ELRIG

What ELRIG does

ELRIG (European Laboratory Research & Innovation Group) is a UK-based not-for-profit organization that operates free-to-attend scientific conferences, forums, and networking events for the global drug discovery community. Incorporated in 2004 and headquartered at Salisbury House, Cambridge, ELRIG serves a network of more than 22,000 life science professionals spanning biopharma, biotech, CROs, academia, and industry vendors. The organization is volunteer-led, governed by a Board that delegates to Work Groups covering Scientific Programme and Early Career Professionals (ECP), supported by a small part-time staff team.

Its core product is a tiered event portfolio. The flagship is the Drug Discovery conference — a two-day event with 90 talks across multiple scientific tracks and 160-250 exhibitors attracting 2,500-3,000 delegates, now in its 20th year. This is complemented by regional one-day Forums (~100 delegates, 4 speakers), intimate Networking Events across Europe, and the ECP Programme offering dedicated webinars, awards, and career resources. Supporting technology is light: an EventsAir-powered mobile app for attendee networking, agenda access, and exhibitor lead scanning, plus an Exhibitor Portal for booth booking and GDPR-compliant delegate list management. The Breakthrough Zone provides reduced-cost exhibition space for young companies (fewer than 25 employees and/or turnover under £2.5M).

ELRIG operates on an open-access model with zero delegate fees, recovering costs through exhibitor booth sales, sponsorship packages, and corporate partnerships. Anchor sponsors — AstraZeneca, GSK, and Pfizer — both fund and host events at their own sites (Gothenburg, Stevenage, Cambridge MA). Scientific content is delivered through partnerships with Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult, Royal Society of Chemistry, SLAS, SBi2, SiLA, My Green Lab, and CNPEM. Marketing runs through organic social channels (LinkedIn, X, Instagram, YouTube, Bluesky), email newsletters, and a Resources Hub for on-demand webinars and speaker interviews. The published roadmap extends through 2031, locking venues at ExCeL London and the Liverpool Experience Campus.

Name

ELRIG

Legal name

ELRIG (UK) Ltd.

Website

https://elrig.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ELRIG is a UK not-for-profit running free-to-attend scientific conferences, forums, and networking events for a global community of 22,000+ drug discovery professionals, funded via exhibitor booth sales and corporate sponsorships from pharma companies such as AstraZeneca, GSK, and Pfizer.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Scientific Conferences & Events

akta.pro primary industry

Technology & Innovation Expos Organizers (THAHABAE)

Keywords

• Scientific conferences
• Drug discovery events
• Life science networking
• Exhibitor sponsorship
• Early career programmes

Headquarters

HQ city

Cambridge

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Exhibition and Sponsorship Revenue: ELRIG covers event costs through exhibitor booth sales, sponsorship packages, and corporate partnerships. Companies pay to exhibit at conferences and sponsor events, which subsidizes the free-to-attend model for delegates.
2. Corporate Sponsorships: Corporate sponsors including AstraZeneca, GSK, and Pfizer provide financial support to enable free events. These sponsorships help cover venue, catering, and operational costs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

ELRIG is a UK-based not-for-profit organization that runs free-to-attend scientific conferences, forums, and networking events for the global drug discovery and life science community. Its core offerings include the flagship biennial/annual Drug Discovery Conference (90 talks, 2,500–3,000 delegates, 160–250 exhibitors), regional Forums, intimate Networking Events, the Early Career Professionals programme, the Breakthrough Zone for young companies, and supporting digital platforms (Events App and Exhibitor Portal). All events are funded via corporate sponsorships and exhibitor booth sales.

