Hesperos
Hesperos is a private Orlando-based CRO operating a patented, pumpless, serum-free multi-organ Human-on-a-Chip microphysiological platform. It provides custom preclinical safety, efficacy, and PK-PD testing services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, consumer-health, and government clients, with 11-50 employees.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersOrlando, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Hesperos does
Hesperos, Inc. is a privately held contract research organization (CRO) founded in 2015 in Orlando, Florida, by Drs. Michael L. Shuler and James J. Hickman. The company was the first spin-off from the NIH/DARPA Tissue Chip Program and the first to reach Phase IIb of that program's funding. It provides preclinical drug discovery and toxicity testing services through its patented Human-on-a-Chip platform, a pumpless, serum-free, gravity-driven microfluidic system that connects multiple human organ modules (heart, liver, neurons, skeletal muscle, kidney, GI tract, skin, blood-brain barrier, immune system, and pancreas) in a single recirculating circuit. Configurations range from two-organ standard models (Heart-Liver, Neuromuscular Junction) up to a ten-organ custom system, supporting both acute and chronic dosing studies for up to 28 days. Functional real-time readouts (contractile force, beat frequency, field potential duration, neuronal action potentials) and integrated PK-PD modeling via computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and HPLC-MS distinguish the platform from biomarker-only approaches.
Hesperos generates revenue through custom contract research engagements sold directly to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, cosmetic, food, and government clients. Services include custom multi-organ model builds, standardized safety/efficacy assays, disease modeling (rare diseases, cancer, neurodegeneration, ALS, Alzheimer's), drug-drug interaction studies, and PK-PD analyses. Pricing is quote-based with multi-year contracts; no public pricing exists. The company markets primarily through peer-reviewed scientific publications, scientific conferences and AIMBE workshops, its website (with 'Get a Quote' and webinar scheduling), and direct B2B sales engagement. Named enterprise customers and partners include Sanofi (SAR445088, the first FDA-approved drug using exclusively organoid-derived preclinical data), Roche, AstraZeneca, Vanda Pharmaceuticals, and Bayer Consumer Health. Government funding sources include NCATS, NIH, and DARPA. The company operates from a single Orlando headquarters at 12501 Research Pkwy, Suite 100, with 11-50 employees, and holds granted patents covering multi-organ systems, the pumpless platform, and serum-free culture methods.
Hesperos firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Hesperos
- Legal name
- Hesperos, Inc.
- Website
- https://hesperosinc.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Hesperos is a private Orlando-based CRO operating a patented, pumpless, serum-free multi-organ Human-on-a-Chip microphysiological platform. It provides custom preclinical safety, efficacy, and PK-PD testing services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, consumer-health, and government clients, with 11-50 employees.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Hesperos industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Preclinical Contract Research Services (Organ-on-Chip)
- NAICS
- Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)
- SIC
- 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), DMPK / ADME & Bioanalysis (HLAGAFAC)
Keywords
Where Hesperos is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Orlando
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Hesperos business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Contract Research Services (CRO): Hesperos operates as a contract research organization providing compound safety and efficacy testing services using its Human-on-a-Chip platform. Services include custom build and standard systems composed of human cells for preclinical drug discovery and development.
- Custom Model Development: Custom development of multi-organ models with up to 5-organ or tissue types for specific therapeutic applications and disease modeling requirements.
- Standard Model Testing Services: Pre-configured testing services including 2-organ (Heart-Liver), 3-organ (Heart-Liver-Cancer), 4-organ (Heart-Liver-Neuron-Muscle), and neuromuscular junction models for safety and efficacy evaluation.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Custom Contract Research Services |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
Hesperos product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Hesperos is a contract research organization that provides preclinical drug discovery and toxicity testing services using its proprietary Human-on-a-Chip multi-organ microphysiological platform. The company delivers custom and standard in vitro models that interconnect human organ modules (heart, liver, neurons, muscle, kidney, GI, skin, BBB, immune system) under pumpless, serum-free, gravity-driven flow to simultaneously assess efficacy, off-target toxicity, ADME, drug-drug interactions, and PK/PD relationships for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, cosmetic, and government clients.
