Optibrium
Optibrium develops AI-powered computational drug discovery software for small molecule design and optimisation, serving pharmaceutical and biotech companies globally through its StarDrop platform and complementary Cerella, Semeta, and BioPharmics products across 170+ organisations.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2009
- HeadquartersCambridge, United Kingdom
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Optibrium does
Optibrium Ltd. is a privately held Cambridge, UK-based software company that develops AI-powered computational platforms for small molecule drug discovery, founded in 2009 by Matthew Segall through a management buyout of the StarDrop business from BioFocus DPI. The company's product portfolio is centred on StarDrop, a modular platform for molecular design, optimisation, SAR analysis and multi-parameter scoring, and extends through three complementary offerings: Cerella (an AI-guided discovery platform built on deep learning imputation, branded Augmented Chemistry), Semeta (metabolite prediction software combining quantum mechanics and machine learning for DMPK scientists), and BioPharmics (3D ligand-based and structure-based design, including macrocycle modelling, acquired in 2023). Underlying capabilities span generative chemistry (Nova module), ADME/QSAR predictive modelling, multi-parameter optimisation, and physics-informed machine learning for binding affinity (QuanSA), with integrations to more than 15 third-party chemistry data and tooling platforms. The technology is protected by granted US patents (9,224,098 and 9,367,812), an extensive trademark portfolio, and ISO 27001 certification, and is backed by a science team including globally recognised cheminformatics authorities.
Optibrium serves pharmaceutical and biotech drug discovery organisations globally, with a stated base of 200+ teams across 170+ customer organisations including five of the world's top ten pharma and biotech companies. The go-to-market combines direct enterprise sales in the UK and US, regional distributor partnerships for Japan (Hulinks Inc.) and China (Shanghai CloudScientific), and an event- and content-led demand generation model. Customers span large-cap pharma (Sanofi, Johnson & Johnson, UCB, Grünenthal, Bial, Evotec) and emerging biotechs (Cerevance, adMare BioInnovations, Apollo Therapeutics, Anima Biotech).
Revenue is generated primarily through annual subscription licences for the StarDrop platform and its modules, with pricing starting near $10,000 and scaling to six figures for global site licences spanning multiple modules; professional services and training are bundled into subscriptions. Recurring revenue is supplemented by optional AWS-hosted cloud delivery at a small additional charge. The company has been funded by an Innovate UK grant (2018), equity investment from Kester Capital (2021 and 2022), and a multi-million-pound debt facility from Shawbrook Bank (July 2025) earmarked for generative chemistry, molecular modelling improvements, and global expansion.
Optibrium firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Optibrium
- Legal name
- Optibrium Ltd.
- Website
- https://optibrium.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2009
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Optibrium develops AI-powered computational drug discovery software for small molecule design and optimisation, serving pharmaceutical and biotech companies globally through its StarDrop platform and complementary Cerella, Semeta, and BioPharmics products across 170+ organisations.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Optibrium industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Drug Discovery Software
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (5132), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)
- SIC
- Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- AI/ML Platforms for Drug Discovery & Experiment Optimization (HLAGAJAO)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Bioinformatics & Multi-omics Analysis Software (HLAGAJAD)
Keywords
Where Optibrium is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Cambridge
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices3 records
Markets served
Optibrium business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations
Revenue model
- Software Licenses and Subscriptions: Annual subscription-based licensing model for StarDrop and related software products. Modular pricing allows customers to customize packages with core features and specialized modules. Options include single-user, site-wide, company-wide, and floating licenses. Pricing starts at approximately $10,000 annually and scales to six figures for large global site licenses with multiple modules.
- Professional Services and Training: Onboarding, training, and implementation services. The company offers tailored hands-on training delivered on-site or virtually as part of the subscription package, with additional custom integrations available.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Core StarDrop Platform - Starting Tier |
| Subscription | Annual | Extended Modules Tier |
| Subscription | Annual | Enterprise/Global Site License |
| Subscription | Annual | Cloud Hosting Add-on |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
Optibrium product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Optibrium develops and licenses modular drug-discovery software for small-molecule design, optimisation, and data analysis. Its core offerings — StarDrop (a complete molecular design platform), Cerella (AI-guided discovery using deep learning imputation), Semeta (metabolite prediction for DMPK scientists) and BioPharmics (3D ligand/structure-based design) — are sold as annual subscriptions to pharmaceutical and biotech companies, supplemented by training, support, and cloud-hosting services.
Product overview
Optibrium offers a modular platform-plus-products architecture for small molecule drug discovery. The core platform is StarDrop, a comprehensive molecular design, optimization, and data analysis platform available as a modular subscription with specialized add-on modules including ADME QSAR for property prediction, Nova for generative chemistry, eSim3D for 3D structure-based design, Metabolism Module for Phase I/II prediction, Auto-Modeller for custom QSAR model building, MPO Explorer for multi-parameter optimization, and Inspyra for synthesis planning. Complementary products include Cerella for AI-guided discovery using deep learning imputation, Semeta for standalone metabolite prediction tailored to DMPK scientists, and BioPharmics for 3D ligand and structure-based design (acquired in 2023). Key capabilities span predictive ADME modeling, generative chemistry, QSAR analysis, multi-parameter optimization, and 3D molecular visualization, serving over 200 chemistry teams globally including top pharmaceutical companies.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- StarDrop: A complete platform for molecular design, optimisation and data analysis with an accessible and intuitive interface for computer-aided drug discovery.
- Cerella
- BioPharmics
- Semeta
Products and services
- StarDrop Modular, subscription-licensed platform for small-molecule design, optimisation and data analysis, supporting SAR analysis, ADMET prediction, multi-parameter optimisation, 3D ligand/structure-based design, generative chemistry, and real-time team collaboration. Targeted at medicinal chemists, computational chemists, DMPK scientists and heads of drug discovery in pharmaceutical and biotech organisations.
