Ncardia
Ncardia is a Netherlands-based iPSC technology company that provides human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cell products, custom reprogramming and gene editing services, and assay platforms to biopharmaceutical, biotechnology, cell therapy and academic customers for drug discovery, disease modeling and preclinical safety assessment.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersLeiden, Netherlands
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Ncardia does
Ncardia Services B.V. is a Netherlands-based biotechnology company operating a human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) platform that supports drug discovery, disease modeling and preclinical safety assessment for biopharmaceutical and biotechnology customers. Founded in 2011 as Pluriomics and rebranded to Ncardia in 2017, the company is headquartered in Leiden with operations spanning Europe and North America, and is majority-owned by U.S. investment platform Kiniciti following a $60 million strategic investment in 2021.
The company's core technology stack rests on three pillars: proprietary STAR-CRISPR gene editing, which delivers roughly 90% knock-out efficiency and 2-3x higher knock-in efficiency than standard CRISPR methods with reduced off-target effects in iPSCs; a large-scale bioreactor manufacturing platform capable of producing 1 to over 10 billion cells per batch with batch-to-batch reproducibility designed to anchor 3-5 year screening programs; and a catalog of human iPSC-derived cell products under the Ncyte brand spanning ventricular and atrial cardiomyocytes, endothelial cells, astrocytes, microglia, smooth muscle cells and 3D cardiac microtissues (Heart in a Box), complemented by advanced research series offerings such as hematopoietic, lung progenitor and alveolar type II cells. These are paired with custom services including 12-week iPSC reprogramming, gene editing and differentiation, and an integrated iPSC-based assay platform (ready-to-use assays plus custom screening) with applications across cardiovascular, neuroscience, immuno-oncology and regenerative medicine programs.
Ncardia generates revenue through three streams: catalog sales of off-the-shelf Ncyte cell products via its website, custom iPSC services (reprogramming, gene editing, differentiation) priced on a quote basis, and drug discovery assay services including the multi-tissue IO Safety Panel for immuno-oncology. Distribution is direct, with global shipping and direct sales engagement for enterprise pharmaceutical clients and academic research institutions. The company is affiliated with Cellistic, a 2022 spin-out focused on GMP iPSC-based cell therapy manufacturing that capitalizes on Ncardia's differentiation processes. Leadership under CEO Jason Conner (previously Kiniciti, Patheon/Thermo Fisher) and CTO/co-founder Stefan Braam links the firm to academic founders Prof. Dr. Mummery and Prof. Dr. Passier.
Ncardia firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Ncardia
- Legal name
- Ncardia Services B.V.
- Website
- https://ncardia.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Ncardia is a Netherlands-based iPSC technology company that provides human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cell products, custom reprogramming and gene editing services, and assay platforms to biopharmaceutical, biotechnology, cell therapy and academic customers for drug discovery, disease modeling and preclinical safety assessment.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Ncardia industry classification
Industry- Product category
- iPSC Drug Discovery Services & Cell Models
- NAICS
- Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)
- SIC
- Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- In Vitro Model Systems & Organoid Platforms (iPSC/organoids, microphysiological systems) (HLAAAIAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Organoids & Organ-on-Chip (regenerative models) (HLAAAGAD), Cell Therapy Enabling Technologies (gene editing, cell engineering, delivery methods) (HLAAABAL)
Keywords
Where Ncardia is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Leiden
- HQ country
- Netherlands
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Ncardia business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- iPSC Cell Products (Catalog): Sale of off-the-shelf iPSC-derived cell products including ventricular cardiomyocytes (Ncyte vCardiomyocytes), atrial cardiomyocytes, endothelial cells, astrocytes, microglia, smooth muscle cells, and 3D cardiac microtissues (Ncyte Heart in a Box). Products are cryopreserved cells sold in various formats with or without culture media.
- Custom iPSC Services: Custom services including iPSC reprogramming (12-week delivery), gene editing using STAR-CRISPR technology, and differentiation into specific cell types. Services are project-based with custom specifications.
