What Concept Life Sciences does

Concept Life Sciences is a UK-headquartered contract research organization (CRO) that provides integrated drug discovery and development services spanning target validation, hit identification, lead optimization, ADMET/DMPK profiling, and GMP manufacturing. The company is organized around a multi-modality platform covering small molecules, biologics, peptides, ADCs, PROTACs, oligonucleotides, and cell & gene therapies, with stated capability to advance a program from concept to clinic in approximately 32 months — roughly half the industry average. The company reports a cumulative track record of 5 drugs to market, 28 candidates to clinic, and 44 to pre-clinical stage, with a scientific workforce that is 80% PhD-qualified and averages 10+ years of industry experience.

The technology stack is anchored by an AI-driven virtual screening platform (capable of screening tens of billions of compounds computationally, with biophysical validation via Grating-Coupled Interferometry), a fragment-based drug discovery platform, a Direct-to-Biology (D2B) workflow that compresses Design-Make-Test-Analyze cycles, the BioPALS hit-to-lead platform, the In-CERT cell and gene therapy characterization platform, the Concept Peptide Profiler web tool, and a Computer-Aided Drug Design (CADD) environment using commercial and open-source cheminformatics and machine learning tools. In 2026, the company entered a strategic partnership with US-based OpenBench to introduce a success-based pricing model in which OpenBench funds upfront discovery costs and charges only upon delivery of validated hit series.

The company is privately held (Concept Life Sciences Integrated Discovery & Development Services Limited, registered in England and Wales, company number 02345676), headquartered in Chapel-en-le-Frith, High Peak, UK, with 101–250 employees. It serves a customer base of early-stage and virtual biotechs and pharmaceutical companies globally, and has grown both organically and through acquisitions — completing six M&A transactions since 2014, most recently Charnwood Discovery in late 2024.

Name

Concept Life Sciences

Legal name

Concept Life Sciences Integrated Discovery & Development Services Limited

Website

https://conceptlifesciences.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Concept Life Sciences is a UK-based contract research organization offering integrated drug discovery and development services across small molecules, biologics, peptides, ADCs, PROTACs, and cell & gene therapies for early-stage biotech and pharmaceutical clients globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Contract Research Organization (CRO) Services

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Testing Laboratories (8734)

akta.pro primary industry

Preclinical CROs (Discovery/Pharmacology/DMPK) (HLAGAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Toxicology & Safety Assessment CROs (GLP) (HLAGAAAC)

Keywords

• Contract research organization
• Drug discovery services
• Preclinical CRO
• Medicinal chemistry
• ADMET DMPK testing

Headquarters

HQ city

Manchester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. CRO Services (Fee-for-Service): Fee-for-service CRO model providing integrated drug discovery services including biology, chemistry, ADMET/DMPK, and toxicology services on a project-by-project basis for biotech and pharmaceutical clients.
2. Success-Based Drug Discovery (OpenBench Partnership): Success-based fee model under OpenBench partnership where OpenBench funds all upfront discovery costs and charges only upon delivery of validated hit series, shifting scientific and financial risk away from biotech customers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Concept Life Sciences is a UK-based contract research organization (CRO) providing integrated drug discovery and development services for biotech and pharmaceutical clients. Its offerings span the full discovery pipeline from target validation, hit identification and lead optimization through medicinal chemistry, ADMET/DMPK profiling, toxicology and GMP manufacturing across modalities including small molecules, biologics, peptides, ADCs, oligonucleotides, targeted protein degradation and cell and gene therapies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Concept Peptide Profiler: In silico peptide analysis tool for sequence analysis and property prediction

