What NexMR does

NexMR is an ETH Zurich spin-off that develops, manufactures, and sells ultrafast NMR technology targeting pharmaceutical and biotechnology drug discovery customers. The company's platform addresses a bottleneck in NMR-based fragment screening — slow measurement turnaround and high cost — by combining proprietary light-coupled NMR hardware with automated analysis software and consumables for sample preparation. Technical building blocks include light-sources for high-field NMR, light-coupled benchtop NMR spectrometers, a pre-optimized fragment library, a reagents kit, and two software modules (automated screening analysis and automated affinity determination via isotope labeling). The core scientific differentiator is a photo-CIDNP NMR fragment screening technique published in JACS, which the company claims enables 30-50-fold faster measurements and 10-100-fold lower sample concentration requirements relative to traditional high-field NMR workflows.

The company sells a fully integrated workflow of hardware, consumables, and software through a consultative, sales-led direct motion. Customers submit applications via the NexMR website and receive a customized proposal within 1-2 business days. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is provided on a quote basis. Revenue streams are diverse across the three product lines: hardware sales (light-sources and benchtop NMR instruments), consumables (fragment library and reagents kit), and one-time software licenses for the analysis modules. The Go-to-market leverages scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals (JACS, Angewandte Chemie), industry coverage (Practical Fragments), and presence at NMR-focused conferences (EUROMAR, SCS Fall Meeting) to build credibility with pharmaceutical R&D buyers.

Founded by Dr Félix Torres (CEO, PhD Chemistry ETH Zurich), Dr Matthias Bütikofer (CSO, MSc Chemistry ETH Zurich, ex-Roche), and advised by Prof Roland Riek (tenured ETH Zurich professor, pioneer in biomolecular NMR), NexMR is headquartered in Schlieren, Switzerland. The company has secured CHF 150,000 in grant funding from Venture Kick, established strategic partnerships with CrystalsFirst and Chemspace, and validated its technology on a Bruker benchtop NMR platform. Its primary customer segment is pharmaceutical and biotech companies conducting early-stage drug discovery, with use cases spanning hit identification, fragment screening, and binding affinity determination.

Name

NexMR

Legal name

NexMR

Website

https://nexmr.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

NexMR is an ETH Zurich spin-off that provides ultrafast NMR technology for drug discovery, including light-coupled benchtop NMR hardware, consumables, and automated analysis software delivering 30-50-fold faster measurements for pharmaceutical and biotech customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

NMR Spectroscopy Equipment for Drug Discovery

NAICS

Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516)

SIC

Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826)

akta.pro primary industry

Material Characterization & Spectroscopy (NMR/FTIR/MS) (HLAGADAK)

Keywords

• NMR fragment screening
• Drug discovery technology
• Benchtop NMR hardware
• NMR consumables reagents
• NMR data analysis software

Headquarters

HQ city

Schlieren

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. NMR Hardware Sales: Sale of light-sources for high-field NMR systems and light-coupled benchtop NMR spectrometers as core hardware products
2. Consumables: Ultrafast NMR Fragment library and reagents kit providing recurring consumable revenue for NMR screening workflows
3. Software Licenses: Automated screening analysis and affinity determination analysis software, likely sold as licenses or subscriptions

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

NexMR provides an Ultrafast NMR Technology platform for drug discovery, combining light-coupled benchtop NMR hardware, specialized consumables (fragment library and reagents kit), and automated analysis software. The offering enables 30-50-fold faster NMR measurements, 10-100-fold reduced sample concentration requirements, and atomic-scale structural information for pharmaceutical R&D applications. As an ETH Zurich spin-off, NexMR delivers key-in-hand solutions to improve throughput and optimize resources of NMR-drug discovery pipelines.

Product overview

NexMR offers a unified platform of ultrafast NMR technology for drug discovery, consisting of three integrated product lines: (1) Hardware including light-sources for high-field NMR and light-coupled benchtop NMR spectrometers that enable 100-fold faster measurements; (2) Consumables including the Ultrafast NMR Fragment library and Ultrafast NMR reagents kit that reduce sample preparation time; and (3) Software for automated screening analysis and automated affinity determination analysis that enables ultrafast, automated data processing. The platform is designed to address challenging drug discovery targets by providing sensitivity-enhanced NMR with 30-50-fold faster results, compatibility with benchtop systems, and reduced sample concentration requirements of 10-100-fold. NexMR is an ETH Zurich spin-off offering key-in-hands solutions to improve NMR-drug discovery pipeline throughput.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Light-coupled benchtop NMR Light-coupled benchtop NMR hardware that enables 100-fold faster NMR measurements through light-source technology, designed to be compatible with benchtop NMR systems. Targets pharmaceutical and biotech researchers conducting fragment screening.
• Light-sources for high-field NMR High-field NMR light-sources that are part of NexMR's ultrafast NMR technology portfolio, enabling enhanced sensitivity for NMR measurements in drug discovery workflows.
• Ultrafast NMR Fragment library A pre-designed library of NMR fragments for screening applications, part of NexMR's consumables portfolio designed to reduce NMR sample preparation time for drug discovery workflows.
• Ultrafast NMR reagents kit Reagent kit for ultrafast NMR analysis that optimizes performance and reduces sample preparation time for NMR-based drug discovery workflows.
• Automated screening analysis software Automated data analysis software for NMR fragment screening, enabling ultrafast processing of screening results for drug discovery researchers.
• Automated affinity determination analysis software Software for automated determination of binding affinities through NMR analysis using isotope labeling, enabling quantitative assessment of molecular interactions for drug discovery teams.

Quantifiable outcome

• 30-50-fold faster NMR measurements
• +2 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• ChemspacecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Strategic collaboration between NexMR and Chemspace to expand access to fragment screening services and chemical libraries. Chemspace provides extensive chemical compound sourcing capabilities complementing NexMR's NMR screening technology.
• CrystalsFirstcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 July 2023NexMR and CrystalsFirst announced a partnership to combine their respective technologies for enhanced fragment screening capabilities in drug discovery. CrystalsFirst provides crystal-based screening expertise while NexMR contributes ultrafast NMR technology.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about NexMR