Oxford Asymmetry International

Oxford Asymmetry International (OAI) was a leading British contract research and manufacturing organization (CRO/CDMO) that specialized in providing sophisticated chemical services to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Founded in 1991 as a spin-out from the University of Oxford by Professor Stephen Davies, the company became a global pioneer in combinatorial chemistry and asymmetric synthesis, enabling the rapid generation and scale-up of complex small molecule libraries. OAI offered a fully integrated range of services from initial lead discovery through to pilot-scale GMP manufacturing. In 2000, the company merged with the German drug discovery firm Evotec BioSystems to form Evotec OAI, a transaction valued at approximately £316 million. This merger laid the foundation for the modern global drug discovery partner, Evotec, and significantly accelerated drug development timelines for numerous global pharmaceutical partners.