Pelago Bioscience Acquires RG Discovery to Create Integrated Drug Discovery CRO Spanning Biology and Chemistry
核心洞察
Pelago Bioscience (搜索) has acquired RG Discovery (搜索), uniting cellular target engagement capabilities with medicinal chemistry and custom synthesis expertise under one organization.
The combined entity enables customers to advance drug discovery programs across the full design-make-test-analyze (DMTA) cycle with a single specialist partner.
Pelago's proprietary CETSA® platform provides direct in-cell target engagement data that can now feed directly into compound design, closing the chemistry-to-biology loop.
Pelago Bioscience (搜索), a specialist drug discovery-focused contract research organization (CRO), has announced the acquisition of RG Discovery (搜索), creating an integrated drug discovery partner that spans both biology and chemistry. The deal, announced on June 15, 2026, combines Pelago's industry-leading cellular target engagement capabilities with RG Discovery's deep medicinal chemistry and custom synthesis expertise.
The acquisition enables drug discovery teams to advance programs across the full design-make-test-analyze (DMTA) cycle with a single specialist partner, eliminating the vendor handoffs that typically slow progression from hit identification through lead optimization.
"Drug discovery increasingly requires seamless integration between chemistry and biology," said Michael Dabrowski, Chief Executive Officer of Pelago Bioscience (搜索). "By bringing RG Discovery (搜索) into Pelago Bioscience, we can offer customers a single scientific partner capable of designing and synthesizing compounds, evaluating target engagement in living cells, and rapidly feeding those insights back into the next design cycle. This combination strengthens our ability to help customers progress programs faster and with greater confidence."
Closing the Chemistry-to-Biology Loop
Central to the combined offering is Pelago Bioscience (搜索)'s proprietary Cellular Thermal Shift Assay (CETSA®)-based platform, which provides direct insight into how compounds engage their targets in living cells. Under the integrated structure, CETSA® data can feed directly back into RG Discovery (搜索)'s next round of compound design, creating a continuous chemistry-to-biology cycle that neither a standalone chemistry nor pure-biology CRO can offer.
The combination effectively closes the loop between compound design, synthesis, and market-leading direct in-cell target engagement, removing the fragmented workflows that have historically slowed drug discovery programs.
RG Discovery's Heritage and Capabilities
Founded in 2011 by former AstraZeneca scientists, RG Discovery (搜索) has built a reputation for solving complex chemistry challenges for biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. The company employs approximately 40 scientists and operates from Medicon Village in Lund, Sweden, where its facilities include extensive chemistry and analytical infrastructure supporting a broad range of drug discovery activities.
RG Discovery (搜索) provides medicinal chemistry, peptide chemistry, custom synthesis, ADME, bioanalysis, and related discovery services to customers worldwide.
"RG Discovery (搜索) has always focused on helping customers solve difficult scientific problems through close collaboration and deep technical expertise," said Johan Evenäs, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of RG Discovery. "Joining forces with Pelago Bioscience (搜索) allows us to expand that impact by combining world-class chemistry with world-class target engagement science. We are excited about the opportunities this creates for both our customers and our team."
Strategic Implications
By uniting biology-focused capabilities with chemistry expertise under one roof, the enlarged platform positions itself to accelerate decision-making and streamline workflows for drug discovery teams. Customers can now engage a single scientific partner from compound design and synthesis through to target engagement evaluation in living cells, with insights rapidly cycling back into iterative design—a model designed to compress timelines and increase confidence in program progression.