Pelago Bioscience Acquires RG Discovery to Deliver Fully Integrated Biology and Chemistry Drug Discovery CRO Platform

• Pelago Bioscience, a Stockholm-based drug discovery CRO specializing in cell-based target engagement through its proprietary CETSA® platform, has acquired RG Discovery, a Lund-based integrated drug discovery CRO with approximately 40 scientists and deep expertise in medicinal chemistry, peptide chemistry, custom synthesis, ADME, and bioanalysis — forming a single CRO partner capable of closing the loop between compound design, synthesis, and direct in-cell target engagement.

• The combination is designed to remove the vendor handoffs that slow programs from hit identification through lead optimization, enabling a continuous chemistry-to-biology cycle where compound synthesis data feeds directly back into next-round design decisions within a single, integrated outsourcing relationship.

Pelago Bioscience, a drug discovery CRO specializing in target engagement and target validation through its proprietary CETSA® technology platform, has announced the acquisition of RG Discovery, an integrated drug discovery CRO headquartered in Lund, Sweden. Announced on June 15, 2026, the transaction brings together Pelago Bioscience’s biology-focused capabilities with RG Discovery’s expertise in medicinal chemistry, peptide chemistry, custom synthesis, ADME, and bioanalysis — forming what the company positions as a fully integrated drug discovery partner spanning both disciplines.

The strategic rationale centers on closing a structural gap in how early drug discovery programs are typically outsourced. Pelago Bioscience’s CETSA®-based platform measures drug-target interactions directly in living cells and tissues, providing compound engagement data that is biologically direct and mechanistically informative. RG Discovery provides the chemistry capabilities — compound design, synthesis, and analytical characterization — that feed into that biological evaluation. By combining both under a single organization, the enlarged CRO platform enables a continuous design-synthesize-test-redesign cycle in which CETSA® engagement data feeds directly back into the next round of medicinal chemistry work, without the delays and information loss associated with transferring compounds between separate vendor organizations.

RG Discovery was founded in 2011 by former AstraZeneca scientists and has built a reputation for solving complex chemistry challenges across biotechnology and pharmaceutical drug discovery. The company employs approximately 40 scientists and operates from Medicon Village in Lund, Sweden, where its facilities include chemistry and analytical infrastructure supporting a broad range of discovery activities. Its client base spans the full spectrum of biopharma — from biotechnology companies running lean discovery programs that benefit most from integrated outsourcing to larger pharmaceutical organizations seeking specialist chemistry support for challenging synthetic targets.

For sponsors outsourcing drug discovery programs, the acquisition directly addresses the fragmentation that characterizes early-stage CRO relationships. Programs in hit identification and lead optimization routinely require coordination across separate chemistry and biology vendors, with data and compounds moving between organizations at each stage of the DMTA cycle. The integrated Pelago Bioscience and RG Discovery platform is designed to consolidate these relationships into a single, scientifically accountable CRO partner, supporting more rapid iteration and faster progression toward development candidates. Pelago Bioscience is headquartered in Stockholm; the combined organization now maintains capabilities across both Stockholm and Lund within Sweden’s established life sciences corridor.

“Drug discovery increasingly requires seamless integration between chemistry and biology. By bringing RG Discovery 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.”

Michael Dabrowski, Chief Executive Officer, Pelago Bioscience