The Francis Crick Institute
The Francis Crick Institute is a London-based charitable biomedical discovery institute founded in 2015 through a consortium of six leading UK research organizations, employing over 1,500 scientists to conduct fundamental research into the biology of health and disease and translate discoveries into therapeutic and diagnostic applications.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount1,001–5,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What The Francis Crick Institute does
The Francis Crick Institute is a London-based biomedical discovery institute established in 2015 through a unique partnership consortium of six founding institutions: the Medical Research Council (UKRI), Cancer Research UK, Wellcome, University College London, Imperial College London, and King's College London. Registered as a charitable company limited by shares (charity no. 1140062) and headquartered at 1 Midland Road, London NW1 1AT, the institute operates as one of Europe's largest biomedical research laboratories, employing more than 1,500 scientists across cancer biology, infectious disease, developmental biology, genomics, proteomics, and translational research. Its stated mission is to understand the biology underlying human health and disease, with the goal of driving discoveries that benefit human health through translation, training, and public engagement.
The institute's technology base spans cutting-edge discovery research platforms and proprietary methodologies, including a 14-protein plasma biomarker signature validated across eight international datasets that can predict lung cancer risk more than five years before diagnosis, identification of Aurora-related kinase 1 (ARK1) as a malaria drug target, the first human lung-on-a-chip model using stem cells from a single donor capable of simulating breathing motions for personalized medicine, and ancient DNA analysis methods demonstrated on Anglo-Saxon archaeological remains. The Crick operates an Open Science Policy ensuring research outputs are broadly accessible and collaborates extensively through a Snowflake-powered Trusted Research Environment that enables secure cross-border data collaboration across 38 countries.
The Crick does not sell commercial products or services. Its operating model is funded primarily through its six founding partners as a registered charity, with secondary revenue streams from technology transfer activities including spin-out companies (e.g., ALTx Therapeutics, launched February 2026 with £12.55 million in funding) and licensing arrangements. Translational research is increasingly executed through strategic partnerships with industry — notably Flagship Pioneering (November 2025) and Charles River Laboratories (October 2025) — and minority investments in AI-enabled healthtech (PulseAI) and biotech (LinkGevity). The institute serves a dual customer base: the global scientific research community seeking collaborative access to world-class platforms, and the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry pursuing therapeutic and diagnostic breakthroughs.
The Francis Crick Institute firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Francis Crick Institute
- Legal name
- The Francis Crick Institute Limited
- Website
- https://crick.ac.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1,001–5,000 employees
- Short description
- The Francis Crick Institute is a London-based charitable biomedical discovery institute founded in 2015 through a consortium of six leading UK research organizations, employing over 1,500 scientists to conduct fundamental research into the biology of health and disease and translate discoveries into therapeutic and diagnostic applications.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Francis Crick Institute industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Biomedical Research
- NAICS
- Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)
- SIC
- Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Real-World Evidence (RWE), HEOR & Epidemiology CROs (HLAGAAAK)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Central Laboratory & Clinical Trial Testing CROs (HLAGAAAE)
Keywords
Where The Francis Crick Institute is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
The Francis Crick Institute business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations
Revenue model
- Research funding from founding partners: The Crick is funded by six founding partners: Medical Research Council (UKRI), Cancer Research UK, Wellcome, University College London, Imperial College London, and King's College London. This provides core operational funding for discovery research.
- Spin-out company creation and licensing: The Crick creates spin-out companies from its research discoveries, such as ALTx Therapeutics, and receives funding from these arrangements.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
The Francis Crick Institute product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Francis Crick Institute is a biomedical discovery institute that conducts world-class research to understand how living things work and to drive benefits for human health. It is home to more than 1,500 scientists and operates as a consortium of six founding partners (MRC, Cancer Research UK, Wellcome, UCL, Imperial College London, and King's College London), producing scientific discoveries, training researchers, enabling research partnerships, and commercialising outputs through spin-out companies and licensing.
Product overview
The Francis Crick Institute is a biomedical discovery institute focused on world-class research to understand how living things work and drive benefits for human health. It is not a product or technology company; it does not offer commercial products or services for sale. The institute operates as a research organization with over 1,500 scientists conducting discovery research across various biological and medical domains, supported by partnerships with six founding universities (UCL, Imperial College London, King's College London, Medical Research Council, Cancer Research UK, and Wellcome).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Biomedical Discovery Research Core discovery research across cancer, infectious disease, developmental biology, genomics, proteomics, and translational science, conducted by over 1,500 scientists.
- Research Platforms and Facilities State-of-the-art scientific platforms and facilities available to internal researchers and external collaborators, supporting advanced biomedical research activities.
