What Tethis does

Tethis S.p.A. is an Italian life sciences company developing an integrated liquid biopsy platform for cancer diagnostics research and, prospectively, clinical use. The company is headquartered in Milan, was founded in 2004, and operates with a multidisciplinary team of approximately 20+ employees spanning physics, biology, engineering, clinical, quality, and finance functions. Tethis targets translational researchers, clinical laboratories, and pharmaceutical/biotech customers working on circulating tumor cell (CTC) analysis, immune cell characterization, spatial biology, and companion diagnostics development.

The platform rests on three proprietary layers. The foundation is a titanium nanocoating produced via Supersonic Cluster Beam Deposition (SCBD), which creates a nanostructured, biomimetic surface that enables spontaneous adhesion of typically non-adherent cells without biochemical functionalization; this coating is commercialized as SmartBioSurface (SBS) slides. The instrumentation layer, See.d, is described as the first universal, fully automated blood sample preparator for liquid biopsy, stabilizing the cellular fraction on SBS slides while making plasma available for cell-free content analysis (cfDNA, cfRNA/miRNA, proteins, metabolites, exosomes) from a single EDTA blood draw. The analysis layer is the Digital Suite, comprising Argus (a deep-learning system for two-stage detection and classification of rare cellular events on immunofluorescent widefield images) and See.r (an interactive visualization and verification interface).

Tethis currently sells under a Research Use Only (RUO) model, monetizing SBS slide consumables, See.d instrument placements (often at partner institutions for evaluation and clinical studies), and platform integration services such as joint marketing with complementary technology partners like Lumito AB. The company has executed multiple clinical collaborations with academic medical centers — including European Institute of Oncology, Weill Cornell Medicine, Sheba Medical Center, Sapienza University of Rome, and Sant'Andrea Hospital — and is pursuing CE-IVD marking through the TET-22-001 study. Go-to-market is primarily enterprise field sales via conference presence (EACR, AACR, ISLB, ACTC, MEDICA, CDx Europe) supported by scientific publications, application notes, and instrument placements at partner sites. The company has raised approximately €17.4 million cumulatively, including a €15 million investment from ENEA Tech and Biomedical Foundation in January 2025, and is led by CEO Holger Neecke (appointed October 2022) with CSO Roberta Carbone and CTO Gian Martino Franchi.

Name

Tethis

Legal name

Tethis S.p.A.

Website

https://tethis-lab.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Tethis S.p.A. is an Italian liquid biopsy company that develops proprietary titanium nanocoated slides (SmartBioSurface), an automated blood sample preparation instrument (See.d), and AI-powered imaging analysis software (Argus, See.r) for cancer diagnostics research and companion diagnostics.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Liquid Biopsy Diagnostics

NAICS

In-Vitro Diagnostic Substance Manufacturing (325413), Medical Equipment and Supplies Manufacturing (3391), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Research and Development in Nanotechnology (541713)

SIC

In Vitro & In Vivo Diagnostic Substances (2835), Surgical & Medical Instruments & Apparatus (3841), Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826)

akta.pro primary industry

Liquid Biopsy & Minimal Residual Disease (MRD) Precision Testing (HLAAANAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Oncology Diagnostics (tumor profiling, MRD, liquid biopsy) (HLAAALAE)

Keywords

• Liquid biopsy platform
• Circulating tumor cells
• Nanocoated cell slides
• Automated pre-analytical instruments
• AI-powered cell imaging

Headquarters

HQ city

Milan

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. SmartBioSurface Slides (Consumables): Sale of proprietary nanocoated slides for cell adhesion and analysis. Research Use Only products sold directly to life sciences companies, academic research institutions, and clinical laboratories.
2. See.d Instrument: Sale of automated pre-analytical blood sample preparation instrument. Placed at partner institutions for evaluation and clinical studies. Research Use Only.
3. Platform Integration Services: Joint marketing activities and integrated workflow development with partners such as Lumito. Potential licensing of technology for companion diagnostics development.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Tethis develops and sells an integrated liquid biopsy platform for cancer diagnostics consisting of three core product lines: SmartBioSurface (SBS) nanocoated slides that capture suspension and rare cells using a proprietary titanium nanocoating, the See.d automated pre-analytical instrument that standardizes blood sample preparation at the point of collection, and the Digital Suite (Argus AI detection and See.r visual exploration software) for AI-powered analysis of circulating tumor cells and other rare cellular events. All products are currently marketed as Research Use Only.