- Drug Discovery Assay Services: iPSC-based assay services for efficacy and safety screening including ready-to-use assays (cardiotoxicity, neurotoxicity, angiogenesis, etc.) and custom screening campaigns. Supports various therapeutic modalities including small molecules, biologics, RNA therapeutics, and gene therapy.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Off-the-shelf cell products sold individually or as kits with culture media |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels6 records
Ncardia product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Ncardia operates an iPSC technology platform that produces and sells standardized, off-the-shelf human iPSC-derived cell products (including ventricular and atrial cardiomyocytes, endothelial cells, astrocytes, microglia, smooth muscle cells, 3D cardiac microtissues, and non-human primate cardiomyocytes) alongside custom iPSC services — reprogramming, proprietary STAR-CRISPR gene editing, large-scale differentiation and iPSC-based assay/screening services for drug discovery, disease modeling, and safety/toxicology assessment. Customers are biopharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, cell therapy developers and academic research institutions that need physiologically relevant human cell models for preclinical research and therapeutic development.
Product overview
Ncardia is an iPSC technology company providing a comprehensive platform of human iPSC-derived cell products and discovery services. The core offering includes the Ncyte® product line of standardized, off-the-shelf cell models (ventricular and atrial cardiomyocytes, endothelial cells, astrocytes, microglia, smooth muscle cells) and 3D cardiac microtissues (Heart in a Box™), complemented by custom services (reprogramming, STAR-CRISPR gene editing, differentiation) and assay platforms (ready-to-use and custom screening). The portfolio spans cardiovascular, neural, and vascular cell types for drug discovery, disease modeling, and toxicology applications, with the proprietary IO Safety Panel enabling multi-tissue safety assessment in a single workflow.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Ncyte® vCardiomyocytes Human iPSC-derived ventricular cardiomyocytes providing physiologically relevant and fully functional cells for cardiac drug discovery, toxicity testing, and disease modeling applications, sold as off-the-shelf cryopreserved cell products to biopharmaceutical and biotech researchers.
- Ncyte® aCardiomyocytes Human iPSC-derived atrial cardiomyocytes for studying atrial-specific cardiac biology and drug effects on atrial tissue, supplied as off-the-shelf cell products to researchers in cardiovascular drug discovery.
- Ncyte® Endothelial Cells Human iPSC-derived vascular endothelial cells for vascular biology research, angiogenesis studies and endothelial barrier function assessments, sold as off-the-shelf cryopreserved cell products.
- Ncyte® Heart in A Box™ Human iPSC-derived 3D cardiac microtissue model providing more physiologically relevant cardiac tissue for drug discovery and toxicity screening, sold as an off-the-shelf 3D tissue product.
- Ncyte® Plate-Ready vCardiomyocytes Human iPSC-derived plate-ready ventricular-like cardiomyocytes providing a convenient, time-saving solution for a wide range of cardiac functional assays with reliable and reproducible results.
- Ncyte® NHP-C vCardiomyocytes Non-Human Primate (cynomolgus monkey) iPSC-derived ventricular-like cardiomyocytes enabling cross-species cardiac research and more ethical preclinical safety studies; positioned as the only iPSC-derived NHP ventricular cardiomyocytes on the market.
- Ncyte® Astrocytes Human iPSC-derived astrocytes for neurobiology research, neurotoxicity assessments, and neurological disease modeling, sold as off-the-shelf cryopreserved cell products.
- Ncyte® Microglia Human iPSC-derived microglia for neuroinflammation research, neurodegeneration studies and CNS drug discovery applications, launched in 2025 as a catalog cell product.
- Ncyte® Smooth Muscle Cells Human iPSC-derived vascular smooth muscle cells for vascular research and smooth muscle-related disease modeling, supplied as off-the-shelf cryopreserved cell products.
- Advanced Research Series Cell Products (Hematopoietic Stem Cells, Lung Progenitor Cells, Alveolar Type II Cells, 8M Vials) Specialty iPSC cell products including high-purity hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (≥70% CD34+/CD45+/CD43+), lung progenitor cells (≥70% CPM+/NKX2.1+), alveolar type II epithelial cells (≥70% Pro-SPC+/ABCA3+), and high-cell-density ventricular cardiomyocyte vials (≥8M viable cells/vial) for advanced research, disease modeling and large-scale screening.
