Cellares
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersSouth San Francisco, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
Cellares firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Cellares
- Legal name
- Cellares Corporation
- Website
- https://cellares.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Cellares industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Cell Therapy Contract Manufacturing
- NAICS
- Industrial and Commercial Fan and Blower and Air Purification Equipment Manufacturing (333413), Ventilation, Heating, Air-Conditioning, and Commercial Refrigeration Equipment Manufacturing (3334), Food Product Machinery Manufacturing (333241)
- SIC
- Laboratory Apparatus & Furniture (3821), General Industrial Machinery & Equipment (3560), Industrial Process Furnaces & Ovens (3567)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Cell Therapy CDMO (HLAGABAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Drug Substance–Drug Product Integrated CDMO (HLAGABAG), Sample Logistics, Biorepository & IVD Kit Management (Trial Support) (HLAGAEAI)
Keywords
Where Cellares is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- South San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices4 records
Markets served
Cellares business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Manufacturing Capacity Reservation & Supply Agreements: Long-term, multi-year, multi-hundred-million-dollar capacity reservation and supply agreements with biopharma partners (e.g., $380M global agreement with Bristol Myers Squibb reserving commercial-scale capacity in the US, Europe, and Japan; 10-year commercial supply agreement with Cabaletta Bio for rese-cel). Functions as a forward-purchased manufacturing services commitment, anchoring capacity utilization across Smart Factories.
- CDMO / IDMO Manufacturing Services: Fee-for-service clinical and commercial cGMP manufacturing, process development, analytical development, QA/QC, and regulatory support delivered via the IDMO model. Predictable per-batch pricing (transparent, no hidden fees) for partners across preclinical through commercial stages. Currently active in autologous CAR-T, TCR-T, progenitor T-cell, HSC, and gene-edited programs.
- Technology Adoption / Feasibility Evaluation Programs: Paid technology adoption and feasibility evaluation engagements with biotech and pharma partners (e.g., TScan for TSC-101, Autolus for AUCATZYL/obe-cel, Kite, Lyell, Poseida). These programs assess automated process translation on Cell Shuttle as a step toward commercial supply agreements and generate near-term service revenue plus option value on long-term contracts.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Quote-based, multi-year manufacturing and capacity reservation agreements; transparent per-batch pricing with no hidden fees. |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels8 records
Cellares product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Cellares is the first Integrated Development and Manufacturing Organization (IDMO) providing automated, large-scale cGMP manufacturing of cell therapies. The company operates its proprietary Cell Shuttle® manufacturing platform and Cell Q™ automated quality control workcell inside a global network of IDMO Smart Factories, delivering clinical and commercial manufacturing services, process development, analytical development, QA/QC, and regulatory support to biopharma partners.
Product overview
Cellares offers a platform-plus-modules architecture unified under the world's first Integrated Development and Manufacturing Organization (IDMO) model. The core manufacturing platform is the Cell Shuttle®, a high-throughput, end-to-end, cGMP, closed-system automated cell therapy manufacturing platform and the first recipient of the FDA's Advanced Manufacturing Technology (AMT) designation. Complementing it is Cell Q™, the world's first automated cGMP QC workcell that automates in-process and release quality control testing. Both are deployed across Cellares' global network of IDMO Smart Factories, and together with Process Translation & Automation, Analytical Bridging & Automation, and Global Quality & Regulatory Consultation services, they constitute the company's IDMO offering for cell therapy developers — spanning preclinical development through commercial-scale manufacturing.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Cell Shuttle: The company's flagship automated, end-to-end, cGMP cell therapy manufacturing platform; first cell therapy manufacturing platform to receive the FDA's Advanced Manufacturing Technology (AMT) designation.
- Cell Q
- IDMO Smart Factories
Products and services
- Cell Shuttle®
- Cell Q™
- IDMO Services
- IDMO Smart Factory Network
Companies that use Cellares
Customer profileNamed customers14 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Cellares technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration6 records
Feature6 records
Cellares partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
19 partnerships are on record, tiered policy / industry coalition member, core commercial partner, core development partner, flagship commercial partner and clinical validator, core academic partner, european real estate partner, flagship asia pacific partner, core technology partner, core technology partners (cell q ecosystem), flagship technology partner, flagship / anchor commercial partner, development partner and academic partner.
- New American Industrial Alliance (NAIA)policy / industry coalition memberCellares joined NAIA, a multi-sector trade association with 1,000+ decision-makers representing $1T+ in investable capital, dedicated to rebuilding America's strategic industrial base and domestic manufacturing leadership.