- Cerella AI-guided drug discovery platform that uses deep-learning imputation (Augmented Chemistry) to extract value from limited and noisy discovery data, predict compound properties and identify the most valuable experiments. Targeted at medicinal chemists and discovery project teams that need accurate predictions despite sparse datasets.
- Semeta Stand-alone metabolite prediction software tailored for DMPK scientists, predicting Phase I and II metabolic routes, sites, products and lability across CYPs, FMOs, AOXs, UGTs and SULTs enzyme families using quantum-mechanics and machine-learning models. Supports species selection for preclinical studies and reactive-metabolite risk assessment.
- BioPharmics 3D ligand-based and structure-based molecular modelling platform for small molecules through to large macrocycles, covering virtual screening, similarity search, molecular docking (Surflex-Dock), binding-affinity prediction (QuanSA, FEP-equivalent accuracy) and conformational ensemble fitting (xGen). Targeted at medicinal chemists and computational chemists requiring 3D structure-based design capability.
Quantifiable outcome
- Up to 25% reduction in hit-to-candidate costs compared to alternatives like LiveDesign
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Optibrium
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Optibrium technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration18 records
AI capability8 records
Feature10 records
Optibrium partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered regional and minor.
- Hulinks Inc.regionalRegional distributor for StarDrop software in Japan, serving pharmaceutical and biotech companies in the Japanese market. Located in Tokyo.
- Shanghai CloudScientific Information Technology Co. Ltd.regionalRegional distributor for StarDrop software in China, serving pharmaceutical and biotech companies in the Chinese market. Located in Shanghai.
- TalTech (Tallinn University of Technology)minorEU-funded PhD programme partnership focused on developing faster and more accurate methods for predicting drug metabolism. Part of Optibrium's commitment to advancing sustainable drug discovery research.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Optibrium competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Benchling: Cloud-based life sciences R&D platform covering molecule registration, assay data, and registry workflows. Competes for the same medicinal chemistry and discovery informatics buyer, though with broader lab informatics scope.
- Schrödinger: Public computational chemistry and molecular simulation platform serving pharma/biotech drug discovery. Closest direct competitor, particularly in physics-based modeling and predictive ADMET, with significantly larger scale and broader platform footprint.
- Dotmatics: Scientific R&D platform for chemistry, biology, and formulation workflows. Competes with StarDrop in cheminformatics, data visualization, and SAR analysis for pharma/biotech discovery teams.
- Cresset: Cheminformatics and molecular modeling software (Flare, Torch, Spark) used by medicinal chemists for 3D ligand-based design. Overlaps with StarDrop's 3D design, SAR analysis, and compound optimization workflows.
- Chemical Computing Group (CCG): Developer of the Molecular Operating Environment (MOE) drug discovery platform. Long-standing direct competitor in computational chemistry, docking, QSAR, and medicinal chemistry workflows.
- Simulations Plus: Provider of ADMET and PBPK modeling software (e.g., GastroPlus, ADMETPredictor). Directly comparable to Semeta for metabolism prediction and to ADME QSAR modeling within StarDrop.
- OpenEye Scientific: Molecular modeling and cheminformatics software (e.g., Orion, Floe, OpenEye Suite). Directly competes in 3D ligand-based design, virtual screening, and ADMET prediction for small molecule discovery.
Broad incumbents
- BIOVIA (Dassault Systèmes): Enterprise scientific software suite (Discovery Studio, Pipeline Pilot, BIOVIA Workbook) covering molecular modeling, registration, and lab informatics. Broader scope than Optibrium, but overlaps in computational chemistry for pharma R&D.
- Certara: Provider of biosimulation and drug development software (e.g., Phoenix, Synchrogenix). Larger incumbent in model-informed drug development with overlap in DMPK and ADMET prediction adjacent to Semeta.
Emerging players
- Collaborative Drug Discovery (CDD): CDD Vault database platform for collaborative drug discovery data management. Direct integration partner with StarDrop but partial overlap in cheminformatics, SAR analysis, and biological data handling.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Optibrium social profiles
Digital presenceOptibrium compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Optibrium financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Optibrium leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles13 records
Optibrium subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Optibrium funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds4 records
Investors3 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Optibrium M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Optibrium
What does Optibrium do?
Optibrium develops and licenses modular drug-discovery software for small-molecule design, optimisation, and data analysis. Its core offerings — StarDrop (a complete molecular design platform), Cerella (AI-guided discovery using deep learning imputation), Semeta (metabolite prediction for DMPK scientists) and BioPharmics (3D ligand/structure-based design) — are sold as annual subscriptions to pharmaceutical and biotech companies, supplemented by training, support, and cloud-hosting services.
Is Optibrium a public or private company?
Optibrium is a private company. It is classified as private equity controlled and is currently operating.
When was Optibrium founded?
Optibrium was founded in 2009. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Optibrium based?
Optibrium is headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Optibrium make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Software Licenses and Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are professional Services and Training.
Who are Optibrium's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Benchling, Schrödinger, Dotmatics, Cresset, Chemical Computing Group (CCG), Simulations Plus and OpenEye Scientific. Broad incumbents are BIOVIA (Dassault Systèmes) and Certara. Collaborative Drug Discovery (CDD) is listed as an emerging player.
Does Optibrium have an API?
No public API is recorded for Optibrium.
What industry is Optibrium in?
Optibrium's product category is Drug Discovery Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAGAJAO, AI/ML Platforms for Drug Discovery & Experiment Optimization, with a secondary code of HLAGAJAD, Bioinformatics & Multi-omics Analysis Software. Its NAICS code is 5132 and its SIC code is 8731.