O.N.E Symeres: A practical approach to real-world drug development

No drug development program runs perfectly. Chemistry misbehaves, funding shifts, and timelines tighten. But what defines a reliable partner is how they respond. 

O.N.E Symeres is the framework we use to keep projects moving through uncertainty: openness, nimbleness, and expertise.

Open: Visibility Reduces Risk 

Drug development stalls when communication breaks down. That’s why openness is first on the list and built into every stage of how Symeres operates – from early discovery to IND-enabling development.

In a 2025 Symeres Customer Survey, 86% of clients described transparency and the downstream trust it generates as the main reason they continue working with us. They pointed out that setbacks are expected, but silence isn’t.

“Symeres did the best job with respect to transparency and troubleshooting. They were open when there were issues and worked hard to solve them.”
– Biotech CEO

We know that open communication prevents small problems from turning into costly rework. It means that our clients have clear visibility on what’s happening, when priorities change, and what the data really means for their program. That visibility lets them adjust funding or strategy before delays cascade.

Openness also drives accountability. Teams across the US and Europe share a single view of data, decisions, and ownership. When results shift, everyone sees it at once – not just in the next quarterly update.

This isn’t a ‘soft’ value or a marketing slogan. For fast-moving companies like biotechs, openness directly lowers operational risk. And it’s the clarity of communication that keeps programs – and relationships – running long after the first project ends.

Nimble: Progress Without Pause

Adaptability is easy to claim but hard to deliver. In drug discovery, it means keeping science moving when direction changes mid-stream.

Clients repeatedly described Symeres as flexible, fast, and collaborative; our ability to pivot – not just work quickly – was what made the difference.

“If things go wrong or shift direction, Symeres has been open and quick to adapt. That’s something we’ve rarely seen with larger CROs.”
– VP of R&D, Biotech

Nimbleness is central to how our teams operate. With over 600 scientists across nine sites globally we can expand or contract around a project without losing context. Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls (CMC), biology, and toxicology groups operate under shared project leadership and connected data systems, so information moves with the program instead of being re-entered or re-explained, all meaning that you get to where you need to be faster.

“We’re really working as one team. It’s not just us hoping Symeres will find the solution – we meet weekly, share ideas. That flexibility is critical.” – CEO, Biotech

Agility like this is essential under current market pressures. With funding windows tightening, clients are splitting large projects into smaller, milestone-driven packages. They need partners who can scale effort up or down quickly without bureaucracy.

O.N.E Symeres was designed for that environment. Project managers can re-plan and redeploy resources within days. Decisions are made close to the science, not filtered through management layers. The result: fewer handoffs, fewer idle weeks, and a higher percentage of productive lab time.

Clients see it in outcomes, not marketing slides.

Expertise: Depth with Direction

Every client we’ve spoken with reinforced the same fact: expertise is non-negotiable. In a survey, 93% of our clients ranked technical capability as their top decision factor – ahead of cost, speed, or even geography.

“Experience trumps all.”– Founder, Medicinal Chemistry Start-up

Symeres’ scientific depth – from synthetic and medicinal chemistry to ADME-Tox, process R&D, and GMP manufacturing – means clients don’t need to hand projects off between vendors. That continuity avoids wasted time and translation errors.

Our scientists generate data and those same scientists interpret it. Multiple interviewees said they’d worked with CROs that couldn’t interpret their own analytical results. Symeres is recognized as the opposite, with teams who troubleshoot and explain, not just deliver reports.

“They’ve done enough science for me to save ten times what I’ve spent on them. That’s the value.”
– Process Chemist, Large Pharma

This technical foundation is supported by shared quality systems and centralized project oversight across sites in Boston, MA, Princeton, NJ, USA, the Netherlands, Finland, and the Czech Republic. That structure keeps methods consistent and data transferable across the whole program.

Expertise also builds stability. Our clients value seeing the same scientists stay on their program across phases, noting that continuity reduces ramp-up time and preserves context.

That balance – deep expertise with operational flexibility – is what clients describe as rare.

Evidence in Practice

Symeres’ integrated model links the disciplines most programs split across multiple vendors:

• Discovery Chemistry and Biology: Medicinal chemistry, bioassays, and computational modeling operate within connected workflows, so results from screening and structure activity relationship (SAR) studies feed directly into optimization steps. generating consistent data, comparable results and confident decisions that keep your small-molecule projects moving toward clinical supply.

• ADME-Tox and DMPK: Through Admescope (a Symeres company), in vitro and in vivo assays generate actionale, decision-ready data aligned with regulatory expectations to keep projects moving with evidence, not assumptions.

• Process and Analytical Development: Process R&D teams convert bench-scale methods into efficient, scalable routes for clinical scale up, supported by analytical and solid-state expertise.

• Formulation and GMP Manufacturing: Exemplify, our cGMP site in the US, provides easy transition to clinical supply. New production lines and automated reactor systems expand our ability to deliver material that performs, documentation that’s submission ready and a smooth path toward IND filing at both pilot and commercial scales

By keeping these functions connected under one framework, clients gain consistent data flow and fewer points of failure from inception to IND.

Why Clients Choose O.N.E Symeres

In our survey, 84% of clients said Symeres met or exceeded expectations across science, communication, and delivery. None reported major disappointment.

Clients cited three recurring reasons:

1. Transparency – Honest updates, even when results change.

2. Adaptability – The ability to flex scope or direction without disruption.

3. Scientific rigor – Reliable data and clear interpretation.

Cost, while always a factor, was rarely decisive. Clients said they were willing to pay more when a partner reduced oversight time, prevented rework, or accelerated decisions.

“Cost plays a role, but fulfilling the deliverable and our timetable is what really matters. You can’t risk rework or missed milestones.”

Geography also matters. US-based clients repeatedly cited the advantage of working with Western sites for IP protection, time zone overlap, and faster collaboration.

“The Netherlands time zone works perfectly with my schedule – we get half a day of real-time overlap. That’s not possible with India or China.”

These practical realities – communication, agility, technical credibility, and transatlantic access – are the concrete benefits clients associate with Symeres through our O.N.E formula.

O.N.E Matters

Symeres aligns exactly with what customers say they need most:

• Openness to provide early visibility and clear ownership, preventing costly surprises

• Nimbleness to ensure programs keep moving when data or funding shifts

• Expertise that ensures quality, consistency, and continuity from discovery through to manufacturing

This combination makes Symeres large enough to manage complex, multi-phase programs, yet direct enough for hands-on collaboration.

“They’ve always met or exceeded expectations. That’s why I continue to come back.”

When conditions change – and they always do – openness keeps you informed. Nimbleness keeps you moving. Expertise keeps every decision grounded in science.

That’s how Symeres helps drug developers progress through uncertainty – not by avoiding it, but by managing it intelligently.