Univercells

What Univercells does

Univercells is a Belgian life sciences company founded in 2013 and headquartered in Gosselies, Belgium, that provides end-to-end, low-cost biomanufacturing solutions for vaccines and advanced therapies. The company operates through two core subsidiaries: Univercells Technologies, which develops miniature and single-use bioreactor systems (including the scale-X bioreactor line, now operating under Donaldson), and Quantoom Biosciences, which focuses on RNA-based vaccine and therapy production platforms. Its primary value proposition is reducing the cost and infrastructure footprint of biomanufacturing through continuous processing, single-use technologies, and miniaturized form factors, targeting vaccine manufacturers and RNA therapy developers globally.

The company's product portfolio spans the scale-X bioreactor family for cell culture process development and the Quantoom RNA platform for RNA-based vaccine and therapy development. Recent strategic activity includes the launch of the scale-X Nexo miniaturized bioreactor (October 2024), the acquisition of SynHelix (January 2022), and major international partnerships with Fiocruz for RNA manufacturing in Brazil (December 2024) and with the Serum Institute of India for cancer vaccine development (June 2025). The company has raised approximately €44 million in its most recent Series D round (October 2022) and has secured cumulative funding of roughly $260 million across multiple prior rounds from investors including KKR, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Adjuvant Capital, and SFPI-FPIM.

Univercells' business model combines capital equipment sales (bioreactor hardware) with platform and process licensing in RNA manufacturing, structured around strategic partnerships with tier-1 vaccine manufacturers and public-health institutions. It serves pharmaceutical and biotech companies developing vaccines — including mRNA-based vaccines and cancer immunotherapies — as well as organizations requiring advanced RNA production capabilities. With 251-500 employees, the company operates across Europe and, through its partnerships, extends into Latin America and South Asia.

Name

Univercells

Website

https://univercells.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Univercells is a Belgian life sciences company providing end-to-end, low-cost biomanufacturing solutions for vaccines and RNA-based therapies, serving vaccine manufacturers and RNA therapy developers through its scale-X bioreactor and Quantoom RNA platforms.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Bioprocessing Equipment and Biomanufacturing Platforms

NAICS

Medical Equipment and Supplies Manufacturing (3391), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)

SIC

Surgical & Medical Instruments & Apparatus (3841)

akta.pro primary industry

Cell Culture & Bioprocess Lab Equipment (Bioreactors, Single-Use Systems, Controllers) (HLAGAIAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Cell Therapy Manufacturing Platforms & Automation (closed systems, bioreactors, fill-finish) (HLAAABAG)

Keywords

• Biomanufacturing solutions
• Cell culture bioreactors
• RNA vaccine platforms
• Continuous processing technology
• Single-use bioprocessing

Headquarters

HQ city

Gosselies

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Core offering

Univercells delivers high-density, low-cost biomanufacturing end-to-end solutions for vaccine and advanced therapy developers, including the scale-X Nexo miniaturized bioreactor for cell culture process development and an RNA-based vaccines and therapies production platform offered through its Quantoom Biosciences subsidiary. The company serves pharmaceutical and biotech organizations needing cost-effective, scalable manufacturing infrastructure.

Product overview

Univercells is a life sciences company offering bioscience platforms and laboratory equipment for vaccine and therapy development. The company operates through its subsidiary Univercells Technologies (now part of Donaldson) which produces the scale-X bioreactor product line, and through its Quantoom Biosciences subsidiary which focuses on RNA-based vaccine and therapy technologies. The product portfolio includes miniaturized bioreactors for cell culture process development and RNA vaccine platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• scale-X Nexo: Miniaturized bioreactor for cell culture process development

Products and services

• scale-X Nexo Bioreactor A miniaturized bioreactor designed to accelerate cell culture process development, offered to pharmaceutical and biotech organizations by Univercells Technologies for vaccine and advanced therapy manufacturing.
• RNA-based Vaccines and Therapies Platform An RNA-based vaccine and therapy development platform delivered through the Quantoom Biosciences subsidiary, enabling cost-effective and scalable RNA manufacturing for vaccine developers and public health institutes.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.

• Serum Institute of IndiamajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 June 2025Strategic partnership in cancer vaccine development with Univercells, as part of broader industry collaborations in India's vaccine market. Serum Institute is scaling production of various vaccine types including viral, subunit, and inactivated vaccines.
• FiocruzmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 December 2024Collaboration between Quantoom (Univercells subsidiary), Univercells, and Fiocruz to bolster RNA-based vaccine and therapy development in Brazil and beyond. The partnership was announced in the presence of Belgian royalty and aims to strengthen RNA manufacturing capabilities in Latin America.
• Quantoom BiosciencescoreTechnology or Integration · 3 December 2024Subsidiary of Univercells focused on RNA-based vaccine and therapy production platforms, integral to the Fiocruz collaboration for advancing RNA manufacturing capabilities in Brazil.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Sartorius AG: Global leader in bioprocessing equipment and consumables (including bioreactors and single-use systems) used by vaccine and biologics manufacturers; directly comparable as a supplier of cell-culture process platforms to Univercells' scale-X line.
• Cytiva (Danaher): Major bioprocessing platform provider offering bioreactors, single-use technologies, and process development tools for vaccines and advanced therapies; competes head-to-head with Univercells' equipment offering and supports similar end-customers.
• Thermo Fisher Scientific: Diversified life-sciences tools and bioproduction supplier (via Patheon CDMO and bioprocessing products); comparable to Univercells in biomanufacturing equipment and services for vaccine and biologics developers.
• Merck KGaA (MilliporeSigma): Life-science tools and bioprocessing supplier (single-use systems, process development services, CDMO); broad incumbent comparable to Univercells across both equipment and biomanufacturing services.
• Lonza Group: Leading biopharmaceutical CDMO with significant vaccine, mRNA, and cell-and-gene therapy manufacturing capacity; comparable to Univercells on the biomanufacturing-services and vaccine-platform side.
• Catalent: Large CDMO offering biologics, vaccine, and RNA manufacturing services; directly comparable to Quantoom's RNA production platform and a potential competitor for the same customers.

Direct peers

• Eppendorf: Manufacturer of bioreactors (including single-use and bench-scale systems) and cell-culture process instruments; directly comparable to Univercells Technologies' scale-X bioreactor product line in form factor and end-user.
• PBS Biotech: Specialist in single-use, scale-down bioreactors for cell therapy and bioprocess development; closely comparable to Univercells' scale-X miniaturized, single-use bioreactor strategy.
• ABEC: Designer and manufacturer of bioreactors and bioprocess systems for vaccines, gene therapy and cell therapy; directly comparable large-scale bioreactor competitor to Univercells.

Emerging players

• Cellexus: Smaller specialist in single-use, airlift bioreactor systems for cell culture and bioprocessing; an emerging niche peer comparable to Univercells Technologies' scale-X approach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/biologicsforall
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/univercells

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds11 records

Investors19 records

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

M&A1 record

Investments1 record

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

Frequently asked questions about Univercells