What Encapsulate does

Encapsulate, Inc. is a privately held precision diagnostics company developing automated tumor-on-a-chip systems for personalized cancer therapy. Founded in 2019 by graduate students at the University of Connecticut, the company grows patient-derived microtumors from biopsies on microfluidic biochips and screens them against clinical chemotherapy regimens, generating personalized treatment recommendations in under seven days. The company serves three primary customer segments: oncologists and cancer centers seeking functional validation of optimal chemotherapy regimens for individual patients, pharmaceutical companies requiring patient-derived preclinical models for drug testing, patient stratification, and IND submission support, and academic researchers studying cancer biology and treatment response.

The platform is built on patented microfluidic biochip technology that preserves the native tumor microenvironment — including stromal cells, extracellular matrix, and immune cell interactions — to create hundreds of replicates from a single patient biopsy. The system integrates programmable microfluidics for controlled media exchange and drug dosing, high-resolution imaging pipelines, and AI/ML-based quantitative phenotyping for predictive modeling. Three product lines are in development: the core Tumor-on-a-Chip System for chemotherapy selection, the Metastasis-on-a-Chip platform (NASA InSPA-funded) for modeling cancer metastasis under microgravity conditions, and an Automated Chemotherapy Selection Platform (NSF SBIR Phase II-funded) focused on pancreatic and colorectal cancers. Encapsulate's technology has been validated aboard the International Space Station, with cargo launched via SpaceX CRS-30 in March 2024 and operations executed through partner Space Tango across three joint missions.

Encapsulate generates revenue through fee-for-service engagements with pharmaceutical companies (preclinical drug testing, patient stratification, combination screening, IND submission support), clinical testing services for cancer centers, and biobank access for researchers, with custom multi-year contracts priced per study scope. The company also derives material non-dilutive revenue from government research grants, including the $3.63 million NASA InSPA Phase 1 grant (July 2025) and $1.25 million NSF SBIR Phase II grant (July 2025), and closed a $1.8 million oversubscribed seed round in November 2024 led by Blackwood Healthcare Breakthroughs, Ambit Health Ventures, and CT Innovations. Commercial clinical operations are anchored by direct partnerships with Moffitt Cancer Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, UConn Health, and Hartford HealthCare. The company is headquartered at UConn's Technology Incubator Program facility in Farmington, Connecticut, and operates with a 15-25 person team led by co-founders Armin Rad, PhD (CEO) and Leila Daneshmandi, PhD (COO), with Reza Amin as third co-founder.

Name

Encapsulate

Legal name

Encapsulate, Inc.

Website

https://encapsulate.bio

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Encapsulate develops automated tumor-on-a-chip systems that grow patient-derived microtumors from biopsies and screen them against chemotherapy regimens, delivering personalized treatment recommendations to oncologists, pharmaceutical R&D teams, and cancer centers within seven days.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Precision Oncology Diagnostics

NAICS

Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories (62151)

SIC

In Vitro & In Vivo Diagnostic Substances (2835), Services-Medical Laboratories (8071)

akta.pro primary industry

AI/ML-Enabled Biologic Discovery Platforms (computational design, in silico screening) (HLAAAIAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Clinical Development (Phase I–III Trial Design & Execution) (HLAIALAE)

Keywords

• Tumor-on-a-chip technology
• Precision cancer diagnostics
• Patient-derived organoids
• Preclinical drug screening
• Microfluidic biochips

Headquarters

HQ city

Farmington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Pharmaceutical Drug Testing Services: Fee-for-service model where pharmaceutical companies engage Encapsulate to test their drug compounds on patient-derived tumor models for preclinical studies, patient stratification, and IND submissions.
2. Clinical Testing Services: Direct testing services for clinicians and cancer centers where patient biopsies are screened against treatment regimens to generate personalized treatment recommendations.
3. Government Research Grants: Non-dilutive funding from NASA InSPA ($3.63M), NSF SBIR Phase II ($1.25M), and other government grants supporting R&D activities.
4. Biobank and Data Services: Access to patient biobank with hundreds of patients having known genetic mutations, clinical and lab-based response profiles for research purposes.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Encapsulate develops an automated tumor-on-a-chip platform that grows patient-derived microtumors from biopsy or surgical specimens and screens them against clinical treatment regimens to produce patient-specific chemotherapy response profiles. The platform is also offered to pharmaceutical companies for preclinical drug efficacy and lead-optimization studies, and supports a novel microgravity-based metastasis research program on the International Space Station. End-to-end turnaround for clinical response profiles is delivered in under 7 days, with screening capability spanning 50+ FDA-approved and investigational chemotherapeutic agents.