- iPSC Reprogramming Services Custom reprogramming services transforming patient- or donor-specific somatic cells (human, mouse and primate sources) into high-quality induced pluripotent stem cells, with delivery in as little as 12 weeks and 100+ lines reprogrammed to date.
- STAR-CRISPR Gene Editing Service Custom gene editing service using Ncardia's proprietary STAR-CRISPR technology, delivering ~90% knock-out efficiency and knock-in efficiency 2–3× higher than other methods, with minimal off-target editing for disease modeling and target validation in iPSCs.
- iPSC Differentiation Services Scalable differentiation procedures using 2D and 3D stirred-tank bioreactor platforms, producing functional cell types at volumes needed for high-throughput screening, preclinical cell therapy, and tissue engineering, with batch sizes from 1 to more than 10 billion cells.
- iPSC-Based Assay Services Custom and ready-to-use iPSC-based assay services for drug efficacy and safety evaluation, supporting small molecules, biologics, RNA therapeutics, and gene therapy modalities across multiple therapeutic areas.
- Ncyte® IO Safety Panel Human iPSC-based multi-tissue safety screening service evaluating functional toxicity (via real-time impedance monitoring) across seven human iPSC-derived tissues — neurons, cardiomyocytes, endothelial cells, melanocytes, hepatocytes, intestinal epithelial cells, and alveolar epithelial cells — in a single integrated workflow designed for immuno-oncology and multi-modality safety programs.
- Ready-to-Use iPSC Assays Standardized ready-to-use iPSC-based assay panels covering angiogenesis, biomarker detection, calcium transients, cell painting, contractility, electrophysiology, endothelial barrier function, high content imaging, and metabolism assays for drug efficacy and safety evaluation.
Quantifiable outcome
- Deliveries of multi-billion-cell batches supporting 3-5 years of consistent assay performance from a single batch
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Ncardia
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Ncardia technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability4 records
Feature4 records
Ncardia partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC)coreResearchers at LUMC in the Netherlands developed an automated platform using stem cell-derived 3D cardiac microtissues to accelerate cardiac drug discovery in collaboration with Ncardia. The platform combines robotics and machine learning and was used to screen over 2,000 FDA-approved compounds, identifying approximately 100 that corrected abnormal heart rhythms in a catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia model. The collaboration bridges academic research and industrial drug development.
- CellisticcoreCellistic is an affiliate company formed in 2022 focused on iPSC-based cell therapy manufacturing. The company capitalizes on Ncardia's large-scale manufacturing expertise and proven processes in iPSC differentiation. Ncardia can transfer processes to Cellistic for GMP manufacturing of cell therapy products. Both companies share leadership, with Jason Conner serving as CEO of both Cellistic and Ncardia.
- iPS Academia Japan Inc. (on behalf of Kyoto University)coreNcardia holds a non-exclusive license agreement for iPSC technology from iPS Academia Japan Inc., which represents Kyoto University (where Shinya Yamanaka's original iPSC discovery was made). This license allows Ncardia to commercialize products derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Ncardia competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- FUJIFILM Cellular Dynamics (CDI): FUJIFILM Cellular Dynamics is the most direct competitor: an iPSC pioneer founded out of Jamie Thomson's lab, offering a comprehensive catalog of iPSC-derived cells (cardiomyocytes, neurons, hepatocytes, etc.) and custom iPSC services. Both companies target the same biopharma preclinical customer with off-the-shelf cell products and drug discovery assay services.
- Evotec: Evotec is a leading global CRO with established iPSC-based drug discovery platforms (e.g., its PanHunter screening and iPSC-derived disease modeling services). Comparable to Ncardia in offering integrated iPSC-based discovery services to large pharma, but at materially greater scale and with broader therapeutic area coverage.
Broad incumbents
- Charles River Laboratories: Charles River is a top-3 global CRO with growing iPSC and cell-based assay capabilities across safety, discovery, and manufacturing services. Ncardia's Divisional CEO Jeroen de Groot was previously COO Early Discovery at Charles River, illustrating direct talent and capability overlap. Competes for the same enterprise pharma RFPs.
