What Peapod Bio does

Peapod Bio is a Chicago-based contract research organization founded in 2025 and operational since August 2025, providing small-molecule assay development and high-throughput screening (HTS) drug discovery services for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and academic customers. The company's core technical offering is a label-free MALDI mass spectrometry platform built on proprietary Polymeric Enrichment Arrays (PEAs) and the rapifleX MALDI Pharmapulse (MPP) mass spectrometer from Bruker Daltonics. PEAs enable rapid purification of target-small molecule complexes without chromatography, supporting what the company describes as the fastest commercial Affinity Selection Mass Spectrometry (ASMS) workflow (12 compounds per pool), with demonstrated screening capacity of one million compounds per week and data delivery in as little as 24 hours. The platform also supports enzyme activity assays, kinetic characterization, protein-protein interaction studies, and proximity-inducing modality screening, with orthogonal optical assay formats (fluorescence, luminescence, HTRF, AlphaLISA, fluorescence polarization) offered where best-fit. A 200,000-compound in-house library (average purity >95%), sourced via partnership with Enamine, underpins screening campaigns with IP-free hits for clients.

The business model is professional services fee-for-service revenue through project-based CRO contracts, with pricing quoted per project scope and a stated multi-year contract cadence for larger engagements. GTM is sales-led and event-driven: a partner-first direct sales motion targets pharma/biotech enterprises globally and academic institutions regionally, supported by complimentary feasibility projects to qualify prospects, and amplified through conference presence at SLAS International, SLAS Europe, Discovery on Target, regional meet-ups, partner-hosted webinars (e.g., with Bruker), and scientific content marketing. The four-person leadership team (CEO Zachary Gurard-Levin, Operations Director Flora Kimani, Technology Director Patrick O'Kane, and board director Michael Scholle) shares a direct SAMDI Tech / Charles River Labs lineage, lending operational and technical credibility to a newly formed CRO. No external funding rounds, institutional investors, or parent entities are disclosed; the company is privately held and founder-controlled, with current operations centered on a single Chicago headquarters.

Name

Peapod Bio

Legal name

Peapod Bio Inc.

Website

https://peapodbio.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2025

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Peapod Bio is a Chicago-based CRO offering label-free small-molecule assay development and high-throughput screening services for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and academic drug discovery programs, using proprietary polymeric enrichment arrays with Bruker MALDI mass spectrometry.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Contract Research Services (Drug Discovery CRO)

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

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

Keywords

• Contract research services
• High-throughput screening
• Small molecule assays
• Affinity selection mass spectrometry
• Label-free drug discovery

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. CRO Contract Research Services: Contract research organization providing fee-for-service assay development and high-throughput screening services. Revenue generated through project-based contracts with pharmaceutical companies, biotechs, and academic institutions. Partner-first model with collaboration throughout projects.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Peapod Bio is a contract research organization (CRO) that delivers small-molecule assay development and high-throughput screening drug discovery services powered by a proprietary label-free MALDI mass spectrometry platform using Polymeric Enrichment Arrays (PEAs). Its services span tailored biochemical assay development, ultra high-throughput screening, affinity selection mass spectrometry (ASMS) for binders identification, and access to a curated 200,000-compound library, sold through project-based contracts to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and academic clients.