Products and services

• Integrated Drug Discovery End-to-end drug discovery and development service spanning from target validation and hit identification through lead optimization and candidate selection to IND-enabling studies. Co-located multidisciplinary teams of chemists, biologists, and DMPK scientists run Design-Make-Test-Analyze cycles for biotech and pharmaceutical clients, with typical project timelines reported as half the industry average.
• Biology Services Biology service line covering assay development, biochemical, cellular and biophysical screening, biomarkers, cell-based assays, 3D and ex vivo models, disease modeling, functional assays, target and pathway engagement, molecular biology, gene expression analysis, transcriptomics, protein production, spatial biology, histology, and structural biology for drug discovery programs.
• Chemistry Services Chemistry service line encompassing synthetic chemistry, computer-aided drug design (CADD), medicinal chemistry, process research and development, GMP manufacture, and analytical chemistry to bridge the gap from discovery to clinic for drug candidates.
• ADMET & DMPK Services Drug metabolism, pharmacokinetics, and safety profiling service line including in vitro ADME assays, bioanalysis, in vivo PK screens, and toxicology assessments (cardiotoxicity, cytotoxicity, hepatotoxicity, neurotoxicity) to optimize candidates for success.
• Toxicology Services Specialized toxicology service line including endocrine disruption and thyroid hormone assays, hepatocyte assays, and in vivo/ex vivo toxicology to support safety assessment of drug candidates.
• Cell & Gene Therapy Services Service offering for cell and gene therapy discovery and development, leveraging the In-CERT platform to provide insights into physical properties, payload, efficacy, mechanism of action, and immuno safety of therapeutic products.
• Antibody Drug Conjugate (ADC) Services Specialized services for antibody drug conjugate development including discovery, payload design, conjugation chemistry, and characterization for biotech and pharmaceutical clients.
• Targeted Protein Degradation (PROTAC) Services Discovery and development services for targeted protein degraders including PROTACs, using Direct-to-Biology (D2B) approaches for rapid synthesis and profiling without separate validation steps.
• Success-Based Drug Discovery Services (OpenBench Partnership) Outcome-based drug discovery service for early-stage biotech companies where the partner (OpenBench) funds upfront discovery costs and Concept Life Sciences delivers medicinal chemistry and in-vitro validation, with fees triggered only upon delivery of validated hit series.
• Concept Peptide Profiler Self-service in silico peptide analysis tool providing physicochemical property generation, 3D structure prediction, aggregation propensity, and synthesis difficulty scores for peptide sequences, built on RDKit, pyPept, NGL Viewer, and Plotly.js.

Quantifiable outcome

• 5 drugs reached market, 28 candidates entered clinical trials, 44 advanced to pre-clinical stage
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• OpenBenchcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 May 2026Strategic partnership to deliver success-based drug discovery services for early-stage biotech companies. Combines OpenBench's AI-based virtual screening platform with Concept Life Sciences' medicinal chemistry and in-vitro testing capabilities. OpenBench funds all upfront discovery costs and applies a success fee only upon delivery of validated hit series, enabling clients to progress from target to validated hits in as little as six months at zero upfront cost. The collaboration addresses constrained biotech funding by offering a capital-efficient alternative to traditional discovery models.
• CormicaminorOthers
• AstoriomminorOthersPartner organization listed on Concept Life Sciences website partners section.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Charles River Laboratories: Global CRO providing discovery, safety assessment, and manufacturing services across small molecules and biologics. Direct overlap with Concept Life Sciences' integrated discovery, ADMET/DMPK, and toxicology offerings, but at significantly greater scale and geographic reach.
• Evotec SE: Germany-based integrated drug discovery CRO offering target validation through clinical candidate selection, with strong capabilities in ADMET, biology, and medicinal chemistry. Closely comparable end-to-end service model and similar target customer base of biotech and pharma partners.
• Sygnature Discovery: UK-based preclinical CRO specializing in medicinal chemistry, in vitro biology, DMPK, and computational chemistry. Direct competitor for early-stage drug discovery projects from UK biotechs and pharma, with overlapping service lines and customer profiles.
• Pharmaron: Integrated CRO/CDMO offering drug discovery, DMPK, safety assessment, and GMP manufacturing from China, UK, and US sites. Comparable end-to-end service stack and similar focus on serving biotech and pharma R&D programs.
• Eurofins Discovery: Discovery services arm of Eurofins providing in vitro pharmacology, ADMET, medicinal chemistry, and in vivo pharmacology. Overlaps heavily with Concept Life Sciences' biology, ADMET, and chemistry service lines and shares a similar biotech customer base.

Broad incumbents

• Labcorp Drug Development (formerly Covance): Large incumbent CRO spanning nonclinical through Phase IV clinical development. Comparable in discovery and preclinical capabilities but operates at vastly greater scale with bundled clinical offerings Concept Life Sciences does not provide.
• IQVIA: Global life sciences services firm covering R&D, clinical, real-world evidence, and technology solutions. Comparable in providing drug development services but at much broader scope and scale, including clinical operations Concept Life Sciences does not offer.
• WuXi AppTec: Global CRO/CDMO with extensive discovery, DMPK, safety, and manufacturing capabilities. Provides similar integrated drug discovery services but at substantially greater scale, with deeper geographic reach into US and Asia-Pacific biotech and pharma clients.

Emerging players

• Selvita: Poland-based CRO offering integrated drug discovery, medicinal chemistry, ADMET, and biology services. Comparable mid-sized integrated discovery CRO model, serving biotech and pharma clients across Europe with growing capabilities in novel modalities.
• Domainex: UK-based integrated drug discovery CRO offering medicinal chemistry, biology, ADMET, and protein production services. Closely comparable in size and integrated service model, directly competing for early-stage biotech and academic translational projects in the UK and Europe.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/conceptlsgroup
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/concept-life-sciences

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A7 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Concept Life Sciences