CrystalsFirst GmbH, a leader in high-performance structural biology services, and NexMR AG, a pioneer in ultrafast NMR screening,  announced an exclusive partnership to accelerate fragment-based drug discovery. Under this agreement, NexMR’s cutting-edge SmartSpin™ technology – which uses laser systems to boost NMR signals – will now be available through CrystalsFirst. This integration makes CrystalsFirst the sole provider of NexMR’s photo-inducible NMR services worldwide, combining two high-throughput platforms into one streamlined solution for drug discovery.

Fragment-Based Drug Discovery (FBDD) is a powerful approach to developing new medicines by screening small molecular “fragments” and analyzing how they bind to target proteins. The success of FBDD heavily relies on efficient fragment screening and accurate structural determination of protein–fragment complexes. By uniting NexMR’s SmartSpin™ screening technology with CrystalsFirst’s high-performance structural biology platform, the partnership addresses both needs of FBDD. Researchers will be able to rapidly identify fragment hits via NMR and immediately obtain high-resolution crystal structures of those hits – all through a single, integrated service.

NexMRʼs photo-inducible NMR technology (based on photo-CIDNP hyperpolarization) uses integrated laser systems to dramatically enhance NMR signals from fragment molecules. This innovation enables the detection of fragment binding within seconds to minutes, rather than hours, by boosting sensitivity at room temperature in aqueous solutions. In effect, photo-induced signal boosting can reduce screening time from over 200 hours to just a few hours, while decreasing sample amounts by 30–50 times compared to traditional NMR screening methods. These advantages enable rapid and efficient fragment screening on a scale previously unattainable in NMR. NexMR’s approach also works on compact, cryogen-free NMR instruments – screening up to one sample every five minutes on a benchtop spectrometer.

CrystalsFirstʼs MAGNET Discovery Engine complements NexMR’s technology by providing high-throughput structural biology capabilities. CrystalsFirst is renowned for its proprietary MAGNET platform, integrating SmartSoak®, which achieves high-performance protein–ligand complexes up to 10-times faster than conventional methods. This means once NMR identifies promising fragment hits, CrystalsFirst applies SmartSoak® to rapidly determine crystal structures of those protein–fragment complexes.

Together, NexMRʼs ultrafast SmartSpin™ and CrystalsFirstʼs SmartSoak® technologies create a seamless high-throughput workflow – from initial hit finding to 3D structure elucidation. Drug discovery campaigns will gain faster insights into how fragments interact with their protein targets, enabling informed decisions on hit expansion and medicinal chemistry much earlier in the project.

“We are excited that NexMR’s cutting-edge SmartSpin™ technology will now be part of CrystalsFirst’s portfolio,” said Dr. Serghei Glinca, CEO of CrystalsFirst. “This integration brings to the market a superior solution for fragment-based drug discovery. Together, we will help clients unlock chemical matter faster and accelerate the discovery of novel therapeutics.”

“By partnering exclusively with CrystalsFirst, we ensure our innovative photo-inducible NMR technology reaches its full potential for the drug discovery community,” added Dr. Félix Torres Hubiche, CEO of NexMR. “CrystalsFirst’s platform is a perfect match for our technology. Together, we’re delivering an integrated, high- speed pipeline for fragment-based lead discovery that we believe will uncover new chemical starting points and ultimately life-changing medicines.”

Both companies are committed to driving innovation in FBDD. This exclusive collaboration builds on their successful 2023 partnership and represents a next step in offering comprehensive, high-throughput fragment screening and structural analysis services. Biotech and pharmaceutical companies will now have exclusive access to NexMR’s photo-induced NMR through CrystalsFirst, benefiting from the synergy of two advanced platforms working in tandem.