ACD/Labs

ACD/Labs develops chemistry software for research and development teams in the life sciences and chemical industries. The company's products cover analytical chemistry informatics, chemical nomenclature, structure drawing, physicochemical property prediction, and ADME-Tox modelling. ACD/Labs has been building software with researchers in mind for over two decades, serving customers ranging from pharmaceutical companies such as Eli Lilly and Genentech to academic institutions such as the University of Vienna.

The software is designed to address the specific needs of scientific workflows, offering enterprise-level automation, vendor-agnostic multi-technique analytical data handling, in silico predictions, data-driven decision support, dynamic visualisation, chemical intelligence, and contextual knowledge management. ACD/Labs also provides professional services for customised solutions and digital transformation projects, as well as partnerships and integrations with hardware and software manufacturers.

Core Products

• ChemSketch: A structure drawing tool available as a commercial product and also offered as freeware, free of charge, for personal and educational use.
• ACD/Name: Chemical nomenclature software for generating IUPAC-compliant chemical names. Customers have noted that the quality of names generated is considered among the best available compared to other naming software.
• Percepta Platform: A platform focused on in silico physicochemical and ADME-Tox property predictions, allowing users to input a chemical structure and obtain a broad set of predicted properties in a single workflow.
• Spectrus Platform: An analytical chemistry informatics platform designed to go beyond conventional informatics tools by handling analytical data in a way that reflects the language and logic of analytical chemistry. It supports vendor-agnostic, multi-technique data handling and has been noted to reduce data analysis cycle times significantly — in one reported case, from more than a week to less than a day.

Key Capabilities

• Enterprise-level automation of analytical and chemical workflows
• Handling of data from multiple analytical techniques regardless of instrument vendor
• In silico physicochemical and ADME-Tox property predictions
• Structure elucidation, including the ability to solve structures of natural products directly from complex mixtures such as plant extracts without isolation
• Chemical knowledge management and database creation to support team productivity
• Decision support for high-throughput experimentation (HTE) and chemistry, manufacturing, and controls (CMC) workflows
• Tools for communicating science, sharing knowledge, and enhancing collaboration across R&D teams

Solutions and Industry Coverage

• Solutions are organised by industry, by area of interest, and by analytical technique, allowing organisations to identify relevant applications for their specific context.
• Customers include pharmaceutical companies (Eli Lilly, Genentech), fragrance and flavour companies (Seven Scent), natural products research organisations (Dr. Wilmar Schwabe GmbH & Co.), and academic institutions.
• The Spectrus Platform has been highlighted for enabling paperless information flow from raw analytical data files, improving quality records and operational efficiency.

Integrations and Professional Services

• ACD/Labs partners with a range of hardware and software manufacturers to provide integrations within existing laboratory and informatics environments.
• The professional services team offers tailor-made solutions and consulting on digital transformation projects, working directly with customers to develop solutions matched to their specific requirements.
• Additional resources include a column selector tool, an LC method translator, an online IUPAC Blue Book reference, a resources library, blog, podcast, and regular newsletters and seminars.

ACD/Labs releases regular software updates across its Spectrus and Percepta platforms, with Version 2025 delivering the most recent enhancements. The company provides technical support including documentation of supported data formats, hardware and software recommendations, and maintenance and support policies.