About Melior Discovery

Melior Discovery is led by Andrew Reaume, PhD, MBA, President and Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Reaume has been a pioneer in advancing in vivo phenotypic screening as a transformative approach to drug discovery and drug repositioning, enabling researchers to uncover therapeutic opportunities that traditional target-based methods often miss.

Melior’s team is led by PhD scientists with deep expertise in in vivo study design, and is supported by distinguished scientific advisors including Christopher Lipinski, PhD, author of the “Rule of Five,” the widely used framework for predicting whether a compound is likely to be orally active. This expertise underpins Melior’s high-throughput approach, which evaluates compounds across many disease models in parallel to deliver broader biological insight and de-risk pipeline decisions faster.

Four factors distinguish Melior: customized in vivo study design tailored to each client’s pipeline questions; proprietary screening platforms (theraTRACE^®, immuno-theraTRACE™, opioidTRACE^®) unavailable elsewhere; a high-throughput parallel approach that delivers broader biological insight per compound; and a data-quality record recognized across the biotech and pharmaceutical industry. Findings originating in Melior’s labs have advanced to clinical validation and seeded several new companies.

Yes. Melior was named CRO of the Year by Life Science Review and a Top 20 CRO by Pharma Tech Outlook, reflecting the quality of its science and its standing among preclinical research partners.

Melior partners with organizations across the full size spectrum — from large global pharmaceutical companies to emerging biotechs, academic labs, and research centers. Its flexible, bespoke study designs and cost-conscious approach make it a practical fit for smaller and early-stage groups that need high-quality in vivo data without large internal infrastructure, while its scientific depth and data-quality record support the rigorous programs of top-ten pharma.

Yes. Melior works with companies at every scale, from top-ten pharma to single-founder virtual biotechs with no laboratory of their own. Melior handles in vivo study design and execution end to end, so a partner without a lab can still produce a rigorous, board-ready preclinical data package. Most studies can be initiated within days, and engagements typically start as a defined pilot project rather than a long-term commitment — you can begin with a single study and expand only if the data warrants it.

Yes. Melior Discovery is accredited by AAALAC International, the global standard for responsible animal care and use in research, and is DEA-licensed for Schedule I–V controlled substances. The DEA licensure allows Melior to evaluate controlled compounds, including opioids and other scheduled analgesics assessed through the opioidTRACE^® platform, without the delays and jurisdictional limits that unlicensed facilities face.

Melior developed three proprietary in vivo phenotypic screening platforms, each tuned to a different question. theraTRACE^® screens a compound across a broad array of disease models spanning many therapeutic areas to uncover unexpected new indications. immuno-theraTRACE^® screens immune-modulating agents across multiple syngeneic tumor models to determine which cancer type an immunotherapy is most effective against. opioidTRACE^® evaluates analgesic efficacy alongside opioid-liability endpoints such as respiratory depression, gastric motility, and abuse potential.

Yes. Discoveries originating in Melior’s labs have advanced from preclinical screening to clinical validation and have seeded the formation of several new companies. The clearest example is MLR-1023 (tolimidone), identified through the theraTRACE^® platform as having unexpected antidiabetic activity, later characterized as a novel Lyn kinase activator and insulin sensitizer, and advanced to clinical proof of concept. This track record reflects Melior’s core purpose: uncovering the untapped therapeutic value of a compound and turning unexpected biology into real programs and ventures.