Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre
CCDC is a UK-registered charity that maintains the Cambridge Structural Database — the world's largest curated repository of small-molecule crystal structures (1.4M+ entries) — and licenses software tools (GOLD docking, ConQuest, Mercury, CSD-Particle, CSD-Theory) to pharmaceutical, agrochemical, materials, and academic customers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1965
- HeadquartersCambridge, United Kingdom
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre does
Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre (CCDC) is a UK-registered charity (No. 800579) founded in 1965 that maintains and licenses the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD), the world's largest curated repository of validated small-molecule organic and metal-organic crystal structures, currently containing over 1.4 million accurate 3D entries derived from X-ray, neutron, and electron diffraction analyses dating back to the 1920s. It sells a portfolio of software suites — CSD-Community (free), CSD-Core, CSD-Discovery, CSD-Materials, CSD-Frameworks, CSD-Enterprise, with CSD-Particle and CSD-Theory as paid add-ons — plus individual tools such as GOLD protein-ligand docking, ConQuest search, CSD-CrossMiner pharmacophore mining, Mercury visualization, CSD Python API, and WebCSD browser access. The organization is headquartered in Cambridge, UK with a US subsidiary in Boston, MA, and operates worldwide via regional distributors.
CCDC sells enterprise software primarily to pharmaceutical, agrochemical, and functional-materials customers — 9 of the top 10 global pharmaceutical companies are customers, alongside all three leading agrochemical firms (Bayer, BASF, Syngenta), automotive/energy customers (Toyota Motor Europe), and a long tail of academic institutions served through discounted licenses and FAIRE grants in 80+ eligible countries. Revenue is generated through tiered, annual seat- or site-based subscriptions, with CSD-Discovery and CSD-Enterprise commanding the highest price points for pharma R&D departments, and an additional professional services revenue stream covering scientific, technical, data-management, and bespoke-training consultancy engagements.
As a non-profit charitable institution, CCDC reinvests revenue into database curation, software R&D, and community programs — including PhD studentships, awards, sponsorships, free data deposition, free educational tools (Free Mercury, EnCIFer, CSD Symmetry, CSD Teaching Subset), and the CSP Blind Test collaborative research initiative. Recent strategic emphasis has shifted toward embedding GOLD docking inside AI-native and cloud-native partners (Sapio ELaiN, OpenEye Orion, Dassault BIOVIA 3DEXPERIENCE) and extending product coverage beyond drug discovery into crystal structure prediction (CSD-Theory), manufacturing-bottleneck prediction (CSD-Particle), and MOF/porous functional materials (CSD-Frameworks).
Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre
- Legal name
- Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre
- Website
- https://ccdc.cam.ac.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1965
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- CCDC is a UK-registered charity that maintains the Cambridge Structural Database — the world's largest curated repository of small-molecule crystal structures (1.4M+ entries) — and licenses software tools (GOLD docking, ConQuest, Mercury, CSD-Particle, CSD-Theory) to pharmaceutical, agrochemical, materials, and academic customers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Scientific and Computational Chemistry Software
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (51321), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171)
- SIC
- Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Cheminformatics & Molecular Modeling / CADD (HLAGAJAE)
Keywords
Where Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Cambridge
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices3 records
Markets served
Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Software License Subscriptions: CCDC generates revenue primarily through annual and multi-year software license subscriptions for commercial and academic users. Licenses are tiered (CSD-Community free, CSD-Core, CSD-Discovery, CSD-Materials, CSD-Enterprise paid suites) with add-on packages (CSD-Particle, CSD-Theory). Commercial licenses are priced per seat or site; academic institutions receive significant discounts. The revenue funds database maintenance, curation, and charitable community activities.
- CSD Data Access and Downloads: Revenue is partially derived from providing access to the curated Cambridge Structural Database. The free Access Structures service allows limited downloads while full licensed access unlocks complete data and advanced search capabilities. Multiple journal/publisher subscriptions are no longer required when accessing data through the CSD.
- Consultancy Services: CCDC offers consultancy services spanning scientific consultancy (protein-ligand docking, solid form/polymorph analysis), technical consultancy (custom scripts/workflows), data management (FAIR data curation), and bespoke training. These services range from rapid one-off projects to long-term partnerships with top pharma companies.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Free | CSD-Community (Free) — Free tools and data for non-commercial community use |
| Subscription | Annual | CSD-Core — Full CSD access with essential search, visualization and analysis |
| Subscription | Annual | CSD-Discovery — Computer-aided drug discovery software suite |
| Subscription | Annual | CSD-Materials — Solid form analysis and materials design |
| Subscription | Annual | CSD-Enterprise — End-to-end molecular design with all software suites |
| Subscription | Annual | CSD-Particle (Add-on) — Particle behaviour and manufacturing prediction |
| Subscription | Annual | CSD-Theory (Add-on) — Crystal structure prediction landscape management |
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels7 records
Marketing channels12 records
Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CCDC curates and licenses the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) — the world's largest repository of experimentally validated small-molecule organic and metal-organic crystal structures with over 1.4 million entries — and develops an integrated suite of scientific software for searching, visualizing, and analyzing these structures. Its products support protein-ligand docking (GOLD), pharmacophore mining (CSD-CrossMiner), solid form analysis (CSD-Materials), particle behaviour prediction (CSD-Particle), crystal structure prediction (CSD-Theory), and porous materials design (CSD-Frameworks), sold primarily to pharmaceutical, agrochemical, and academic institutions.