Product overview

Tethis offers an integrated liquid biopsy platform comprising hardware instruments, consumable nanocoated slides, and AI-powered analysis software. The core portfolio includes: See.d® (automated pre-analytical blood sample preparator), SmartBioSurface® (SBS) nanocoated slides for cell adhesion, and the Digital Suite featuring Argus and See.r AI-driven analysis tools. These products work together in a unified workflow: See.d processes fresh blood samples at point of collection, SmartBioSurface slides capture cells for analysis, and the Digital Suite enables AI-powered detection and interpretation of cellular events including circulating tumor cells. The platform supports applications in cancer diagnostics, disease monitoring, and precision oncology.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SmartBioSurface®: Nanocoated slides for efficient and gentle adhesion of suspension cells, supporting applications in circulating tumor cell analysis, immune cell characterization, and single-cell workflows.
• See.d®
• Argus
• See.r

Products and services

• SmartBioSurface (SBS) slides Nanocoated glass slides with a proprietary nanostructured titanium dioxide coating deposited via Supersonic Cluster Beam Deposition (SCBD). The coating mimics extracellular matrix topography and enables spontaneous, gentle, and efficient adhesion of typically non-adherent cells, including suspension cells, primary cells, stem cells, rare cells (such as circulating tumor cells), and low-cellularity fluids, without biochemical functionalization. Slides are compatible with standard staining protocols and advanced imaging techniques and are sold for Research Use Only to life sciences researchers, clinical laboratories, and translational scientists.
• See.d An automated, standardized pre-analytical blood sample preparation instrument for liquid biopsy. Processes fresh blood collected in EDTA tubes shortly after collection to preserve sample integrity. Stabilizes the cellular fraction on SmartBioSurface slides for rare cell detection including circulating tumor cells, while providing plasma for analysis of cell-free content such as cfDNA, cfRNA/miRNA, proteins, metabolites, and exosomes. Designed for walk-away operation without specialized technicians or special tubes. Marketed as Research Use Only and placed at partner institutions including the European Institute of Oncology, Weill Cornell Medicine, Sheba Medical Center, and Sapienza University of Rome.
• Digital Suite (Argus and See.r) AI-driven software suite for the analysis and interpretation of immunofluorescent widefield imaging data from liquid biopsy samples. Includes Argus, a high-performance AI system that performs two-stage detection and classification of rare cellular events such as circulating tumor cells using deep learning models, and See.r, an interactive visual exploration interface for verification and interpretation of detected events. Together they enable scalable, reproducible cellular analysis workflows integrated with the See.d and SmartBioSurface workflow.

