EUROPEAN INFRASTRUCTURE OF OPEN SCREENING PLATFORMS FOR CHEMICAL BIOLOGY EUROPEAN RESEARCH INFRASTUCTURE CONSORTIUM (EU-OPENSCREEN ERIC)

Their core work

EU-OPENSCREEN ERIC operates a pan-European research infrastructure that provides open access to chemical screening platforms, enabling scientists to test large libraries of chemical compounds against biological targets. Their core service is small molecule screening — identifying compounds that interact with proteins or biological pathways, which is the essential first step in drug discovery and chemical biology research. They maintain shared compound collections, screening facilities, and medicinal chemistry expertise across multiple European partner sites, making these expensive capabilities accessible to researchers who otherwise couldn't afford them. Beyond screening, they increasingly contribute to open science data infrastructure and EOSC integration for life-science research.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their early H2020 period (2015–2018), EU-OPENSCREEN ERIC focused on establishing itself within the broader life-science research infrastructure landscape — participating in cross-infrastructure coordination (CORBEL) and marine biology clusters (EMBRIC), while building foundational capabilities in biomedicine, data management, and ELSI compliance. From 2019 onward, the focus shifted decisively toward two directions: consolidating their own infrastructure through EU-OPENSCREEN-DRIVE (their first and only coordinated project), and pivoting toward cloud-based data services, EOSC integration, and industry engagement. The recent period also shows expansion into applied domains like drug discovery, structural biology, and marine bioprotectants — moving from pure infrastructure building toward translational impact.

EU-OPENSCREEN ERIC is moving from being a screening service provider toward becoming a data-rich platform integrated into EOSC, with growing connections to drug discovery and marine natural products — expect them to seek partners who can bring biological targets and application-domain expertise.

How they like to work

EU-OPENSCREEN ERIC overwhelmingly participates as a partner (8 of 9 projects) rather than leading, which is typical for an ERIC — they bring infrastructure access and specialist capabilities to large consortia. They coordinated one major project (EU-OPENSCREEN-DRIVE) specifically to secure their own long-term sustainability. With 236 unique partners across 30 countries, they operate as a well-connected hub within the European research infrastructure ecosystem, regularly joining consortia alongside other ERICs and major research organizations.

With 236 consortium partners spanning 30 countries, EU-OPENSCREEN ERIC has one of the broadest collaborative networks among chemical biology organizations in Europe. Their partnerships cluster heavily around other research infrastructures (ERICs, ESFRI landmarks) and major life-science institutions, giving them reach across nearly all EU member states.

What sets them apart

EU-OPENSCREEN ERIC is the only pan-European ERIC dedicated specifically to open chemical screening — no other infrastructure offers this combination of shared compound libraries, distributed screening platforms, and medicinal chemistry follow-up at continental scale. For any consortium needing compound screening as a service component, they are essentially the default European partner. Their ERIC legal status also makes them a stable, long-term partner with guaranteed operational continuity beyond individual project cycles.

Highlights from their portfolio

• EU-OPENSCREEN-DRIVE
  Their only coordinated project (EUR 1.46M) — a flagship effort to ensure long-term sustainability of their chemical biology infrastructure across Europe.
• EOSC-Life
  Positioned EU-OPENSCREEN within the European Open Science Cloud, integrating chemical screening data with 12 other life-science research infrastructures.
• MARBLES
  Their most recent and applied project — connects marine biodiversity to disease suppression and bioprotectants, signaling a move toward agricultural and environmental applications.