Thermo Fisher Scientific, the world leader in serving science, today announced the opening of its Cryo-Electron Microscopy (cryo-EM) Drug Discovery Center (CDDC) in South San Francisco. The new center provides pharmaceutical and biotechnology innovators with immersive, hands-on access to advanced cryo-EM technologies designed to accelerate structural insights and the development of life-saving therapies.

Accelerating Drug Discovery with Cryo-EM
The CDDC provides direct access to advanced cryo-EM innovation and scientific expertise while significantly lowering the barriers to adoption. The use of cryo-EM not only expands the range of therapeutic targets and advanced therapies for structure-based methods but also can help pharmaceutical companies get drugs to clinics faster. Structure-guided drugs have more than twice the rate of clinical success in half the preclinical time and at half the cost, compared with industry standards.

“At Thermo Fisher, so much of what we do is grounded in helping our customers perform research that brings life-saving medicines to patients faster and more effectively,” said Glyn Davies, president of Materials & Structural Analysis. “The opening of our Cryo-EM Drug Discovery Center creates a collaborative environment where scientists can directly harness the power of Cryo-EM to better understand disease at the molecular level and accelerate therapeutic development.”

Building on a Decade of Collaboration
The opening of the center in the Oyster Point area of South San Francisco builds on the success of the UK Pharmaceutical Cryo-EM Consortium, established in Cambridge, United Kingdom, in 2016. Now celebrating its 10-year anniversary, the consortium represents a longstanding collaboration between Thermo Fisher Scientific and five leading pharmaceutical companies. Modeled after this proven partnership framework, the new U.S.-based CDDC will include founding customer members to extend this collaborative approach to the North American market.

Located in Oyster Point — in the heart of Bay Area biotechnology innovation — the CDDC combines state-of-the-art cryo-EM instrumentation with a collaborative and collegial scientific environment for pharmaceutical and biotechnology innovators who are looking to expedite the path from discovery to development. A contingent of customers and partners are expected to attend the event, underscoring the strong industry interest in advancing structure-based drug discovery through the use of cryo-EM.