Quantifiable outcome

• 75% overall sensitivity and 97% specificity in discriminating breast cancer patients from healthy individuals in early-stage setting
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Sapienza University of Rome (Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 October 2025Collaboration within HERCART project funded by Italian Ministry. Service agreement for liquid biopsy analysis using See.d instrument and SmartBioSurface slides to detect HER3-positive CTCs in lung cancer patients.
• TakiscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 October 2025Joint initiative with Sapienza University to advance HER3-targeted therapies and companion diagnostics. Takis developing bispecific T-cell engager (Rever3mAb) while Tethis provides liquid biopsy platform for patient selection.
• Sant'Andrea Hospital, RomecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 October 2025Clinical site for blood sample collection from lung cancer patients as part of HER3-positive CTC detection study in collaboration with Sapienza University and Takis.
• Sheba Medical CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 March 2025Research collaboration to evaluate CTCs in rectal cancer patients using Tethis technology. See.d instrument installed at Sheba's Institute of Pathology. Study monitors CTCs and ctDNA before and after neoadjuvant therapy.
• Weill Cornell MedicinecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 September 2024Collaboration to test Tethis instruments for monitoring response to curative treatment in early-stage breast cancer patients. Tethis placed See.d instrument at Cristofanilli lab for CTC and cfDNA analysis.
• European Institute of Oncology (IEO)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 April 2024Clinical study TET-22-001 evaluating See.d platform performance at hospital laboratory setting. First two metastatic breast cancer patients enrolled. Study aims for CE-IVD marking.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• RareCyte: RareCyte develops liquid biopsy platforms for rare cell analysis, including circulating tumor cells, using proprietary sample preparation and imaging technology. Closely comparable to Tethis in addressing the technical challenge of rare-cell capture and analysis from blood, with similar target market of translational researchers and clinical labs.
• Guardant Health: Guardant Health is a leading US liquid biopsy company with FDA-approved oncology tests (Guardant360 CDx, Guardant Reveal MRD) for circulating tumor DNA analysis. Directly comparable to Tethis as a liquid biopsy platform serving oncology diagnostics with blood-based assays, though at vastly greater commercial scale.
• ANGLE plc: ANGLE plc is a UK-based liquid biopsy company whose Parsortix system captures and harvests circulating tumor cells from blood for downstream analysis. Direct peer to Tethis in the CTC enrichment/instrument space, targeting similar translational and clinical research customers with a hardware-plus-consumables platform.
• EPIC Sciences: EPIC Sciences provides circulating tumor cell characterization through its Epic CTC platform for liquid biopsy applications in oncology drug development and clinical research. Direct competitor in the CTC analysis space, comparable in focusing on rare-cell characterization rather than ctDNA alone.
• Menarini Silicon Biosystems (CELLSEARCH): Menarini Silicon Biosystems markets CELLSEARCH, the only FDA-cleared circulating tumor cell (CTC) enumeration test, and is the most direct competitor to Tethis' SBS/See.d CTC-focused liquid biopsy platform. Comparable target customers (oncology clinical labs) and CTC-detection focus, with established regulatory clearance that Tethis is pursuing.
• Fluxion Biosciences: Fluxion Biosciences offers liquid biopsy instruments (BioFlux, IsoFlux) for circulating tumor cell isolation and downstream molecular analysis. Comparable to Tethis in targeting pre-analytical CTC workflows with instrument-plus-consumables product model, serving translational research and pharma/biotech customers.

Broad incumbents

• Foundation Medicine (Roche): Foundation Medicine (acquired by Roche) is a leader in comprehensive genomic profiling from blood and tissue samples for oncology. Comparable in molecular diagnostics for personalized cancer care and sits on Tethis board member Miro Venturi's prior CV (former CBO). Broader scope than Tethis, but overlapping customer base and liquid biopsy/precision oncology positioning.
• Natera: Natera is a publicly traded molecular diagnostics company with Signatera (tumor-informed MRD) and other blood-based oncology tests. Comparable in liquid biopsy precision oncology positioning with a focus on early detection and treatment monitoring; broader commercial reach and FDA-cleared tests, but same end market as Tethis' CTC-based MRD research applications.
• Bio-Techne: Bio-Techne is a large life sciences tools company whose spatial biology and proteomics reagents (including RNAscope and ProteinSimple platforms) compete for the same researcher budget as Tethis' SmartBioSurface slides. Broader portfolio of consumables and instruments but overlapping customer base in translational/clinical research labs.

Emerging players

• Akoya Biosciences: Akoya Biosciences provides spatial biology platforms (PhenoCycler, PhenoImager) for multiplex tissue and cell analysis. Partial overlap with Tethis — Tethis' SBS slides are validated on the CellScape multiplex IF platform — making Akoya an ecosystem partner/adjacent player rather than direct competitor, but operating in the same spatial biology end market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tethis-s-p-a

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds7 records

Investors3 records

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

M&A1 record

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Tethis