Which organisations are suitable for Taros integrated drug discovery services?

Taros supports pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, research institutes, academic groups and emerging drug-discovery ventures. The service is particularly relevant to organisations with a validated or emerging biological target that need external hit-finding, medicinal chemistry, computational chemistry or lead-optimisation capacity without coordinating several independent chemistry providers.

How is an integrated drug discovery programme structured?

Each programme begins with an assessment of the target, available biological data, screening strategy, chemistry starting point and desired candidate profile. Taros and the customer then define project milestones, decision criteria and go or no-go gates. Chemistry, screening and profiling results are reviewed throughout the programme so that resources can be focused on the most promising compound series.

How does Taros manage biology, ADME and DMPK work within an integrated programme?

Taros concentrates on drug discovery chemistry as its core discipline and works with established specialist partners for services such as disease biology, assay development, high-throughput screening, ADME, DMPK, pharmacology, X-ray crystallography, safety studies and physicochemical characterisation. This allows customers to access an integrated programme while retaining specialist expertise for each discipline.

How can Taros support US companies reviewing suppliers under the BIOSECURE Act?

The BIOSECURE Act became US law on 18 December 2025 and introduces restrictions involving certain biotechnology companies of concern in federally funded procurement, contracting and grant activities. Taros is an independent, privately owned CRO based in Dortmund, Germany, and can be considered by US organisations seeking to diversify their drug-discovery supplier base through a European chemistry partner. Customers should confirm the requirements applicable to their own contracts, grants and procurement policies.

What drug discovery experience does the Taros team have?

Taros reports more than 180 combined years of pharmaceutical research and development experience within its multidisciplinary drug discovery team. Its scientists have worked on more than 120 biomolecular targets across major gene families and therapeutic areas including oncology, neuroscience, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, inflammation, autoimmune disorders and rare diseases. Taros also led discovery chemistry activities within the European Lead Factory consortium.

Integrated Drug Discovery

Integrated Drug Discovery Plattform

Drug Discovery Journey

Taros Discovery collaborate with preferred biology partners for providing affordable end-to-end Integrated Drug Discovery solutions in Europe

Drug Discovery Platform

Hit Finding

Hit-to-Lead

Lead Optimization

Preclinical Development

Clinical Development

CADD (Virtual Screening, Scaffold Hopp, QSAR, Pharmacophore Modeling)

DEL-Screening (Serendipity by Design) (Fast & Cost effective)

Medicinal & Synthetic Chemistry (Innovative & Flexible Solutions)

Parallel Chemistry & Library Synthesis (Rapid synthesis)

Assay development & compound profiling (HTS); In vitro ADME & early Tox (First-Time-Right | Reliable & Reproducible data)

In Vivo Pharmacology & DMPK (PK-PD); GLP Safety & Toxicology

Translational Pharmacology bringing Clinical Reality into Lab with access to patients & clinical tissues

Solid-State Chemistry & early formulation

Process R&D / Scale up Chemistry

GMP Manufacture

TAROS

European Partners

Non-European Partners

Holistic drug discovery to create new drug candidates

Medicinal chemistry from hit validation to candidate selection
Expertise on many biomolecular targets across all main therapeutic areas
Partners for outsourcing disease biology, HTS, ADME, DMPK, X-ray crystallography, computational chemistry, molecular modeling and GMP Manufacturing
Strong track record in compound library design and production by parallel syntheses
Excellence in synthetic chemistry, process development as well as scale up to pilot plant
Preclinical Development in Solid-state chemistry, early formulation and ex-vivo toxicology

As Taros concentrates on drug discovery chemistry as core disciplines, discovery biology is typically outsourced to trusted and well-established partners as well as Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics (DMPK), Absorption Distribution Metabolism Excretion (ADME), X-ray crystallography, and physico-chemical properties determinations. Taros’ Scientists worked on targets from all major gene families and across main therapeutic areas, such as oncology, neuroscience, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, inflammation, autoimmune disorders and genetic and rare diseases. Our team with a diverse educational and cultural background stays up to date with recent trends in academia and industry on a routine basis. As a guiding principle, our scientists are focusing on scientific excellence and quality of our timely work results in all of Taros’ partnerships and collaborations.