Product overview
CCDC operates as a platform-plus-modules architecture built around the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) — the world's largest curated repository of small-molecule organic and metal-organic crystal structures, established in 1965 with over 1.4 million validated 3D structures. The software portfolio is organized into software suites (CSD-Community, CSD-Core, CSD-Discovery, CSD-Materials, CSD-Frameworks, CSD-Enterprise) and individual tools (ConQuest, CSD-CrossMiner, Mercury, Free Mercury, GOLD, WebCSD, On-Site WebCSD, CSD Python API, CSD-Theory Web, CSD-Theory API, CSD Landscape Generator, CSD Conformer Generator, IsoStar, Mogul, Hermes, SuperStar, EnCIFer, CellCheckCSD, CSD Symmetry, CSD-Editor). Add-on packages (CSD-Particle, CSD-Theory) extend capabilities for particle behaviour prediction and crystal structure prediction landscape management. Data products include the CSD MOF Collection and CSD Teaching Subset. A consultancy services arm provides scientific, technical, and training services. All tools and data support pharmaceutical, agrochemical, academic, crystallography, functional materials, and teaching sectors.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) World's largest curated repository of validated small-molecule organic and metal-organic crystal structures, established in 1965 with over 1.4 million accurate 3D structures derived from X-ray, neutron, and electron diffraction analyses; CoreTrustSeal certified, FAIR-compliant, and citable via DOIs. Foundational data asset for all CCDC software.
- ConQuest Advanced 3D searching software for the Cambridge Structural Database enabling chemical substructure search, 3D geometric searching, intermolecular contact searching, text and numeric database search, with results directly analyzable by other CCDC tools.
- CSD-CrossMiner
- Mercury (Full Version)
- Free Mercury
- GOLD
- WebCSD
- CSD Python API
- IsoStar
- Mogul
- Hermes
- SuperStar
- EnCIFer
- CellCheckCSD
- CSD Symmetry
- CSD-Editor
- On-Site WebCSD
- CSD-Community
- CSD-Core
- CSD-Discovery
- CSD-Materials
- CSD-Enterprise
- CSD-Frameworks
- CSD-Particle
- CSD-Theory
- CSD MOF Collection
- CSD Teaching Subset
- Consultancy Services
Quantifiable outcome
- CSD-validated data helped Novartis discover compounds with 50% increase in potency for SMA treatment
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre
Customer profileNamed customers27 records
Segments7 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration12 records
AI capability8 records
Feature14 records
Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Sapio SciencescoreStrategic AI technology partnership bringing GOLD Protein-Ligand Docking capabilities to Sapio ELaiN — the world's first 3rd-generation AI laboratory notebook. Integrates CCDC's GOLD docking technology into Sapio's AI-powered laboratory information management system for enhanced digital drug design workflows.
- OpenEye, Cadence Molecular SciencescoreCollaboration provides GOLD protein-ligand docking on OpenEye's cloud-native Orion platform. Enables computational and medicinal chemists to streamline and enhance GOLD protein-ligand docking workflows on the Orion platform, a key step in pharmaceutical development.
- Dassault Systèmes (BIOVIA)coreAccess to trusted GOLD protein-ligand docking within BIOVIA's fully cloud-based 3DEXPERIENCE platform. Provides computational chemistry capabilities integrated into Dassault Systèmes' broader materials simulation and life sciences portfolio.
- CSD Data PartnershipscoreCSD Data Partnerships involve collaborative data sharing arrangements with organizations contributing crystal structure data to the Cambridge Structural Database. Partners include academic institutions, pharmaceutical companies, and research organizations worldwide that deposit and validate structural data.
- CSP Blind Test PartnerscoreThe CSD Crystal Structure Prediction (CSP) Blind Test is a collaborative initiative where computational chemistry teams worldwide attempt to predict crystal structures. This initiative advances solid form prediction science and validates CCDC's CSD-Theory tools.
- Industry-led Development PartnersminorCollaborative development arrangements where industry partners contribute to the direction and feature development of CSD software, ensuring tools meet real-world pharmaceutical and materials science needs.
- CSD Champions CommunityminorCSD Champions are volunteer community advocates who promote CSD tools and data within their institutions and broader scientific community, providing peer support and feedback to CCDC.