Product overview

Peapod Bio is a contract research organization (CRO) offering a unified platform of drug discovery solutions centered on assay development and high-throughput screening. The core offering consists of Label-Free Technology Platform powered by MALDI mass spectrometry and proprietary Polymeric Enrichment Arrays (PEAs), complemented by Affinity Selection Mass Spectrometry (ASMS), Assay Development, and High-Throughput Screening services. The Small Molecule Libraries (200,000 compounds) serves as a key add-on resource for screening campaigns. The platform enables rapid identification of enzyme inhibitors, protein binders, molecular glues, and other proximity-inducing compounds for small molecule and peptide drug discovery programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Assay Development Tailored biochemical assay development service covering enzyme activity and binding interaction assays, including enzyme characterization, kinetic parameters, potency and selectivity profiling, and assay development for high-throughput screening. Designed for pharmaceutical, biotech, and academic drug discovery teams needing custom assay design on challenging targets.
• High-Throughput Screening (HTS) High-throughput screening service capable of screening up to one million compounds per week with decision-making data delivered in as little as 24 hours. Includes pilot HTS, full HTS campaigns, hit confirmation, IC50 determination, mechanism-of-action studies, and hit expansion. Targets pharmaceutical and biotech discovery programs needing rapid, high-quality screening data.
• Affinity Selection Mass Spectrometry (ASMS) ASMS service using Polymeric Enrichment Arrays (PEAs) and MALDI mass spectrometry to identify small molecule and peptide binders against diverse targets including proteins and oligonucleotides such as RNA. Delivers the fastest commercial ASMS workflow by eliminating chromatography and using only 12 compounds per pool, reducing compound misbehavior and improving detection of weak binders.
• Small Molecule Libraries Curated compound collection offered as a screening resource for client drug discovery programs. Includes 200,000 in-house diverse pharmacophore-like compounds (average purity >95%) available as single compounds for biochemical HTS and pools of 12 for ASMS, plus access to 5 million Enamine compounds for hit expansion and powder stocks for potency and selectivity profiling. Hits identified using the in-house library are delivered IP-free.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100-fold increase in sensitivity and signal-to-background compared to traditional ADP-Glo format (demonstrated in PAPD5 assay)
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• EnaminecoreTechnology or Integration · 1 December 2025Partnership with Enamine, a global leader in small-molecule libraries, provides Peapod Bio's in-house collection of 200,000 diverse pharmacophore-like compounds. Enamine also provides access to 5 million compounds for hit expansion and powder stocks for potency and selectivity profiling.
• Bruker DaltonicscoreTechnology or IntegrationBruker provides the rapifleX MALDI Pharmapulse (MPP) mass spectrometer - the core instrumentation platform for Peapod Bio's label-free assay technology. This is a technology supply partnership essential to Peapod Bio's service delivery.
• SLAS (Society of Laboratory Automation and Screening)minorOthersPeapod Bio CEO Zachary Gurard-Levin serves as Treasurer and Board Member of SLAS. Company sponsors and participates in SLAS conferences and regional meet-ups.
• Tango BiosciencesminorOthersZachary Gurard-Levin serves on Tango Biosciences' Board of Directors. Tango Biosciences is a Chicago-based CRO developing affinity reagents using phage display. Michael Scholle is CEO of Tango Biosciences and serves on Peapod Bio's Board.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Promega: Provider of biochemical and cell-based assay reagents and platforms (e.g., ADP-Glo). While not a direct CRO competitor, Promega's installed label-based assay base defines the legacy technology Peapod Bio's label-free platform aims to displace, making it an adjacent comparator.
• Evotec: Large integrated drug discovery CRO with HTS, ASMS, and assay development capabilities. Comparable to Peapod Bio's core service lines but operates at significantly greater scale with broader modality coverage and preferred-vendor status across major pharma.
• Eurofins Discovery: Large, global CRO offering assay development, HTS, compound libraries, and ADME-Tox services. Overlaps Peapod Bio's drug-discovery solutions portfolio but as part of a much broader service menu and across a far larger geographic footprint.
• Charles River Laboratories: Top-3 global CRO that acquired SAMDI Tech and now competes head-to-head with Peapod Bio in label-free MS HTS. Its incumbent preferred-vendor relationships and global scale make it the most significant competitor Peapod Bio faces for new logos.

Others

• MedChemExpress (MCE): Supplier of small-molecule libraries, biochemicals, and reference compounds frequently used alongside HTS CROs. Indirectly comparable to Peapod Bio because it competes on library supply (where Enamine is a direct partner) and shapes what CROs can offer clients.

Regional players

• Domainex: UK-based drug discovery CRO offering assay development, HTS, and medicinal chemistry. Comparable in size and service mix to Peapod Bio, but primarily serves European customers and does not directly compete in the U.S. market where Peapod Bio is focused.

Emerging players

• HD Biosciences (a WuXi AppTec company): Drug discovery CRO acquired by WuXi AppTec offering assay development and HTS for novel targets. Comparable to Peapod Bio in its early-stage CRO origins and target-class specialization, though operating under a much larger parent organization.

Direct peers

• Reaction Biology: CRO specializing in biochemical assay development, enzyme profiling, and high-throughput screening for small-molecule discovery. Closely overlaps Peapod Bio's assay development and HTS offering, though Reaction Biology relies primarily on label-based readouts.
• Axxam: Italy-headquartered HTS CRO with deep expertise in biochemical and cell-based assays, including ASMS and label-free screening. Comparable to Peapod Bio in target breadth, scale (~1M-well capacity), and customer base of pharma/biotech screening groups.
• Charles River SAMDI (formerly SAMDI Tech): Acquired in 2021 by Charles River Labs, SAMDI Tech originated the label-free MALDI-MS HTS approach. It is the direct technological predecessor of Peapod Bio and the most comparable peer; Peapod's founders and even the underlying PEA chemistry trace back to this organization.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/peapod-bio

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Peapod Bio