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.
ACE inhibitors for safer cardiovascular and fibrosis treatment
Angiodesign is a seed-stage drug discovery company developing next-generation domain-selective inhibitors of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE). Unlike current-generation ACE inhibitors, which cause bradykinin accumulation and limiting side effects, Angiodesign's C-domain selective inhibitors aim to reduce blood…
Optimised mRNA sequence design and therapeutic development software
Jantomarna Therapeutics is a biotechnology company providing computational design technology for protein-coding RNA therapeutics. Its proprietary genetic algorithm optimises mRNA and related RNA sequences for efficacy, safety and manufacturability using mechanistic sequence-function models. The company offers contract…
Pre-competitive biologics drug discovery platforms and services for partners
Alloy Therapeutics UK is the Cambridge-based research operation of Alloy Therapeutics, a biotechnology platform company providing pre-competitive drug discovery technologies and services across antibody, TCR, genetic medicine, cell therapy, peptide, and drug delivery modalities. The company offers both discovery…
Chemistry-led CRO and CDMO for pharmaceutical and diagnostics R&D
High Force Research is an independent chemistry CRO and CDMO providing synthetic chemistry, process development, and GMP manufacturing services to the pharmaceutical, biotech, and diagnostics industries. Services span route design, complex synthesis, scale-up, and analytical development through to regulatory-grade…
Integrated academic drug discovery facility for anti-infectives and innovative targets
The Drug Discovery Unit is an academic drug discovery facility at the University of Dundee, integrating medicinal chemistry, high-throughput screening, structural biology, cell biology, and DMPK in a single purpose-built facility. The DDU conducts small molecule drug discovery programmes across two areas:…
CBD-based licensed medicines for chronic inflammatory pain
Ananda Pharma is an AQSE-listed UK biotechnology company developing pharmaceutical-grade cannabidiol formulations as licensed medicines for chronic inflammatory pain conditions. The company focuses on essentially THC-free CBD products manufactured to UK pharmaceutical standards, targeting conditions including…
OrganoMaps AI and multi-omics modelling for drug discovery
AI VIVO is a Cambridge biotechnology company combining machine learning and multi-omics data to model disease biology and drug responses. Its OrganoMaps approach links molecular measurements with tissue and organ-level physiological networks, supporting analysis of therapeutic targets and mechanisms of action. The…
Therapeutic cancer vaccines based on recombinant overlapping peptide technology
Oxford Vacmedix is a clinical-stage biopharma company developing therapeutic cancer vaccines using its proprietary Recombinant Overlapping Peptide (ROP) platform. ROPs stimulate broad T cell and antibody immunity without HLA restriction, enabling a universal immunotherapy approach. The lead programme, OVM-200, targets…
Metal-based antimicrobial drugs and antibiofilm coating compounds
MetalloBio is a University of Sheffield spin-out developing metal-based antimicrobial compounds against drug-resistant bacterial infections. Its KLS-1 series includes investigational antibacterial candidate KLS-116, designed to act against multidrug-resistant pathogens and biofilms. The KLS-2 series is being developed…
MicroRNA therapeutics for tendon and musculoskeletal disease
Causeway Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing first-in-class microRNA therapies for musculoskeletal and age-related conditions. Its lead asset TenoMiR (CWT-001) is a synthetic miR-29a mimic delivered by single intratendinous injection that promotes collagen remodelling and tendon repair.…
Precision calcium channel medicines for epilepsy and Parkinson's disease
Lario Therapeutics is developing first-in-class precision medicines as disease-modifying treatments for severe neurological disorders, including genetically defined epileptic encephalopathies and Parkinson's disease. The company's pipeline centres on neuronal calcium channel inhibitors, beginning with genetically…
Organ-on-a-chip systems for human-relevant preclinical drug testing
CN Bio is a UK biotechnology company developing organ-on-a-chip microphysiological systems for preclinical drug discovery and safety testing. Its platform recreates human organ microarchitecture using primary cells and microfluidic perfusion, enabling researchers to generate human-relevant efficacy, metabolism and…
Integrated chemistry and development CRO for small molecules
CatSci is a Cardiff-headquartered contract research organisation providing integrated chemistry, analytical, and development services to biotech and pharmaceutical companies. Founded in 2010 by former AstraZeneca scientists, the company offers process chemistry, analytical development, solid-state and preformulation…
Global diabetes and cardiometabolic medicines leader
Novo Nordisk Limited is the UK commercial and medical affiliate of Novo Nordisk A/S, the Danish pharmaceutical company focused on diabetes, obesity, and cardiometabolic disease. The UK operation covers commercialisation, medical affairs, and clinical trial activities. Separately, Novo Nordisk Research Centre Oxford…
Chemical structure software and cheminformatics platforms
Chemaxon is a cheminformatics software company developing tools for chemical structure drawing, molecular property prediction, structure searching and compound registration. Its technologies support medicinal chemistry, molecular design and chemical data management across pharmaceutical, biotechnology and other…
Platform for controlled, repeatable cellular rejuvenation therapeutics
BioRes is a preclinical biotechnology company developing a platform for controlled, repeatable cellular rejuvenation. The company's approach aims to restore cellular function as a way of addressing the underlying biological causes of age-related decline and disease, rather than treating individual conditions in…
GPCR-targeted small molecule drugs for rare and inflammatory disease
Trio Medicines is a small pharmaceutical company developing small molecule therapeutics targeting G-protein coupled receptors for diseases with unmet clinical need. Its pipeline includes gastrin/CCK2 receptor antagonists for gastric neuroendocrine tumours, a selective β2-adrenoceptor antagonist, and a formyl peptide…
Rejuvenation biology company decoding the genomics of cellular ageing reversal
clock.health is a biotechnology company developing therapies to reverse cellular ageing and extend healthspan by decoding the biological programmes that govern cell rejuvenation. Using a proprietary model in which human induced pluripotent stem cells are artificially aged then permitted to self-rejuvenate, the company…
Antibody therapeutics targeting glycosphingolipid inflammation
Protalea Bio is a biotech company developing first-in-class therapeutic antibodies to prevent progression from precancerous states to active blood cancers including multiple myeloma and B-cell lymphoma. The company's approach targets glycosphingolipid-related inflammation before disease onset, building on over fifteen…
Custom modified oligonucleotides for research and therapeutics
ATDBio is a University of Southampton spin-out specialising in custom DNA and RNA oligonucleotide synthesis for research, diagnostics and therapeutic development. Its Southampton-based operations supply standard and chemically modified oligos, including antisense sequences, siRNA, aptamers and labelled probes, using…