What Pelago Bioscience does

Pelago Bioscience is a Sweden-based contract research organization (CRO) founded in 2012 and headquartered at the Karolinska Institute life science campus in Solna (Stockholm). The company commercializes CETSA (Cellular Thermal Shift Assay), a proprietary label-free biophysical technology invented by Professors Pär Nordlund and Daniel Martinez Molina at the Karolinska Institute and exclusively licensed to Pelago. CETSA measures whether drug candidates actually engage their intended target proteins directly within intact living cells, tissues, and whole blood under physiologically relevant conditions, eliminating the need for tags, tracers, or compound modifications. The platform detects compound-induced thermal stabilization of target proteins using Western blot, mass spectrometry, AlphaLISA, ELISA, MSD, and FRET-based detection, and spans proteome-wide profiling (covering over 5,000 proteins), selectivity profiling, targeted profiling, and high-throughput screening formats.

The company serves pharmaceutical and biotechnology drug discovery teams globally, with 350+ customers including all top 10 big pharma companies and named collaborations with AstraZeneca, AbbVie, and Bayer. Pelago generated fee-for-service revenue through custom-scoped research projects across the drug discovery pipeline, from target discovery and lead generation through lead optimization and preclinical studies. Following the June 2026 acquisition of RG Discovery, Pelago added approximately 40 medicinal chemists and ADME scientists based in Lund, Sweden, creating an integrated biology-plus-chemistry platform covering the full design-make-test-analyze (DMTA) cycle. The company operates as a sales-led CRO with direct enterprise engagement, marketplace listings on Scientist.com and ScienceExchange.com, and a science-first content marketing strategy anchored by the Scientific Hub portal.

Name

Pelago Bioscience

Legal name

Pelago Bioscience AB

Website

https://pelagobio.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Pelago Bioscience is a Sweden-based contract research organization offering proprietary CETSA-based cell-based target engagement assays to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. The platform measures drug-target interactions directly in living cells, tissues, and whole blood, serving drug discovery programs from target identification through preclinical development.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Drug Discovery CRO Services

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Testing Laboratories and Services (54138)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Cell-Based & Potency Assays (Bioassays) (HLAGADAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Target Identification & Validation Platforms (omics-driven, chemoproteomics, genetic validation) (HLAAAIAI), Bioanalytical & Biomarker CROs (PK/PD/Immunogenicity) (HLAGAAAD), DMPK / ADME & Bioanalysis (HLAGAFAC)

Keywords

• Target engagement assays
• Drug discovery services
• Cellular thermal shift assay
• Contract research organization
• Proteome-wide profiling

Headquarters

HQ city

Solna

HQ country

Sweden

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Contract Research Services (CRO): Pelago Bioscience operates as a specialist contract research organization (CRO) providing fee-for-service research studies. Customers engage Pelago to design and run cell-based CETSA studies across the drug discovery pipeline, from target discovery through preclinical studies. Studies are scoped and priced individually based on assay format, number of compounds, and detection methods.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Pelago Bioscience is a Swedish contract research organization that provides cell-based target engagement services using its proprietary CETSA (Cellular Thermal Shift Assay) technology. The company designs and runs fee-for-service studies measuring drug-target interactions directly in living cells, tissues, and whole blood without labels or chemical modifications, supporting pharmaceutical and biotechnology customers from target discovery through preclinical studies. Following the 2026 acquisition of RG Discovery, the offering now also includes medicinal chemistry, custom synthesis, and ADME services, enabling an integrated biology-plus-chemistry platform spanning the full design-make-test-analyze cycle.