- Research Partnerships and Collaborations Strategic research partnerships with academic institutions, pharmaceutical companies, and biotech firms, including collaborations with Charles River Laboratories and Flagship Pioneering.
- Spin-out Companies and Technology Licensing Creation of spin-out companies such as ALTx Therapeutics to commercialise research discoveries, with licensing of intellectual property to pharmaceutical and biotech partners.
- Scientific Training and Education Training programmes for PhD students, postdocs, clinical fellows, and technical staff, including technical training for researchers outside the Crick.
- Public Engagement Programmes Public events, exhibitions including 'We go way back', seminars, lectures, symposia, the Crick Gallery, podcasts, and educational content for the public and schools (Crick Kids).
- Trusted Research Environment Secure cross-border research collaboration environment using Snowflake technology, enabling data-driven research across 38 countries.
Quantifiable outcome
- 14-protein blood signature correctly identified over 75% of future lung cancer cases in validation cohort
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use The Francis Crick Institute
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
The Francis Crick Institute technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
The Francis Crick Institute partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- ALTx TherapeuticscoreALTx Therapeutics launched as a spin-out from The Francis Crick Institute with £12.55 million funding. The company develops first-in-class therapeutics targeting the Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres pathway in cancers, based on pioneering research by Simon Boulton.
- Weizmann Institute of ScienceminorUK-Israel genomics delegation visited The Francis Crick Institute as part of bilateral collaboration to strengthen life sciences innovation between UK and Israel.
- Flagship PioneeringcoreFlagship Pioneering and the Francis Crick Institute announced a collaboration to advance life sciences innovation in the UK. The partnership aims to develop scientific platforms and therapeutic pipelines, leveraging the Crick's research excellence and Flagship's biotech model.
- Charles River Laboratories InternationalcoreCharles River and the Francis Crick Institute combine expertise in antibody-drug conjugate development, leveraging Charles River's research products and services capabilities with the Crick's research excellence.
- AlveoliXcoreResearchers from the Francis Crick Institute and AlveoliX developed the first human lung-on-a-chip model using stem cells from a single donor, capable of simulating breathing motions and replicating lung disease for personalized medicine applications.
- University College LondoncoreOne of six founding partners and partner university of The Francis Crick Institute.
- Imperial College LondoncoreOne of six founding partners and partner university of The Francis Crick Institute.
- King's College LondoncoreOne of six founding partners and partner university of The Francis Crick Institute.
- University College LondoncoreCollaborated on 14-protein blood signature research for lung cancer prediction, using machine learning on data from over 48,000 UK Biobank participants.
- University of NottinghamminorInternational team including University of Nottingham, National Institute of Immunology, University of Groningen, and Francis Crick Institute identified ARK1 as target for future malaria drugs.
- University of GroningenminorInternational team identified ARK1 as critical protein essential for malaria parasite cell division and transmission.
- National Institute of ImmunologyminorInternational team identified ARK1 as critical protein essential for malaria parasite cell division and transmission.
- SnowflakecoreThe Francis Crick Institute uses Snowflake's Trusted Research Environment enabling secure cross-border research collaboration across 38 countries.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
The Francis Crick Institute competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
The Francis Crick Institute social profiles
Digital presenceThe Francis Crick Institute compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance5 records
The Francis Crick Institute financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Francis Crick Institute leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
The Francis Crick Institute subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
The Francis Crick Institute funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
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The Francis Crick Institute M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments10 records
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Frequently asked questions about The Francis Crick Institute
What does The Francis Crick Institute do?
The Francis Crick Institute is a biomedical discovery institute that conducts world-class research to understand how living things work and to drive benefits for human health. It is home to more than 1,500 scientists and operates as a consortium of six founding partners (MRC, Cancer Research UK, Wellcome, UCL, Imperial College London, and King's College London), producing scientific discoveries, training researchers, enabling research partnerships, and commercialising outputs through spin-out companies and licensing.
Is The Francis Crick Institute a public or private company?
The Francis Crick Institute is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was The Francis Crick Institute founded?
The Francis Crick Institute was founded in 2015. It employs 1,001 to 5,000 people.
Where is The Francis Crick Institute based?
The Francis Crick Institute is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does The Francis Crick Institute make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Research funding from founding partners are the primary driver. The others are spin-out company creation and licensing.
Does The Francis Crick Institute have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Francis Crick Institute.
What industry is The Francis Crick Institute in?
The Francis Crick Institute's product category is Biomedical Research. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAGAAAK, Real-World Evidence (RWE), HEOR & Epidemiology CROs, with a secondary code of HLAGAAAE, Central Laboratory & Clinical Trial Testing CROs. Its NAICS code is 54171 and its SIC code is 8731.