Scale indicators18 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Schrödinger: Public computational chemistry and molecular simulation software company serving pharma and materials science. Both CCDC and Schrödinger provide physics-based software for structure-based drug design with overlapping customers among top pharma companies. Schrödinger is a key direct competitor in molecular modeling software and an alternative platform for GOLD docking.
- OpenEye (Cadence Molecular Sciences): Molecular modeling and cheminformatics software company, now part of Cadence Design Systems. Both companies provide computational chemistry tools for drug discovery, with CCDC's GOLD docking integrated into OpenEye's Orion cloud platform — making them both collaborators and direct competitors in computational drug design.
- Chemical Computing Group (CCG): Developer of MOE (Molecular Operating Environment), a leading commercial drug discovery software platform. Both serve pharma computational chemistry needs with structure-based design and ligand-based tools, and GOLD docking is integrated into MOE, making CCG a direct competitor in pharma drug design software suites.
- Cresset: Computational chemistry software company specializing in ligand-based drug design and molecular field analysis. Both serve medicinal chemistry teams in pharma with structure-activity relationship tools and field-based molecular comparison, competing for the same pharma computational chemistry budgets.
- ICDD (International Centre for Diffraction Data): Non-profit scientific organization maintaining the Powder Diffraction File database for inorganic crystalline materials. Both are scientific data repositories serving crystallography communities with curated experimental diffraction data, though CCDC focuses on small-molecule single-crystal structures while ICDD specializes in powder diffraction patterns.
Broad incumbents
- Dassault Systèmes BIOVIA: Large life sciences and materials science software division of Dassault Systèmes offering the 3DEXPERIENCE platform. Both compete and collaborate, with CCDC's GOLD docking integrated into BIOVIA's platform. BIOVIA serves a broader portfolio of pharma, materials, and industrial customers with a much larger R&D budget.
- Dotmatics: Scientific R&D informatics platform (now part of Siemens) serving pharma and biotech with data management, ELN, and analysis tools. While Dotmatics focuses on broader R&D informatics workflows, CCDC provides specialized structural chemistry tools that often integrate alongside Dotmatics in enterprise pharma informatics environments.
- RCSB Protein Data Bank: Global open-access repository for 3D structural data of biological macromolecules (proteins, nucleic acids). CCDC's CSD-CrossMiner actually mines PDB data alongside CSD, making PDB a complementary data source rather than direct competitor — though both serve structural biology communities with curated experimental structural data.
Emerging players
- Sapio Sciences: AI-native laboratory informatics platform (Sapio ELaiN) with integrated CCDC GOLD docking capability. Represents an emerging player in AI-augmented lab informatics where CCDC's docking tools are being deployed as embedded components, signaling a potential new distribution channel but also a future competitive threat.
Regional players
- MolPort: Chemical sourcing marketplace and informatics platform connecting buyers and sellers of research compounds. While serving different primary needs, MolPort operates in the chemistry research tools ecosystem where CCDC's structural data is also used for compound characterization and cheminformatics workflows.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre social profiles
Digital presenceCambridge Crystallographic Data Centre compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre
What does Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre do?
CCDC curates and licenses the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) — the world's largest repository of experimentally validated small-molecule organic and metal-organic crystal structures with over 1.4 million entries — and develops an integrated suite of scientific software for searching, visualizing, and analyzing these structures. Its products support protein-ligand docking (GOLD), pharmacophore mining (CSD-CrossMiner), solid form analysis (CSD-Materials), particle behaviour prediction (CSD-Particle), crystal structure prediction (CSD-Theory), and porous materials design (CSD-Frameworks), sold primarily to pharmaceutical, agrochemical, and academic institutions.
Is Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre a public or private company?
Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre founded?
Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre was founded in 1965. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre based?
Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre is headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Software License Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are CSD Data Access and Downloads and consultancy Services.
Who are Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Schrödinger, OpenEye (Cadence Molecular Sciences), Chemical Computing Group (CCG), Cresset and ICDD (International Centre for Diffraction Data). Broad incumbents are Dassault Systèmes BIOVIA, Dotmatics and RCSB Protein Data Bank. Sapio Sciences is listed as an emerging player. MolPort is listed as a regional player.
Does Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre have an API?
Yes. The CSD Python API provides programmatic, custom, repeatable search and analysis of structural chemistry data. It enables high-throughput analysis of multiple structures, tailored scripting, and integration with workflows. Available across all CSD software suites including CSD-Community, CSD-Core, CSD-Discovery, CSD-Materials, CSD-Theory, and CSD-Enterprise. Developer documentation is at www.ccdc.cam.ac.uk/solutions/software/csd-python.
What industry is Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre in?
Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre's product category is Scientific and Computational Chemistry Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAGAJAE, Cheminformatics & Molecular Modeling / CADD. Its NAICS code is 51321 and its SIC code is 3826.