Product overview
Hesperos offers the Human-on-a-Chip® platform as its core product - a multi-organ microphysiological system for drug discovery and toxicity testing. The platform supports configurable organ combinations from 2 to 5+ organs including Heart, Liver, Neurons, Skeletal Muscle, Kidney, GI Tract, Skin, and Blood-Brain Barrier. Standard pre-configured models include Heart-Liver (2-organ), Heart-Liver-Cancer (3-organ), Heart-Liver-Neuron-Muscle (4-organ), Neuromuscular Junction, and Heart-Liver-Skin. Custom organ configurations are available. Additional services include PK/PD modeling using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and HPLC-MS quantification. The pumpless, serum-free platform can operate for up to 28 days for acute and chronic dosing studies.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Human-on-a-Chip Platform A pumpless, serum-free, gravity-driven multi-organ microphysiological system platform that interconnects interchangeable organ modules to reproduce functional aspects of human physiology for drug discovery and toxicity testing. Used as the technological basis for all Hesperos CRO engagements with pharmaceutical, biotechnology, cosmetic, and government clients.
- Heart-Liver 2-Organ Model A two-organ standard testing service combining cardiac and hepatic tissue modules, supporting acute and chronic dosing studies for up to 28 days for safety and efficacy evaluation of drug candidates.
- Heart-Liver-Cancer 3-Organ Model A three-organ standard testing service integrating cardiac, hepatic, and cancer cell modules to evaluate chemotherapeutic efficacy and determine therapeutic index by simultaneously measuring efficacy and off-target toxicity.
- Heart-Liver-Neuron-Muscle 4-Organ Model A four-organ standard testing service with extensive baseline physiological characterization using multi-electrode array and cantilever-based functional readouts, particularly suited for neurodegenerative and CNS-active drug studies.
- Neuromuscular Junction (NMJ) Model A two-organ standard testing service for studying neuromuscular junction formation, stability, and activity between motoneuron neurotransmitter release and skeletal muscle contraction, with applications in ALS and other NMJ disease drug development.
- Heart-Liver-Skin 3-Organ Model A three-organ standard testing service for evaluating the safety and efficacy of topically applied products, with monitoring of transdermal diffusion and downstream effects on systemic organ physiology.
- Custom Multi-Organ Model Development Bespoke development of multi-organ microphysiological configurations tailored to client therapeutic application or disease modeling requirements, supporting up to 10 interconnected organ modules.
- Pharmacokinetic/Pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) Modeling Standalone computational service using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling to derive pharmacokinetic profiles and PK/PD relationships from Hesperos multi-organ system experimental data, supporting drug development decision-making.
- HPLC-MS Analysis
Quantifiable outcome
- First FDA-authorized Phase II clinical trial using efficacy data exclusively from a microphysiological system
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Hesperos
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Hesperos technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature7 records
Hesperos partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- AsedaSciencesminorStrategic channel sales partnership announced for better predictive, more efficient, and lower cost drug/product development services.
- Bayer Consumer HealthcoreCollaborative peer-reviewed study to model central nervous system stress responses and evaluate potential therapeutics using human-relevant microphysiological system. Study demonstrated cortisol disrupts neuronal network activity.
- Vanda PharmaceuticalscoreCollaboration on potential ASO-based personalized treatment for Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2S published in Molecular Therapy Nucleic Acids. Also studying tradipitant CNS drug.
- SanoficoreCollaboration on SAR445088 development - the first drug approved by FDA using exclusively organoid-derived preclinical data from Hesperos' human-on-a-chip system. Efficacy data from Hesperos system enabled FDA authorization of Phase II clinical trial.
- RochecoreCollaboration on multi-organ cancer therapeutic evaluation and innate immune system modeling published in Advanced Science. Demonstrated differential monocyte actuation in three-organ functional system.
- AstraZenecacoreCollaboration on pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic modeling study published in Nature Scientific Reports 2019. Explored temporal PK-PD relationships using organ-chip models.
- NIH/DARPA Tissue Chip ProgramcoreHesperos was the first spin-off company from the NIH/DARPA Tissue Chip Program. First company to reach Phase IIb funding, awarded for proven technologies requiring additional effort for regulatory acceptance.
- University of Central Florida (UCF)minorResearch collaboration with UCF researchers including Human-on-a-Chip study on Alzheimer's disease peripheral neuromuscular pathology and ALS neuromuscular junction modeling.
