Thermo Fisher Launches Bay Area Cryo-EM Center to Speed Drug Discovery — Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.

Event summary

Thermo Fisher opened a Cryo-Electron Microscopy (cryo-EM) Drug Discovery Center in South San Francisco on March 5, 2026.
The center provides hands-on access to advanced cryo-EM technologies for pharmaceutical and biotech innovators.
Structure-guided drugs developed using cryo-EM have twice the clinical success rate at half the preclinical time and cost.
The CDDC is modeled after the UK Pharmaceutical Cryo-EM Consortium, established in 2016.

The big picture

Thermo Fisher's new cryo-EM center underscores the growing emphasis on structure-based drug discovery, a trend driven by the need for faster, more cost-effective pathways to clinical success. The move aligns with broader industry shifts toward collaborative innovation hubs, particularly in biotech hotspots like the Bay Area. With annual revenue exceeding $40 billion, Thermo Fisher is positioning itself as a critical enabler of next-generation therapeutic development.

What we're watching

Adoption Pace: How quickly pharmaceutical companies will integrate cryo-EM into their drug discovery processes.
Collaborative Impact: Whether the CDDC's collaborative model can replicate the success of the UK consortium in North America.
Market Differentiation: The extent to which Thermo Fisher can leverage this center to solidify its leadership in structural analysis technologies.