- Lonza: Lonza is a global CDMO with significant cell and gene therapy manufacturing capabilities plus iPSC-related services. As the most established cell therapy CDMO, it represents the scaled incumbent that Cellistic (Ncardia's affiliate) is positioning against in the GMP iPSC manufacturing space.
- Thermo Fisher Scientific (Patheon): Thermo Fisher, via its Patheon acquisition (where Ncardia CEO Jason Conner previously held leadership), operates a global pharma services network including biologics and cell therapy capabilities. Represents the largest scaled competitor that combines CDMO scale with pharma services relationships.
Emerging players
- bit.bio: bit.bio is an emerging UK-based iPSC platform company offering opti-ox™-engineered iPSC-derived cell products for research and therapeutic applications. Direct competitor in iPSC cell products, particularly neural and immune cell types, with novel reprogramming technology.
- Axol Bioscience: Axol Bioscience is an emerging UK-based iPSC-derived cell product company specializing in neural and cardiac cell types. Direct catalog overlap with Ncardia's Ncyte® neural cells, though smaller in scale and primarily serving academic and early-stage biotech customers.
- Pluristyx: Pluristyx is an emerging iPSC technology company offering iPSC banking, gene editing, and differentiation services. Direct peer in custom iPSC services, particularly for cell therapy developers, with comparable focus on supporting translational programs.
- ReproCELL (now part of Axol Bioscience parent group / Bionova Scientific): ReproCELL is a Japan-based iPSC-derived cell product and services company with strong ties to Kyoto University/Yamanaka's iPSC ecosystem — same licensor as Ncardia. Direct competitor in iPSC catalog products, particularly strong in Asia-Pacific where Ncardia's reach is more limited.
Regional players
- Cell Signaling Technology (CST): CST's Cell signaling portfolio includes high-quality iPSC-derived cell products and reagents. Comparable in catalog cell product offering, with stronger footprint in US academic and pharma research customers versus Ncardia's European-anchored presence.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Ncardia social profiles
Digital presenceNcardia financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Ncardia leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
Ncardia subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Ncardia funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds5 records
Investors8 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Ncardia 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 Ncardia
What does Ncardia do?
Ncardia operates an iPSC technology platform that produces and sells standardized, off-the-shelf human iPSC-derived cell products (including ventricular and atrial cardiomyocytes, endothelial cells, astrocytes, microglia, smooth muscle cells, 3D cardiac microtissues, and non-human primate cardiomyocytes) alongside custom iPSC services — reprogramming, proprietary STAR-CRISPR gene editing, large-scale differentiation and iPSC-based assay/screening services for drug discovery, disease modeling, and safety/toxicology assessment. Customers are biopharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, cell therapy developers and academic research institutions that need physiologically relevant human cell models for preclinical research and therapeutic development.
Is Ncardia a public or private company?
Ncardia is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Ncardia founded?
Ncardia was founded in 2017. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Ncardia based?
Ncardia is headquartered in Leiden, Netherlands, in the Europe region.
How does Ncardia make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. iPSC Cell Products (Catalog) is the primary driver. The others are custom iPSC Services and drug Discovery Assay Services.
Who are Ncardia's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are FUJIFILM Cellular Dynamics (CDI) and Evotec. Broad incumbents are Charles River Laboratories, Lonza and Thermo Fisher Scientific (Patheon). Emerging players are bit.bio, Axol Bioscience, Pluristyx and ReproCELL (now part of Axol Bioscience parent group / Bionova Scientific). Cell Signaling Technology (CST) is listed as a regional player.
Does Ncardia have an API?
No public API is recorded for Ncardia.
What industry is Ncardia in?
Ncardia's product category is iPSC Drug Discovery Services & Cell Models. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAAAIAJ, In Vitro Model Systems & Organoid Platforms (iPSC/organoids, microphysiological systems), with a secondary code of HLAAAGAD, Organoids & Organ-on-Chip (regenerative models). Its NAICS code is 325414 and its SIC code is 2836.