Fundacion MEDINA

What Fundacion MEDINA does

Fundación MEDINA (Fundación Centro de Excelencia en Investigación de Medicamentos Innovadores en Andalucía) is a nonprofit research foundation headquartered at the Parque Tecnológico de Ciencias de la Salud in Granada, Spain. Established in 2014 through a public-private partnership between the Junta de Andalucía, the University of Granada, and MSD, the foundation operates as a contract research organization specializing in drug discovery from microbial natural products. It holds exclusive ownership of one of the world's largest microbial collections — 190,000 strains — alongside natural products libraries comprising more than 135,000 extracts and fractions.

The foundation's platform spans the full early-stage drug discovery workflow: microbial cultivation and fermentation, natural products isolation and chemistry, mass spectrometry and NMR analytics, high-throughput biochemical and cell-based screening, CRISPR-based target validation, assay development for human pathogens, agriculture, and cosmetic applications, and preclinical development. Internal high-throughput screening programs concentrate on three strategic therapeutic areas: infectious and parasitic diseases (with an emphasis on resistant pathogens), oncology, and neurodegeneration. The same scientific capabilities are also commercialized as services for the agri-food and cosmetic industries in the form of bioactive compound discovery and metabolomics/biomarker work.

MEDINA monetizes its platform through collaborative research agreements, fee-for-service contracts, and licensing of discovered compounds with pharmaceutical, biotech, agri-food, and cosmetic companies, supported by institutional funding from regional and academic partners. It is ISO 9001 certified (audited by SGS), distributes services globally via direct enterprise sales, and reports no equity funding history beyond a single la Caixa event in September 2020. Revenue is not publicly disclosed.

Name

Fundacion MEDINA

Legal name

Fundación Centro de Excelencia en Investigación de Medicamentos Innovadores en Andalucía

Website

https://medinadiscovery.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Fundación MEDINA is a Spanish nonprofit research foundation that operates one of the world's largest microbial collections (190,000 strains) and natural products libraries (135,000+ extracts) to deliver drug discovery, high-throughput screening, and preclinical services to pharmaceutical, biotech, agri-food, and cosmetic clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Contract Research / Drug Discovery 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-Medical Laboratories (8071)

akta.pro primary industry

Metabolomics & Lipidomics Services (HLAGANAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

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

Keywords

• Microbial drug discovery
• Natural products research
• High throughput screening
• Preclinical development services
• Metabolomics biomarkers

Headquarters

HQ city

Granada

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Research Services: MEDINA offers research services for the discovery and development of new natural products and biomarkers, serving pharmaceutical, agri-food, cosmetic, and biotechnological sectors. The foundation generates revenue through collaborative research agreements, service contracts, and potentially licensing of discovered compounds.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Fundación MEDINA provides contract research services for the discovery and development of new natural products and biomarkers, leveraging one of the world's largest microbial collections (190,000 strains) and natural products libraries (over 135,000 extracts and fractions). The foundation offers an integrated workflow spanning microbiology and fermentation, natural products chemistry, high throughput screening across multiple therapeutic and industrial areas, preclinical development, and metabolomics/biomarker discovery, serving pharmaceutical, agri-food, cosmetic, and biotechnological clients.

