Thermo Fisher Scientific Launches Shared-Access Cryo-EM Drug Discovery Center in California

• Thermo Fisher Scientific has launched a Cryo-Electron Microscopy (cryo-EM) Drug Discovery Center in South San Francisco to support pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies developing new medicines.

• The facility provides shared access to advanced cryo-EM instruments and expert scientific support to help researchers integrate structural biology into drug discovery programs. 

Thermo Fisher Scientific has launched a Cryo-Electron Microscopy (cryo-EM) Drug Discovery Center in South San Francisco, California, aimed at helping pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies integrate structural biology into their drug discovery programs. The center is located in Oyster Point within the Bay Area’s biotech corridor and provides access to advanced cryo-EM instrumentation and scientific expertise. 

The facility is designed as a shared-access site where drug developers can work directly with experienced cryo-EM scientists and utilize specialized microscopy tools in a collaborative environment. According to the company, the center allows organizations to evaluate and adopt cryo-EM workflows without building their own infrastructure. 

Cryo-electron microscopy enables researchers to visualize the three-dimensional structure of biological molecules, including proteins, at near-atomic resolution. These structural insights can support structure-based drug design, which uses detailed molecular information to guide the development of targeted therapies. 

“At Thermo Fisher, so much of what we do is grounded in helping our customers bring life-saving medicines to patients faster and more effectively. 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.”

Glyn Davies, president of Materials & Structural Analysis at Thermo Fisher

The South San Francisco site is Thermo Fisher’s second shared-access cryo-EM facility. It follows the company’s Pharmaceutical Cryo-EM Consortium launched in Cambridge, United Kingdom, in 2016. Both initiatives aim to lower barriers to using cryo-EM, a technology that can expand the range of biological targets studied and support the development of new therapies.