- TScan Therapeuticscore commercial partnerAgreement to evaluate automated clinical manufacturing of lead TCR-T candidate TSC-101 for AML/MDS using Cell Shuttle and Cell Q. TScan advances TSC-101 toward a pivotal trial expected to begin Q2 2026, with Cellares as a candidate commercial manufacturing partner.
- ProTgencore development partnerPartnership to automate manufacturing and quality control of ProT-096, ProTgen's personalized progenitor T-cell therapy for refractory leukemia and hematologic malignancies, including regulatory expertise toward IND submission.
- Cabaletta Bioflagship commercial partner and clinical validatorOriginal technology adoption partnership began November 2023; expanded through 2024–2026 with successful completion of the Manufacturing Technology Adoption Program (March 2025), FDA IND Amendment clearance (January 2026), first two GMP patient doses (April 14, 2026), and a 10-year commercial supply agreement (April 28, 2026) to scale rese-cel for autoimmune diseases.
- University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Healthcore academic partnerExpanded partnership to support clinical manufacturing and regulatory process for CRISPR-edited GD2 CAR-T therapy for solid tumors; Cellares provides Cell Shuttle and Cell Q platforms plus regulatory expertise for IND application with the FDA. UW retains full ownership and leadership of the IND filing.
- Stanford Medicine (Stanford Center for Definitive and Curative Medicine; Stanford Innovative Medicines Accelerator)core academic partnerCollaboration to automate manufacturing and release testing for gene-edited hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) therapies targeting HIV and inherited diseases.
- Dura Vermeer Commercieel Vastgoedeuropean real estate partnerReal estate developer partner for Cellares' European Smart Factory at Leiden Bio Science Park in the Netherlands (~9,741 m² facility in the Nexus building).
- City of Hopecore academic partnerCollaboration to evaluate automated manufacturing of a CAR T-cell therapy targeting glioblastoma using Cellares' automation platforms.
- Autolus Therapeuticscore commercial partnerAutolus to evaluate Cell Shuttle for commercial manufacturing of AUCATZYL (obe-cel) for relapsed/refractory B-ALL and potential expansion into pediatric B-ALL, lupus, and multiple sclerosis.
- Mitsui Fudosanflagship asia pacific partnerPartnership for first IDMO Smart Factory in Japan at Kashiwanoha Smart City, Chiba (groundbreaking November 2025); four-storey facility targeting up to 75,000 patients/year with 30+ Cell Shuttle units, operations scheduled to begin 2027.
- Slingshot Biosciencescore technology partnerStrategic collaboration to integrate Slingshot's TruCytes biomarker controls into Cellares' Cell Q automated quality control platform, improving data integrity, reducing failure rates, and enabling faster production scaling.
- Tecan, Advanced Instruments, Cytek Biosciences, AltemisLabcore technology partners (cell q ecosystem)Cellares selected five best-in-class technology providers — Tecan, Advanced Instruments, Cytek Biosciences, Slingshot Biosciences, and AltemisLab — to expand Cell Q's capabilities in meeting demands for commercial-scale cell therapy quality control.
- Sonyflagship technology partnerJoint development collaboration to integrate Sony's flow cytometry-based sorting and online analysis into Cellares' automated, high-throughput cell therapy manufacturing platform.
- Kite (Gilead)core commercial partnerAgreement for Kite to evaluate Cellares' Cell Shuttle automated manufacturing platform as a potential complement to Kite's commercial operations.
- Bristol Myers Squibbflagship / anchor commercial partner$380M worldwide capacity reservation and supply agreement signed April 2024 reserving commercial-scale capacity in the US, Europe, and Japan for CAR-T programs including Breyanzi and Abecma. Partnership expanded October 2023 to include a second CAR-T program in Cellares' Technology Adoption Partnership Program. BMS participated in Cellares' Series D financing.
- Lyell Immunopharmadevelopment partnerPartnership to evaluate automated manufacturing of Lyell's CAR T-cell therapy on the Cell Shuttle platform.
- Poseida Therapeuticsdevelopment partnerEarly Access Partnership Program engagement to accelerate cell therapy manufacturing on the Cell Shuttle.
- PACT Pharmadevelopment partnerJoined Cellares' Early Access Partnership Program (January 2021) to evaluate Cell Shuttle for cell therapy manufacturing.
- Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centeracademic partnerJoined Cellares' Early Access Partnership Program in October 2020.