Product overview

Fundación MEDINA is a research foundation offering a comprehensive suite of drug discovery and development services centered on microbial natural products. The organization operates one of the world's largest microbial collections (190,000 strains) and natural products libraries (over 135,000 extracts and fractions). Their services encompass Natural Products Discovery, Microbiology Services, Chemistry Services (including Mass Spectrometry and NMR), High Throughput Screening (HTS), Screening Services (Biochemical Assays, CRISPR-based gene editing, Cell-Based Assays, Human Pathogens Assays, Agriculture Assays, Cosmetic Assays), Preclinical Development, and Metabolomics Biomarkers Services. Research programs focus on strategic therapeutic areas: Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Oncology, and Neurodegeneration, with applications in pharmaceutical, agri-food, cosmetic, and biotechnological sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Natural Products Discovery Services
• Microbiology and Fermentation Services Cultivation, fermentation, and microbiological analysis services for microbial natural products research. Supports clients needing specialized microbiology and bioprocess capabilities.
• Chemistry Services (Natural Products Chemistry, Mass Spectrometry and NMR) Comprehensive chemistry services including natural products chemistry and mass spectrometry/NMR analysis. Used by pharmaceutical, agri-food, cosmetic, and biotechnology clients to characterize and develop natural product-derived compounds.
• High Throughput Screening (HTS) Internal High Throughput Screening programs focused on strategic therapeutic areas: Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Oncology, and Neurodegeneration. Supports pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients in identifying bioactive hits from natural product libraries.
• Screening Services Platform Comprehensive screening platform including Biochemical Assays, CRISPR-based gene editing, Cell-Based Assays, Human Pathogens Assays, Agriculture Assays, and Cosmetic Assays. Serves pharmaceutical, agricultural, and cosmetic industry clients.
• Preclinical Development Preclinical development services for drug candidates and biotechnology products, completing the discovery-to-development workflow for pharmaceutical clients.
• Metabolomics and Biomarkers Services Metabolomics and biomarkers discovery services with applications in pharmaceutical, agri-food, cosmetic, and biotechnological sectors.

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Junta de AndalucíacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional government of Andalusia, Spain. Major founding partner and supporter of Fundación MEDINA, providing institutional support and funding for the foundation's operations at the Health Sciences Technology Park in Granada.
• Universidad de GranadacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor academic partner and co-founding institution of Fundación MEDINA. Provides research collaboration, education, training programs, and access to academic expertise in pharmaceutical sciences and microbiology.
• MSDcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal pharmaceutical company identified as a founding partner of Fundación MEDINA. Engages in collaborative drug discovery research and development programs.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• IRBM S.p.A. Italian CRO providing drug discovery and preclinical development services, including medicinal chemistry, biology, and screening capabilities. Similar end-to-end CRO model and European academic-pharma hybrid positioning.
• Selvita S.A. Polish CRO offering integrated drug discovery services from target validation through preclinical development. Comparable service breadth (medicinal chemistry, in vitro/in vivo pharmacology, DMPK) and similar multi-sector client base.
• Naicons S.r.l. Italian CRO and natural products discovery organization focused on microbial secondary metabolites and drug lead identification. Closely mirrors MEDINA's microbial library-led drug discovery model and therapeutic area focus on infectious diseases and oncology.

Broad incumbents

• WuXi AppTec: Global CRO/CDMO offering comprehensive discovery, development, and manufacturing services. Comparable in integrated service offering from discovery through preclinical, but with vastly broader geographic footprint and capacity.
• Charles River Laboratories: Large global CRO with extensive discovery, safety assessment, and manufacturing services. Comparable in offering high-throughput screening and preclinical development, but at vastly larger scale and across a much broader therapeutic portfolio.
• Eurofins Discovery: Division of Eurofins Scientific providing drug discovery services including in vitro pharmacology, ADME, and compound screening. Comparable in offering assay services and natural product-derived bioactives to pharma and consumer health clients.
• Evotec SE: Global drug discovery alliance and development partnership company offering end-to-end services from target identification through clinical candidates. Comparable integrated discovery platform with similar multi-modality (small molecule, biologics) approach.

Others

• Vicuron Pharmaceuticals: Former anti-infectives company (acquired by Pfizer in 2005) that built a pipeline from natural product-derived antibiotics — historically comparable to MEDINA's microbial natural product focus on infectious disease drug discovery.

Emerging players

• NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals: US-based biotech developing novel antibiotics from uncultured bacteria using iChip technology. Comparable in its commitment to microbial natural products as a source of novel therapeutics, particularly for antimicrobial resistance.
• Aragen Life Sciences: India-headquartered CRO providing drug discovery, development, and contract manufacturing services. Comparable in offering integrated medicinal chemistry, biology, and in vitro ADMET services to pharma and biotech clients globally.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/MedinaDiscovery
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCSKbvuf5J7_rNiUpttBeJVQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/MEDINADiscovery
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fundacion-medina?trk=vsrp_companies_res_name&trkInfo=VSRPsearchId%3A477376791382595620855%2CVSRPtargetId%3A325701%2CVSRPcmpt%3Aprimary
• Instagraminstagram.com/fundacion_medina?igsh=a3p2cG40NmFkMnMz

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

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 Fundacion MEDINA