
Federated genomic data analysis platform for research and drug discovery
Omecu is a software company developing a high-performance, federated genomics data analysis platform. Its computation engine enables researchers to query and analyse millions of genomic records across distributed datasets in seconds, without requiring data to leave its source institution, addressing the privacy and…
Cancer Research UK's translational and commercialisation arm
Cancer Research Horizons is the translational subsidiary of Cancer Research UK, operating at the interface between academic research and industry. The organisation combines in-house drug discovery expertise across six UK sites with technology transfer, licensing, and early-stage venture investment activities. It…
Tau-targeting therapeutics and diagnostics for neurodegenerative disease
TauRx Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing treatments and diagnostics for Alzheimer's disease and related neurodegenerative disorders. Its pipeline centres on tau aggregation inhibitors, which target the pathological accumulation of tau protein implicated in dementia. The company's…
Experimental diabetes research into insulin and metabolic therapies
Centre for Diabetes is an Ulster University research centre in Coleraine investigating the molecular mechanisms of diabetes and emerging treatment approaches. Its research includes pancreatic beta-cell dysfunction, insulin secretion, glycation, glucose-regulating peptides and experimental antidiabetic compounds. The…
Bioanalytical CRO supporting drug development from discovery to post-marketing
York Bioanalytical Solutions is a contract research organisation providing bioanalytical, metabolism and biomarker services to pharmaceutical and biotech companies. The company supports development of small and large molecule therapeutics through mass spectrometry-based bioanalysis, in vitro ADME studies, metabolite…
Automated drug discovery platform and CRO services
Arctoris is a technology-enabled contract research organisation that provides automated wet-lab biology and data generation services to biotech and pharmaceutical companies. The company operates a fully robotic, cloud-controlled platform covering biochemical, biophysical, cell-based and structural biology assays…
CRO-CDMO process chemistry and API manufacturing centre for global pharma partners
Sai Life Sciences operates a UK research and development site providing contract research and development and manufacturing services to global biotech and pharmaceutical companies. The Alderley Park facility serves as a centre of excellence for active pharmaceutical ingredient process and analytical development,…
Oral delivery platform for biologics targeting inflammatory diseases
Intract Pharma is a biotechnology company developing proprietary formulation platforms for the oral delivery of complex biologics including monoclonal antibodies and proteins. The technology enables precision delivery to the colon for local and systemic immunomodulation, targeting gastrointestinal and systemic…
Non-surgical drug therapy for spinal cord injury recovery
NeuroSolv Therapeutics is a preclinical-stage biotechnology company developing a non-surgical two-part therapy for spinal cord injury. The proposed mechanism combines enzymatic removal of perineuronal nets on spinal cord neurons with treatment of signal-blocking glial scar tissue, enabling new synaptic connections to…
Stabilised siRNA therapeutics platform targeting cardiovascular gene silencing
Argonaute RNA is a biopharmaceutical company developing small interfering RNA therapeutics for cardiovascular disease. Its siRNA platform uses proprietary chemical stabilisation to enable safe, targeted and temporary gene silencing in specific tissue cells, overcoming delivery and safety barriers that have constrained…
Light-controlled droplet microfluidics for single-cell functional analysis
Lightcast Discovery is a life science tools company developing a droplet-based system for single-cell functional analysis. Using light to precisely control picolitre-scale droplets, the platform enables parallel interrogation of tens of thousands of individual cells across a range of functional assays, including…
AI-driven lab automation platform for drug discovery
Astral Automation Solutions is a Welsh software company developing an AI-powered laboratory automation platform for pre-clinical drug discovery. The platform provides intelligent workflow orchestration, universal compatibility with laboratory devices across manufacturers, and advanced simulation capabilities designed…
Shark-derived single-domain antibody biologics for cancer and inflammation
Elasmogen is a biotechnology company developing next-generation therapeutic biologics based on its proprietary soloMER platform, single-domain antibody-like proteins derived from the shark immune system. soloMERs offer advantages over conventional antibodies in size, stability, and tissue penetration. The pipeline…
Custom synthetic chemistry and route development for drug discovery
Cortex Organics is a contract research organisation providing custom organic synthesis, medicinal chemistry support and synthetic route development for pharmaceutical and life science researchers. Its chemists design, prepare and optimise complex small molecules, including medicinally relevant building blocks and…
Implantable localised chemotherapy delivery for hard-to-treat solid tumours
CRISM Therapeutics is a clinical-stage drug delivery company developing an implantable biodegradable technology that delivers chemotherapy directly into tumours or surgical margins, reducing the systemic side effects of conventional treatment. Developed with the University of Birmingham, the company's lead programme…