Product overview

ELRIG is a not-for-profit organization offering a portfolio of free-to-attend scientific conferences and events for the global drug discovery community. The core offering consists of the flagship Drug Discovery Conference (2-day event with 90 talks, 2,500-3,000 delegates, and 160-250 exhibitors), supplemented by regional Forums (1-day, ~100 delegates), and Networking Events (intimate gatherings across Europe). The portfolio also includes the Early Career Professionals Programme providing dedicated webinars, resources, awards, and career support, plus the ELRIG Events App enabling attendee networking, agenda access, and exhibitor lead scanning. The Breakthrough Zone offers young companies reduced-cost exhibition opportunities with competition for main stage Innovation Awards.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Drug Discovery Conference ELRIG's flagship 2-day conference hosting 90 talks with approximately 2,500-3,000 delegates and 160-250 exhibitors. Features multiple scientific tracks covering therapeutic areas including mechanisms of ageing, cell & gene therapy, assay design, high-content imaging, target identification, and disease modelling. Free to attend for delegates.
• Regional Forums 1-day events offering targeted scientific content across different geographies (UK and Europe). Each forum features 4 speakers and a small table-top exhibition with around 100 delegates, creating an informal networking atmosphere for the life science community.
• Networking Events Intimate events held across Europe featuring 2 speakers, designed for forming meaningful connections and collaborations in a relaxed, interactive environment for life science professionals.
• Early Career Professionals (ECP) Programme Dedicated programme offering webinars, resources, awards (Kirsty Smitten Award, ECP Poster Award, ECP Impact Award), and networking opportunities specifically designed to support and uplift early career professionals (within 5 years of career start) in life sciences and drug discovery.
• Breakthrough Zone Dedicated space at Drug Discovery conferences for young companies (fewer than 25 employees and/or turnover under £2.5M) featuring A0 board space, tabletop exhibition, demonstration area, and flash presentation opportunities. Companies can compete for the Innovation Award for a main stage presentation slot.
• Cell and Gene Therapy 2026 Conference Inaugural Cell and Gene Therapy conference bringing together scientists, economists, patient advocates, and industry professionals to explore translational impact of breakthroughs in cell and gene therapy. Hosted at Hinxton Hall, Cambridge. Free to attend.
• Advances in Cell-based Screening 2026 Conference focusing on advancement of animal-replacement technologies and transition towards human-first, AI-driven drug discovery, hosted at AstraZeneca in Gothenburg, Sweden. Free to attend.
• Protein Sciences in Drug Discovery 2026 Scientific conference on protein sciences in drug discovery hosted at GSK's Stevenage facility. Free to attend.
• ELRIG Events App Mobile application (powered by EventsAir) for attendees at ELRIG events, containing networking information, agendas, exhibitor searches, messaging, notifications, and lead scanning capabilities for exhibitors. Available on iOS App Store and Google Play Store.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 2,500 delegates attend Drug Discovery flagship conference annually
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 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

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• SLASmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 December 2026Joint networking event in December 2026 bringing both communities together for scientific discussion and networking.
• AstraZenecacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate sponsor providing venue hosting for Cell-based Screening and other conferences. AstraZeneca hosts events at their Gothenburg site and provides executive speakers and conference directors.
• GSKcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate sponsor and venue host. GSK hosts Protein Sciences in Drug Discovery 2026 at their Stevenage facility.
• PfizercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate sponsor supporting ELRIG events and hosting Drug Discovery USA 2026 at their Cambridge, MA facility.
• Cell and Gene Therapy CatapultmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerScientific Content Partner for Drug Discovery conferences, providing science tracks and community members for the Cell and Gene Therapy track.
• Royal Society of ChemistrymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerScientific Content Partner providing Chemistry in Drug Discovery track and community expertise.
• SLASmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerScientific Content Partner providing Assay Development and Screening track. Co-hosting joint meet-up events.
• SBi2majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerScientific Content Partner providing Biomolecular Imaging and Informatics track content.
• CNPEM (Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on automated screening for drug discovery in Brazil, involving high-throughput screening platforms and bioassays.
• My Green LabminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner supporting sustainability track at Drug Discovery conferences, focusing on ethical research practices.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves2 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Drug Discovery World (DDW): DDW combines digital media, publications, and events around drug discovery. It is comparable to ELRIG in audience focus but operates a hybrid media-event model rather than pure conferences.
• Festival of Genomics and Biodata: A UK-based life sciences event focused on genomics and biodata. Comparable to ELRIG's free-to-attend forums in scope and target audience, especially within the bioinformatics community.

Regional players

• AACR (American Association for Cancer Research): AACR is the dominant US-based cancer research conference organizer. While focused on oncology rather than general drug discovery, it competes for exhibitor dollars and biopharma sponsors in the US market ELRIG is entering.

Broad incumbents

• BIO (Biotechnology Innovation Organization): BIO is the world's largest biotech trade association, hosting the BIO Convention and partnering with member organizations. It serves as a broader incumbent in life sciences events, with deeper corporate resources.
• Informa Life Sciences (part of Informa Connect): Informa operates a broad portfolio of life sciences conferences and events globally, including drug discovery content. As a much larger incumbent, it competes for sponsors and exhibitors while offering broader scale.

Direct peers

• Oxford Global: Oxford Global organizes life sciences and drug discovery conferences across the UK and Europe, directly competing with ELRIG for delegates, speakers, and exhibitor revenue in adjacent therapeutic areas.
• SLAS (Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening): SLAS is the US counterpart to ELRIG, organizing flagship conferences and events for the laboratory automation and screening community. The two organizations collaborate directly on joint meet-ups and scientific content, making them the most directly comparable peer.
• Cambridge Healthtech Institute (CHI): CHI runs a large portfolio of life sciences conferences including drug discovery tracks, with deep exhibitor and sponsor relationships across biopharma. It competes for the same exhibitor budget pool as ELRIG.
• Select Biosciences: Select Biosciences runs life sciences conferences with emphasis on emerging technologies, biomarkers, and drug discovery. It targets a similar audience of researchers and industry vendors.

Others

• Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC): RSC is a partner organization of ELRIG providing the Chemistry in Drug Discovery scientific track. While a broader scientific society, it has overlapping conference operations and membership base in life sciences.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ELRIG_SCIENCE
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@elrig_science
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/elrig
• Instagraminstagram.com/elrig_science

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 ELRIG