Concept Life Sciences partners with OpenBench to Deliver Success-Based Drug Discovery Services for Early-Stage Biotech

Concept Life Sciences is pleased to announce a new strategic partnership with OpenBench, a pioneer of success-based AI hit discovery, to accelerate hit identification for biotech companies through a fee-for-success model.

The partnership pairs OpenBench’s structure-based AI-driven discovery platform with Concept Life Sciences’ medicinal chemistry and in vitro screening and validation capabilities. Together, both companies offer biotech clients a path from target to validated hit series in as little as six months, while removing upfront cost and scientific risk.

OpenBench virtually screens trillions of compounds, synthesizing the most promising, high-quality hits before advancing them to Concept Life Sciences for rapid in vitro testing and validation. OpenBench funds all upfront discovery activities and applies a success-based fee only when validated hits are delivered, shifting early-stage risk entirely away from the client. Concept Life Sciences extends the value and scope of the partnership through its integrated ‘design-make-test’ capabilities, enabling seamless, rapid progression of promising hit series towards clinical development across therapeutic modalities and indications.

“Biotechs need faster, lower-risk paths to high-quality chemical starting points — particularly in today’s funding environment. By combining OpenBench’s success-based discovery model with our integrated development capabilities, we’re giving clients a highly efficient route from target to validated, developable hits.”
Steven L. Holshouser, Head of Business Development, North America at Concept Life Sciences.

“Our mission is to remove the biggest barrier in early discovery: upfront cost and uncertainty. We deliver validated chemical leads before our partners spend a dollar, enabling biotech companies to focus resources on advancing programs with real potential.”
Lewis Martin, Chief Scientific Officer at OpenBench.

At a time when biotech funding continues to remain constrained, OpenBench and Concept Life Sciences introduce a capital-efficient alternative to traditional discovery models, allowing companies to access high-quality, developable chemical matter while reducing the cost and risk associated with early-stage R&D. This partnership enables biotech companies to rapidly build stronger pipelines while optimizing resources for downstream development.

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