- NIH (NCATS)coreFounders Shuler and Hickman were funded in the initial grant period of NIH Tissue Chip Initiative, which partnered with FDA and DARPA to advance organ-on-chip technology.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Hesperos competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Emulate: Direct organ-on-chip competitor offering the Liver-Chip and other single/multi-organ microfluidic platforms. Pursues an instrument-plus-consumables model that contrasts with Hesperos' CRO model, and is the most frequently cited peer in disease-on-chip market reports.
- Mimetas: Direct peer offering OrganoPlate microfluidic 3D tissue culture platforms for organ-on-chip applications. Comparable to Hesperos in target customer base (pharma/biotech preclinical) and disease-modeling use cases, though focused on plate-based throughput rather than interconnected multi-organ systems.
- CN Bio Innovations: Direct peer providing the PhysioMimix multi-organ microphysiological system for drug discovery and toxicology. Competes head-to-head with Hesperos in multi-organ MPS services for pharma preclinical pipelines.
- TissUse: Direct competitor offering multi-organ-chip (MOC) platforms combining several organ equivalents on a microfluidic chip. Closely comparable to Hesperos' multi-organ Human-on-a-Chip and frequently co-cited in MPS regulatory and academic literature.
Emerging players
- InSphero: 3D microtissue and organoid provider for drug discovery and toxicology. Overlaps with Hesperos in disease modeling and preclinical safety/efficacy testing but specializes in spheroid/organoid formats rather than interconnected multi-organ chips.
- Organovo: 3D bioprinting and tissue company with early work in liver and other tissue models. Shares the disease-modeling adjacency with Hesperos but takes a bioprinting-first approach to in vitro human tissue construction.
Broad incumbents
- Charles River Laboratories: Large CRO offering preclinical safety, efficacy, and DMPK services. Comparable to Hesperos as a customer-facing preclinical CRO but does not specialize in MPS; instead operates broad safety/biology portfolios that compete for the same pharma preclinical budget.
- Labcorp (Early Development / Covance): Global CRO providing preclinical and clinical drug development services. Comparable in serving the same pharma buyers with non-clinical testing services but at much larger scale and broader scope, without an MPS specialization.
Others
- FUJIFILM Cellular Dynamics: Leading supplier of iPSC-derived cells used in organ-on-chip and disease-modeling workflows. Not a direct competitor but a key enabling supplier whose iPSC lines underpin Hesperos' organ modules (e.g., BBB, GI tract).
- NCATS (NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences): Federal funder and steward of the Tissue Chip Program from which Hesperos spun off. Functions as a research partner and grant provider rather than a competitor, but shapes the regulatory and funding landscape in which Hesperos operates.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Hesperos social profiles
Digital presenceHesperos financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Hesperos leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
Hesperos funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds4 records
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Hesperos 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 Hesperos
What does Hesperos do?
Hesperos is a contract research organization that provides preclinical drug discovery and toxicity testing services using its proprietary Human-on-a-Chip multi-organ microphysiological platform. The company delivers custom and standard in vitro models that interconnect human organ modules (heart, liver, neurons, muscle, kidney, GI, skin, BBB, immune system) under pumpless, serum-free, gravity-driven flow to simultaneously assess efficacy, off-target toxicity, ADME, drug-drug interactions, and PK/PD relationships for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, cosmetic, and government clients.
Is Hesperos a public or private company?
Hesperos is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Hesperos founded?
Hesperos was founded in 2015. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Hesperos based?
Hesperos is headquartered in Orlando, United States, in the North America region.
How does Hesperos make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Contract Research Services (CRO) is the primary driver. The others are custom Model Development and standard Model Testing Services.
Who are Hesperos's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Emulate, Mimetas, CN Bio Innovations and TissUse. Emerging players are InSphero and Organovo. Broad incumbents are Charles River Laboratories and Labcorp (Early Development / Covance). Others are FUJIFILM Cellular Dynamics and NCATS (NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences).
Does Hesperos have an API?
No public API is recorded for Hesperos.
What industry is Hesperos in?
Hesperos's product category is Preclinical Contract Research Services (Organ-on-Chip). 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 541714 and its SIC code is 8731.