Product overview

Pelago Bioscience offers a suite of cell-based target engagement assay services centered on its proprietary CETSA (Cellular Thermal Shift Assay) technology platform. The core CETSA product measures drug-target interactions directly in living cells and tissues without labels or modifications. The portfolio includes proteome-wide profiling (CETSA Explore), selectivity profiling, and targeted profiling services. These biology-focused capabilities are now complemented by RG Discovery's medicinal chemistry, custom synthesis, and ADME services following the 2026 acquisition, creating an integrated drug discovery platform spanning the full design-make-test-analyze (DMTA) cycle from hit identification through lead optimization.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CETSA (Cellular Thermal Shift Assay) Proprietary cell-based target engagement assay platform that measures drug-target interactions directly in living cells and tissues under physiologically relevant conditions. CETSA leverages thermal stabilization of proteins upon compound binding to provide label-free assessment of target engagement without modifying compounds or target proteins.
• CETSA Unbiased Profiling (Proteome Wide) Proteome-wide target engagement profiling service that observes how compounds influence proteins and pathways across the detectable proteome without relying on predefined targets, using mass spectrometry detection to cover over 5,000 proteins in live cells or tissues.
• CETSA Selectivity Profiling Unbiased selectivity assessment service using CETSA with quantitative mass spectrometry to identify off-target interactions across the proteome, helping distinguish selective from promiscuous binding molecules and reduce safety liabilities early in drug discovery.
• CETSA Targeted Profiling Targeted profiling service that validates mechanistic hypotheses and confirms on-target engagement in the intended cellular context, providing concentration-response data and EC50 estimates.
• CETSA Navigate HT High-throughput CETSA assay format using AlphaLISA immunoassay detection in 384-well plate formats, designed for rapid hit identification and compound ranking in native cellular environments.
• CETSA Explore Unbiased mass spectrometry-based proteome-wide target engagement assessment method used for compound profiling, target identification, selectivity assessment, and mechanistic insights into biological processes.
• Target Discovery Services Drug discovery phase service helping discover better drug targets faster by revealing how proteins behave in real cells and turning complex biology into actionable insights, including target identification and deconvolution.
• Lead Generation Services Drug discovery phase service that helps identify hits and turn them into proven leads by revealing how compounds engage their targets in real cells, supporting primary screening, hit confirmation, potency ranking, and selectivity profiling.
• Lead Optimization Services Drug discovery phase service for fine-tuning leads by showing what compounds do inside cells, revealing real-world target engagement and off-target effects for compound prioritization, including potency ranking, selectivity profiling, target identification, mechanism of action studies, and translational studies.
• Preclinical Studies Services Preclinical phase services including translational studies, in vivo target engagement, and biomarker discovery to guide smarter preclinical decisions and support candidate selection for advancement into clinical development.
• RG Discovery (Integrated Chemistry Services) Medicinal chemistry, custom synthesis, and ADME services acquired by Pelago Bioscience in June 2026, providing integrated chemistry capabilities that complement the CETSA biology platform across the design-make-test-analyze cycle for hit identification through lead optimization.

Quantifiable outcome

• More than 90% of clinical drug candidates fail, with lack of target engagement causing a significant proportion of these failures. Nearly 50% of new drug candidates fail due to inadequate efficacy, often linked to poor target engagement.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• RG DiscoverycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 June 2026Pelago Bioscience acquired RG Discovery, creating an integrated drug discovery platform that combines biology and chemistry capabilities across the full design-make-test-analyze cycle. The acquisition unites Pelago's CETSA-based target engagement platform with RG Discovery's medicinal chemistry, custom synthesis, and ADME services, enabling customers to progress programs from hit identification through lead optimization with a single provider. RG Discovery, founded in 2011 by former AstraZeneca scientists and employing approximately 40 scientists in Lund, Sweden, now operates as part of the enlarged Pelago group.
• Modulation TherapeuticsminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 29 April 2025Modulation Therapeutics entered into a CETSA technology access program and license agreement with Pelago Bioscience, enabling Modulation Therapeutics to access CETSA technology for target engagement measurement in their drug discovery programs.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Reaction Biology Corporation: Specialty CRO offering biochemical and cell-based assay services for drug discovery, including target engagement and selectivity profiling, closely comparable to Pelago's CETSA-based targeted and proteome-wide profiling services.
• HD Biosciences (a WuXi AppTec company): Preclinical CRO offering cell-based assays, target validation, and drug discovery services for pharma and biotech, closely comparable to Pelago's biology-led service model with similar customer segments.
• Eurofins Panlabs: Discovery services unit within Eurofins providing cell-based and biochemical pharmacology assays for drug discovery, including target engagement and selectivity profiling, comparable in service scope to Pelago's CETSA platform.

Broad incumbents

• Evotec SE: Integrated drug discovery CRO offering biology, chemistry, ADME, and translational services across the DMTA cycle, directly comparable to Pelago's post-RG Discovery integrated platform but at significantly greater scale and geographic reach.
• Thermo Fisher Scientific (PPD): Through PPD, Thermo Fisher offers early-discovery, cell-based, and bioanalytical services to pharma and biotech, comparable in customer overlap and service breadth though not centered on a proprietary single assay like CETSA.
• Eurofins Discovery: Eurofins' discovery services division offers a broad portfolio of in vitro pharmacology, ADME, and bioanalytical services to pharma and biotech, directly overlapping Pelago's target engagement and ADME offerings but at much larger scale and without a proprietary single-platform focus.
• WuXi AppTec: Global CRO/CDMO with extensive target engagement, cell-based assay, and integrated drug discovery capabilities serving top-10 pharma, overlapping with Pelago's customer base and service portfolio but at substantially larger scale.
• Charles River Laboratories: Large CRO providing early-discovery services including cell-based assays, bioanalytics, and target engagement support to global pharma, comparable in customer base and service overlap but far broader in scope than Pelago's CETSA-centric offering.
• Crown Bioscience (a JSR Life Sciences company): Preclinical CRO offering translational and drug discovery services including cell-based assays and target validation, comparable in customer base and oncology focus to Pelago's oncology and translational segments.

Others

• Promega Corporation: Provider of cell-based assay reagents, tools, and services used in drug discovery target engagement workflows, adjacent to Pelago as an enabling technology supplier rather than a direct CRO competitor.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pelago-bioscience-ab

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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

M&A1 record

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Pelago Bioscience