Product overview

Encapsulate offers an integrated tumor-on-a-chip platform for personalized cancer therapy. The core offering consists of the Tumor-on-a-Chip System, which screens patient-derived microtumors against clinical treatment regimens to generate personalized insights in under 7 days. This is complemented by the Metastasis-on-a-Chip platform (NASA InSPA funded) for microgravity-based cancer metastasis modeling, and the Automated Chemotherapy Selection Platform (NSF SBIR funded) for pancreatic and colorectal cancers. The company also provides services for pharmaceutical companies, clinicians, and patients, leveraging space-based research through ISS experiments to enhance the biological fidelity of their tumor models.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Automated Tumor-on-a-Chip Platform End-to-end automated microfluidic platform that cultures patient-derived microtumors from biopsy or surgical specimens and screens them against 50+ FDA-approved and investigational chemotherapeutic regimens to produce personalized response profiles within 7 days; sold to pharmaceutical companies for preclinical screening and to oncology providers for personalized chemotherapy selection.
• Personalized Chemotherapy Selection Service Clinical service in which Encapsulate receives a patient's tumor specimen, screens it against the chemotherapeutic library on the tumor-on-a-chip platform, and returns a ranked, patient-specific treatment response profile to inform the treating oncologist's regimen selection.
• Pharmaceutical Preclinical Drug Screening Service Service for pharmaceutical R&D teams in which Encapsulate runs investigational and approved oncology compounds through patient-derived microtumors on the tumor-on-a-chip platform, delivering preclinical efficacy, dose-response, and lead-optimization data with reduced turnaround compared to manual organoid workflows.
• Metastasis-on-a-Chip Microgravity Research Program Research program that extends the tumor-on-a-chip platform into microgravity conditions aboard the International Space Station to study tumor metastasis and behavior in a uniquely low-shear environment, offered to academic, translational, and pharmaceutical partners studying metastasis and drug resistance.

Quantifiable outcome

• Personalized treatment recommendations delivered in under 7 days
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Space TangocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 July 2025In-orbit implementation partner for deploying and operating experiments aboard the International Space Station. Marks their third mission together. Space Tango provides flight implementation services for Encapsulate's automated biochip platform for space-based cancer research.
• Moffitt Cancer CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2025Clinical partner for retrospective and prospective clinical studies in pancreatic and colorectal cancers as part of NSF SBIR Phase II grant. Key investigators include Dr. Tiago Biachi and Dr. Sarah Hoffe.
• Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2025Clinical partner for retrospective and prospective clinical studies in pancreatic and colorectal cancers. Dr. Danny Khalil serves on Clinical Advisory Board.
• UConn HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2025Primary clinical partner and headquarters location. Hosts Encapsulate in Technology Incubation Program. Dr. John Birk serves on Clinical Advisory Board.
• MassChallenge BostoncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Selected into 2019 MassChallenge Boston program as one of top 9% of applicants worldwide. Zero-equity startup accelerator providing mentorship, corporate partners, and co-working space.
• NASAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNASA provides access to microgravity environments through the International Space Station and supports through programs like In Space Production Applications (InSPA). NASA awarded $3.63M InSPA Phase 1 grant for Metastasis-on-a-Chip development.
• International Space Station National Laboratory (ISSNL)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerISSNL provides access to the ISS for microgravity research and has featured Encapsulate's work multiple times. Encapsulate launched cargo to the ISS aboard SpaceX CRS-30 mission.
• Hartford HealthCarecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClinical partner and founding partner of Digital Health CT accelerator. Dr. Alvaro Menendez serves on Clinical Advisory Board. Partnered for clinical validation studies.
• BoeingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-sponsor of Technology in Space Prize with ISS National Lab. Boeing and ISS NL have collectively awarded 27 projects and more than $4.5 million through the prize since 2012.
• Yale Biomedical EngineeringminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Andre Levchenko serves on Scientific Advisory Board, providing academic expertise in biomedical engineering.
• Digital Health CT AcceleratorcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMedTech accelerator program in Hartford with founding partners including Hartford HealthCare, Trinity College, UConn School of Business and Technology Commercialization Services, and CTNext.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Mimetas: Dutch organ-on-a-chip company providing microfluidic 3D cell culture platforms including tumor models for drug screening. Comparable technology architecture and pharma services orientation.
• Certis Oncology Solutions: Functional precision oncology company providing patient-derived tumor models for drug response prediction and preclinical services. Direct overlap in ex vivo chemo-response testing services.
• TissUse: Multi-organ-chip company developing microphysiological systems for preclinical testing. Comparable microfluidic platform with broader multi-organ emphasis, including oncology-relevant applications.
• Emulate, Inc. Leader in organ-on-a-chip technology for drug discovery and disease modeling, including cancer applications. Directly comparable in core microfluidic organoid platform approach, though broader in tissue types and with deeper commercial scale.
• Champions Oncology: Provider of patient-derived xenograft models and tumor-based services for personalized oncology and pharma R&D. Adjacent approach (in vivo PDX) competing for the same functional precision oncology and preclinical services budget.
• Kiyatec: Functional precision oncology company using 3D patient-derived cell culture to predict cancer therapy response ex vivo. Most direct competitor in the patient-derived tumor organoid chemo-response prediction space Encapsulate targets.
• CN Bio: Organ-on-a-chip and microphysiological systems provider for preclinical drug development. Competes in the same microfluidic organoid platform category with pharma R&D customers.

Emerging players

• Recursion Pharmaceuticals: AI-enabled biology platform combining high-throughput experimentation with machine learning for drug discovery. Comparable in applying AI/ML to biological data, though focused upstream on therapeutic discovery rather than patient diagnostics.
• Hurel Corporation: Microfluidic cell-based assay technology company serving preclinical drug development with emphasis on liver and oncology applications. Comparable microfluidic technology and pharma services customers.

Broad incumbents

• Charles River Laboratories: Large preclinical CRO offering extensive oncology drug development and patient-derived model services. Incumbent player in the same pharma services budget, with broader portfolio and established scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/encapsulatebio
• Xx.com/encapsulatebio

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds12 records

Investors15 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Encapsulate