Strong alliances and partnerships complement each other for your success

Together with our partners, we select the right set of drug discovery approaches and derive a coherent lead identification and optimization strategy based on available project and target information. Predefined criteria for meeting milestones and decision gates are typically agreed upon at the initiation of any project. We are entertaining a strong network with academia, pharma partners and within the private-public partnership sector. Our alliances also encompass a broad range of chemical biology expertise, such as biocatalysis & metabolite identification, surface chemistry for mammalian cell handling, peptidomimetics, mimicking the hypervariable domain of antibodies (Abs) and fragments antigen binding (Fabs), therapeutic peptide approaches, design of ligands and precursors for positron emission tomography (PET) studies, as well as regenerative medicine approaches.

Veteran management team and highly qualified scientists with relevant industry experience and a drug-hunting mentality
We are success-oriented and open-minded towards the type of drug discovery approach
Well-established network of partners for outsourcing disease biology, ADME, DMPK, etc.
Strong academic and industrial alliances encompassing a broad range of structural and chemical biology expertise, such as metabolite identification, therapeutic peptides, etc.
Experienced in the management of great research consortia like the European Lead Factory (ELF) consisting of 30 Partners
20 years of excellence in custom synthesis and organic chemistry research ensure molecules with optimised properties and patentability
Our own multi-purpose pilot plant facility in Asia for large-scale syntheses grants us access to a broad supplier network for building blocks, etc.

Looking for integrated drug discovery services?

In Medicinal Chemistry research, we are working with a broadly experienced team on all biomolecular targets from any gene family in any therapeutic area. Our expertise…

We routinely apply computer sciences in computational chemistry approaches and apply methods for structure-based drug design, in case structural data of the target…

High quality library design requires chemical creativity and profound synthesis knowledge to achieve the highest possible molecular diversity. Our efficient production…

Synthetic Organic Chemistry

Custom Synthesis

As a leading Contract Research Organization in Europe, Taros provides valuable contract discovery for synthetic organic chemistry, chemical process development, and…

Therapeutic Areas

Indications and Gene Families

We provide expertise on G-protein coupled receptors, nuclear (hormone) receptors, enzymes and transporters, ion channels, as well as protein-protein interactions and…

Looks interesting?

As a leading CRO in Europe, Taros provides comprehensive drug discovery chemistry services for large Pharma and Biotech corporations as well as for Research Institutes and Academia

Our experienced chemists practice a pragmatic culture and customer-centric approach in order to exceed project expectations and, despite challenges, bridge very narrow timelines. They are trained to consider economic, safety and ecological boundaries and conditions laid out for all stages of the project.

Frequently Asked Questions

What integrated drug discovery services does Taros Discovery provide?

Taros Discovery supports small-molecule drug discovery from hit identification through hit-to-lead, lead optimisation and candidate selection. Its chemistry-led platform combines DNA-encoded library screening, medicinal and synthetic chemistry, computational chemistry, parallel synthesis and compound-library production. Taros coordinates specialist partners when programmes require biology, assay development, ADME, DMPK, structural biology, toxicology, formulation or GMP manufacturing.

How does DNA-encoded library screening support hit identification at Taros?

Taros works with the Serengen DNA-encoded library platform to identify novel small-molecule starting points. Serengen applies an expanded range of on-DNA chemical reactions, medicinal-chemistry-focused library design and double-purification controls to generate drug-like, tractable hits while reducing artefacts and false-positive results. Selected hits can then progress directly into validation, hit expansion and medicinal chemistry.

What differentiates Taros’s integrated drug discovery model?

Taros combines medicinal chemistry, computational chemistry, DEL-enabled hit identification, parallel chemistry, compound-library production, process development and scale-up coordination within one chemistry-led model. Its Dortmund team manages the scientific programme while specialist partners provide complementary biology and development capabilities. This reduces the coordination burden associated with managing multiple unrelated providers.