An unranked guide for pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical communications teams

Choosing a medical animation partner is not simply a question of visual style. The right studio must understand the scientific story, the intended audience, the review environment, and the practical life of an asset after it is delivered. A compelling film may need to support a product launch, a congress presence, Medical Affairs activity, investor communication, or patient education - often in more than one format.

This is an unranked editorial selection of ten studios whose work is worth knowing. It is not a definitive league table, and inclusion is not an endorsement. The profiles are based on each studio's publicly available work and stated services, checked in September 2026.

About this guide

I was Production Director at Random42, later founded Fusion Medical Animation, and now lead Graphene Animation. That experience has given me a practical, inside view of the sector: how specialist studios develop scientific stories, navigate review, and create assets that serve clients beyond a single film.

Graphene is included because it publishes this guide, but this is not a ranking or an endorsement. The right partner will always depend on the science, audience, timeline, approval process, and working relationship a project needs.

What to consider when choosing a studio

  • Scientific fluency: Can the team understand the evidence, ask useful questions, and work appropriately with subject-matter experts?
  • Creative fit: Does the portfolio demonstrate the level of cinematic craft, clarity, and tone your audience needs?
  • Review readiness: Can the production process accommodate your scientific, medical, legal, and regulatory review requirements?
  • Asset value: Can the core visual story be adapted for the channels and audiences that matter across your programme?

The studios

Graphene Animation
Location: London, UK

Graphene is the world's only Emmy- and BAFTA-winning MoA animation studio, with more than 20 years' experience and 500+ films for pharmaceutical and biotech teams. Its focus is high-end scientific storytelling across complex clinical areas, from disease biology to therapeutic mechanisms.

Website: https://www.grapheneanimation.com/

 

Other studios listed alphabetically

The following studios are listed alphabetically, not in order of preference.

Fusion Medical Animation
Location: London, UK

A boutique specialist for pharmaceutical, biotech, and life-sciences communication. Fusion combines biomedical, CG, and medical-communications expertise for animation and interactive work, with an intentionally small-team approach that emphasises direct senior involvement.
Website: https://www.fusionanimation.co.uk/

Ghost Medical
Location: Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA

A long-established medical-visualisation studio with a strong emphasis on surgical procedures, medical devices, training, and virtual-reality simulation. It is particularly relevant for teams that need to show how a device or procedure works in a clinically recognisable setting.

Website: https://www.ghostmedical.com/

MadMicrobe Studios
Location: London, UK and Philadelphia, USA

MadMicrobe brings together medical illustrators, science communicators, and filmmakers for medical, biopharmaceutical, device, and immersive work. Its portfolio is notable for a cinematic visual approach alongside interactive and exhibition-oriented formats.

Website: https://www.madmicrobe.com/

Nanobot Communications
Location: International

Nanobot works across scientific and medical animation, illustration, slide decks, and immersive digital formats. It is a useful studio to explore when a team wants a broader package of scientific visual content alongside animation.

Website: https://nanobotmedical.com/

Nucleus Medical Media
Location: Georgia, USA

Nucleus combines custom medical animation and illustration with a substantial licensable content library. Its range of patient-education, anatomy, procedure, and healthcare material makes it particularly relevant where existing visual content and custom production may both be useful.
Website: https://www.nucleusmedicalmedia.com/

Random42 Scientific Communication
Location: London, UK

Random42 is an in-house scientific communications agency working across 3D and 2D animation, immersive formats, and interactive experiences. Its large science and production teams support work across pharmaceutical, biotech, medical-device, consumer-health, and animal-health communication.

Website: https://random42.com/

Scientific Animations
Location: USA and India

Scientific Animations focuses on medical and scientific visualisation for pharmaceutical and medical-device marketing, training, and interactive applications. Its work spans mechanism-of-action animation, device visualisation, and wider digital learning formats.

Website: https://www.scientificanimations.com/

Visual Science
Location: New York, USA

A PhD-led scientific communications company with a strong focus on molecular modelling, scientific visualisation, and mechanism-based storytelling. It is particularly well known for high-detail reconstructions of microscopic biology and technology-driven production workflows.

Website: https://visual-science.com/

XVIVO Scientific Animation
Location: Connecticut, USA

XVIVO creates medical animation, illustration, and interactive media for life-science companies, agencies, researchers, and educational institutions. Its portfolio spans mechanism-of-action and mechanism-of-disease work, devices, therapeutic areas, and scientific experiences at multiple scales.
Website: https://xvivo.com/

 

Finding the right fit

A shortlist is only a starting point. The most useful next step is to review work that resembles your own challenge, ask how the studio would approach your evidence and review pathway, and assess whether its working style fits your team. For a mechanism of action, disease narrative, or medical visualisation programme, the best partner is the one that can make the science clear without losing what makes it distinctive.