Scale indicators13 records
Recent moves16 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Cellares competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Ori Biotech: Closest direct peer in automated cell therapy manufacturing. Ori Biotech's IRO platform is the only other cell therapy manufacturing platform with an FDA Advanced Manufacturing Technology designation (September 2025), targeting similar autologous CAR-T and gene-edited programs and competing for the same IDMO/capacity-reservation contracts.
Broad incumbents
- Lonza Group: Global CDMO incumbent with a large cell and gene therapy services franchise across autologous and allogeneic modalities. Comparable as a multi-modality manufacturing services competitor, though Lonza operates at much broader scale and lacks a single end-to-end automated cell-therapy-only platform like Cellares' IDMO.
- Thermo Fisher Scientific (Patheon / Brammer Bio): Diversified life-sciences tools and CDMO player with cell therapy services through Patheon and Brammer Bio. Competes for clinical and commercial cell therapy manufacturing engagements and brings vertically integrated bioprocessing tools and analytical instruments.
- Catalent: Major global CDMO offering cell therapy manufacturing services including viral vector and cell therapy capacity. A relevant comparator for commercial-scale cell therapy CDMO engagements, though Catalent's portfolio spans many therapeutic modalities beyond cell therapy.
- Cytiva (Danaher): Bioprocessing equipment and consumables supplier whose cell therapy workflow tools (Xuri, Sepax) compete in adjacent automation slots. Comparable as a supplier of automation that CDMOs use, and an indirect competitor to Cellares' vertically integrated IDMO model.
- AGC Biologics: Global CDMO with cell and gene therapy services (including the former Novartis Stein facility and a gene therapy center of excellence). Competes for clinical and commercial cell therapy manufacturing contracts at comparable scale to Lonza and Catalent.
- WuXi Advanced Therapies (WuXi AppTec): Large Asia- and US-based CDMO with cell and gene therapy manufacturing services. Relevant comparator for global multi-region cell therapy manufacturing capacity, particularly given Cellares' Asia expansion into Kashiwa, Japan.
- Charles River Laboratories: Contract development and manufacturing organization with cell therapy services (via its HemaCare and CDMO businesses). Competes for early- and clinical-stage cell therapy manufacturing engagements and provides related discovery and safety assessment services.
Emerging players
- MaxCyte: Cell engineering technology provider whose electroporation platform underpins many clinical-stage cell therapy programs. Comparable as a cell therapy manufacturing technology enabler; Cellares' new CCO previously led commercial efforts at MaxCyte, illustrating personnel overlap and ecosystem ties.
- National Resilience: Technology-focused biomanufacturing company building automated, distributed manufacturing capacity for advanced therapies including cell and gene therapies. Shares Cellares' thesis of replacing manual CDMO operations with automated, networked manufacturing.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat7 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Cellares social profiles
Digital presenceCellares compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance4 records
Cellares financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Cellares leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
Cellares funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds4 records
Investors19 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Cellares M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Cellares
What does Cellares do?
Cellares is the first Integrated Development and Manufacturing Organization (IDMO) providing automated, large-scale cGMP manufacturing of cell therapies. The company operates its proprietary Cell Shuttle® manufacturing platform and Cell Q™ automated quality control workcell inside a global network of IDMO Smart Factories, delivering clinical and commercial manufacturing services, process development, analytical development, QA/QC, and regulatory support to biopharma partners.
Is Cellares a public or private company?
Cellares is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Cellares founded?
Cellares was founded in 2017. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Cellares based?
Cellares is headquartered in South San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Cellares make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Manufacturing Capacity Reservation & Supply Agreements are the primary driver. The others are CDMO / IDMO Manufacturing Services and technology Adoption / Feasibility Evaluation Programs.
Who are Cellares's main competitors?
Ori Biotech is listed as a direct peer. Broad incumbents are Lonza Group, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Patheon / Brammer Bio), Catalent, Cytiva (Danaher), AGC Biologics, WuXi Advanced Therapies (WuXi AppTec) and Charles River Laboratories. Emerging players are MaxCyte and National Resilience.
Does Cellares have an API?
No public API is recorded for Cellares.
What industry is Cellares in?
Cellares's product category is Cell Therapy Contract Manufacturing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAGABAD, Cell Therapy CDMO, with a secondary code of HLAGABAG, Drug Substance–Drug Product Integrated CDMO. Its NAICS code is 333413 and its SIC code is 3821.