Key Organics

What Key Organics does

Key Organics Limited, founded in 1986 and headquartered in Camelford, Cornwall, UK, is a privately held contract research organization (CRO) that supplies synthetic organic chemistry services and a proprietary BIONET chemical compound catalogue to the global life-sciences industry. The company operates from a single UK site comprising 360m2 of laboratory space with 38 fume hoods, plus a 100m2 scale-up facility with six walk-in fume hoods and benchtop-to-30-litre vessel capacity, and is equipped for in-house analytical work including NMR (Bruker 400MHz), LC/LCMS, GC, DSC and Karl Fischer titration.

Its core product surface is dual: a catalogue business (the BIONET brand, with over 344,000 compounds split across biochemicals, building blocks/research intermediates, fragment libraries, and screening compounds, of which over 90% is held in stock) and a services business spanning custom synthesis, fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD) support, targeted protein degradation (TPD) chemistry, compound procurement and management, process development and scale-up, analytical services, and PRINCE2-accredited consultancy. Pricing is unit-based for catalogue SKUs (typically $50–$500 for mg quantities, with bulk/kg pricing on request) and fee-for-service (FFS) or full-time-equivalent (FTE) for custom chemistry engagements. The company sells globally through its own e-commerce storefront, direct phone/email sales, account portals, trade shows, LinkedIn, and downloadable BIONET databases; it achieved ISO 9001:2015 accreditation (UKAS, certificate FS-803271) in February 2025 and underwent a change of ownership in the same month. Customers include pharma, biotech, agrochemical, academic and virtual-discovery organizations across more than 40 countries, with named enterprise relationships including Heptares Therapeutics (six-year FFS/FTE partnership), TopiVert, Sygnature Discovery, GreyWolf Therapeutics and PolyActiva.

Name

Key Organics

Legal name

Key Organics Limited

Website

https://keyorganics.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Key Organics is a UK-based contract research organization founded in 1986 that supplies the BIONET chemical compound catalogue (344,000+ products) and custom synthetic organic chemistry services to global pharmaceutical, biotechnology, agrochemical, and academic life-sciences customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Camelford

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. BIONET Product Sales: Sale of chemical compounds from the BIONET catalogue including biochemicals, building blocks, fragment libraries, and screening compounds. Products sold in various pack sizes from milligrams to kilograms. Revenue recognized upon product shipment.
2. Custom Synthesis Services: Fee-for-service (FFS) and full-time equivalent (FTE) contract chemistry services for hit-to-lead, lead optimization, process development, and scale-up. Projects range from single compound synthesis to multi-year collaborative R&D engagements.
3. Compound Management Services: Standalone and integrated compound procurement, storage, formatting, and distribution services. Includes reaction-ready precursors, assay-ready formats, and compound management for клиентов.
4. Analytical Services: High-end analytical services including compound identification, purity screening, purification, HPLC/GC method development for pharmaceutical, agrochemical, petrochemical and allied industries.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Key Organics is a specialty contract research organization (CRO) providing synthetic organic chemistry services and the proprietary BIONET catalogue of over 344,000 chemical compounds for the global life sciences industry. Offerings span catalogue product sales (biochemicals, building blocks, fragment libraries, screening compounds) plus custom synthesis, process development and scale-up, compound management, analytical services, and consultancy for pharmaceutical, biotech, agrochemical, and academic customers from milligram to kilogram quantities.

Product overview

Key Organics is a contract research organization (CRO) providing a dual offering of BIONET-branded chemical products and bespoke chemistry services. The BIONET product portfolio comprises four main sub-brands: Biochemicals (5,600+ bioactives and metabolites), Building Blocks/Research Intermediates (283,000+ compounds including organosilicon, amino acids, and stable isotopes), Fragment Libraries (45,300+ fragments across Premium, Fluorine, Bromine, Covalent, and PROTAC collections), and Screening Compounds (103,000+ screening compounds). Services include Custom Synthesis, Process Development & Scale-up, Fragment Services, Targeted Protein Degradation, Compound Management, Analytical Services, and Consultancy. The products and services are designed to support drug discovery from early hit identification through preclinical development, with the BIONET collections feeding into service solutions and vice versa.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BIONET: The BIONET brand encompasses the company's chemical compound product portfolio including biochemicals, building blocks, fragment libraries, and screening compounds

Products and services

• BIONET Biochemicals

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 90% of products in stock with same day despatch capability
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 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

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Heptares TherapeuticscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSix-year collaborative relationship delivering both FFS contracts and FTE contracts. Key Organics has contributed to Heptares Therapeutics drug discovery efforts through custom chemistry services and intellectual input from scientists.
• Sygnature DiscoverycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPreferred partner for compound procurement services including sourcing, procurement, reformatting into vials, and shipment. Key Organics processed BIONET compounds and acquired partner compounds for Sygnature.
• TopiVertcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-gram re-synthesis and route development projects. Key Organics demonstrated professionalism and candour, communicating clearly and rapidly when obstacles were encountered.
• GreyWolf TherapeuticscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCompound management service including sourcing, procurement, QC analysis, reformatting into 96 well plates and cold shipment of commercially available compounds in assay-ready format.
• PolyActiva Pty. Ltd.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProcess development and scale-up collaboration including work on critical components for phase 1 program. Key Organics provided creative solutions and flexibility with scope changes.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/key-organics
• Xx.com/keyorganics

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Key Organics