Choosing the Right CRO for Medicinal Chemistry: What Really Matters

In small molecule drug discovery, things move fast—and sometimes unpredictably. The right Contract Research Organisation (CRO) can help keep your program on track. The wrong one can slow things down, or worse, set you back entirely.

If you’re working on a lead series, exploring new chemical space, or preparing for preclinical development, partnering with a CRO that specialises in medicinal chemistry isn’t just helpful—it’s essential.

At Epichem, this is what we do every day. We work with biotech, pharma, and not-for-profits around the world to design, synthesise and optimise small molecules for early-stage drug discovery. And over the years, we’ve learned what clients value most in a CRO partnership.

It starts with real chemistry expertise

Not every CRO offering chemistry services has real medicinal chemistry depth. But when your success hinges on SAR development, synthetic efficiency, and route optimisation, you need a team that understands both the science and the strategy.

At Epichem, our team is built around experienced, PhD-qualified chemists—many of whom have worked in pharma, biotech and academic drug discovery programs. We’ve contributed to projects in oncology, anti-infectives, rare disease, ophthalmology and more.

Whether it’s designing a library, troubleshooting a tough synthesis, or evaluating alternate scaffolds, our chemists bring practical solutions and scientific insight to the table.

Flexibility is baked into how we work

Drug discovery is rarely a straight line. Priorities shift. Timelines get compressed. Budgets stretch or shrink. We understand that, and we’ve built our project models to reflect it.

Some of our clients engage us for short, targeted synthesis work—just a few weeks. Others run multi-year collaborations with full-time Epichem scientists integrated into their programs. We support both, and everything in between.

FTEs, fixed-fee work, one-off syntheses, compound resupply—we keep it flexible so you can move at the pace your program demands.

Communication makes or breaks a project

Scientific capability is one thing. But if you’re not getting timely updates, clear reporting, or fast responses, even the best chemistry won’t help.

Every Epichem project is supported by a dedicated scientific lead and project manager. We give you one consistent point of contact, regular updates (weekly, biweekly or whatever works best for you), and transparency throughout.

We also believe in proactive communication. If a synthesis isn’t going to plan, you’ll know—and we’ll come to you with options, not just problems.

“Epichem was great to work with—very friendly, responsive to our needs, and efficient. I particularly liked that the regular project updates were delivered without having to be requested.”
— Biotechnology client, Australia

Quality that holds up under pressure

When you're running early discovery work, decisions often hinge on data from just a few key compounds. That’s why reliability and reproducibility are non-negotiable.

At Epichem, all compounds are fully characterised in-house. Our facilities include advanced instrumentation (HPLC, LC-MS, NMR and more) and we maintain detailed internal tracking for every project, from sample receipt to compound dispatch.

We also take IP seriously. Everything we produce for you—data, compounds, insights—belongs to you. Full stop.

A CRO that sees the bigger picture

We’ve worked on projects from hit identification through to candidate selection. Some of our partners come to us with a rough concept and a handful of ideas. Others bring a defined target and a clear lead series to optimise.

In both cases, our role is the same: support your team with high-quality medicinal chemistry that helps move your project forward.

One example: for over a decade, we’ve led the chemistry for a not-for-profit developing treatments for neglected diseases. We’ve synthesised thousands of compounds, managed their compound logistics, and contributed to strategic decision-making around series selection and IP. We’ve also supported biotech clients in The USA, Europe, and Australia with challenging scaffold development, SAR design, and scale-up for preclinical work.

We work at your pace—and scale when needed

One of the advantages of working with Epichem is that we’re big enough to support multi-FTE projects, but small and focused enough to pivot quickly when things change.

We operate out of purpose-built labs in Perth, Australia, equipped for milligram to multi-gram synthesis (up to 200 g). We’ve got the tools, the people, and the systems to handle even complex or fast-moving programs without missing a beat.

And thanks to our location and time zone, many of our overseas clients start their day with updates and results ready in their inbox—another quiet advantage of global collaboration.

A few final thoughts

There are plenty of CROs out there who offer chemistry services. But if you’re working in early-stage small molecule drug discovery, and you want a team that can think, solve, adapt, and collaborate—Epichem might be the partner you’re looking for.

We won’t tell you what you want to hear. We’ll tell you what we’re seeing in the chemistry, what your options are, and how we can help. That’s the way we’ve always worked—with honesty, rigour, and a focus on results.

Ready to talk?

If you’ve got a new discovery program in the pipeline—or need chemistry support for an ongoing one—we’d love to hear from you.

📬 Get in touch at sales@epichem.com or fill out our contact form here and let’s explore how we can support your next step.

About Epichem

Epichem is an Australian-based Contract Research Organisation (CRO) specialising in medicinal chemistry and synthetic chemistry for small molecule drug discovery. For over 20 years, we’ve partnered with biotech companies, not-for-profits, and research institutions around the world to deliver high-quality chemistry support that drives discovery forward.

For more info on our medicinal chemistry services, check out our Medicinal chemistry services page