What DewCell does

DewCell (듀셀) is a South Korean clinical-stage biotechnology company founded in October 2021 that develops artificial blood platelets from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) via its proprietary en-aPLT platform. The company's core technology differentiates iPSCs through hematopoietic stem cells and megakaryocytes in a five-stage production process, enabling large-scale platelet manufacturing. In January 2026, DewCell achieved the world's first successful artificial platelet production using a 50-liter bioreactor — a scale-up milestone its primary competitor Megakaryon (Japan) has not yet matched at clinical-relevant volumes.

The company operates three parallel product pipelines derived from the en-aPLT platform. DCB-101 (en-aPLT) is a transfusion-grade artificial platelet targeting emergency transfusion patients with thrombocytopenia, offering extended shelf life (up to 10 days) versus 5-7 days for donated platelets. DCB-103 (i-aPLP) is a regenerative medicine candidate for osteoarthritis positioned as a Disease Modifying Osteoarthritis Drug (DMOAD), with additional potential applications in skin, ophthalmology, and dentistry. DCB-301 (i-ahPLys/aHPL) is an artificial human platelet lysate positioned as a fetal bovine serum (FBS) replacement for cell therapy and regenerative medicine manufacturing. The company plans to achieve full GMP certification by 2028 and is targeting a 2028 IPO.

DewCell monetizes through B2B enterprise sales targeting hospitals/blood banks (transfusion), pharmaceutical companies (regenerative medicine licensing), and research/cell therapy manufacturers (biomaterials). Its GTM relies on direct field sales supplemented by CDMO partnerships (notably GC Cell for clinical drug substance production) and industry/academic collaborations (Sartorius, PL BioScience, Thermo Fisher, iPS Academia Japan, KRIBB). The company has raised approximately 245B KRW total (~125B KRW private equity plus ~120B KRW government R&D grants) across angel, pre-Series A, Series A (April 2024, ~9B KRW), Series B (July 2024, ~12.5B KRW), and an in-progress Series C targeting 20B KRW. Revenue is currently pre-revenue, with the first signed commercial LOI (~$2M with Germany's PL BioScience) executed in May 2025 and projected revenue of 30B KRW in 2026 ramping to 100B KRW by 2028.

Name

DewCell

Legal name

주식회사 듀셀

Website

https://dewcell.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

DewCell (듀셀) is a South Korean clinical-stage biotech developing artificial blood platelets from iPSCs via its proprietary en-aPLT platform, serving hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, and cell therapy manufacturers with transfusion, regenerative medicine, and cell culture media products.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Regenerative Medicine Biologics

NAICS

Blood and Organ Banks (621991)

SIC

In Vitro & In Vivo Diagnostic Substances (2835)

akta.pro primary industry

Cell Therapy CDMO (HLAGABAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Blood Factors & Hemostasis Biologics (recombinant clotting factors, thrombolytics) (HLAAAAAL)

Keywords

• Artificial platelet production
• Stem cell biotechnology
• Cell therapy manufacturing
• Regenerative medicine biologics
• Platelet lysate products

Headquarters

HQ city

Seongnam

HQ country

South Korea

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. DCB-101 (Transfusion Product): Artificial blood platelet product for transfusion applications, addressing global blood platelet shortages
2. DCB-103 (Therapeutic Product): Therapeutic product for osteoarthritis treatment using artificial platelet technology
3. DCB-301 (Biomaterial): Advanced biomaterial product for medical applications

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

DewCell develops and manufactures artificial blood platelets from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) using its proprietary en-aPLT platform, which enables 50-liter bioreactor scale production. Its product pipeline includes DCB-101 (transfusion-grade platelet for emergency patients), DCB-103 (osteoarthritis regenerative therapy), and DCB-301 (artificial human platelet lysate as a cell culture media supplement replacing fetal bovine serum). The company also produces biomaterials for cell therapy and regenerative medicine applications.

Product overview

DewCell operates as a single-product company focused exclusively on artificial platelet development using stem cell differentiation technology. The core technology platform is en-aPLT, which enables large-scale production of artificial platelets from iPSC through a proprietary 5-stage process. Based on this platform, the company develops three parallel pipelines: DCB-101 (transfusion artificial platelet for emergency patients), DCB-103/i-aPLP (osteoarthritis treatment via tissue regeneration), and DCB-301/i-ahPLys (advanced biomaterial/cell culture media supplement). The products span the full value chain from emergency transfusion applications to regenerative medicine treatments and biotechnology raw materials.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• en-aPLT: Company's proprietary artificial platelet production platform using stem cell differentiation technology
• en-aPLTTM
• i-aPLPTM
• i-ahPLys
• aHPL
• DCB-101
• DCB-103
• DCB-301

Products and services

• DCB-101 (en-aPLT) Transfusion-grade artificial platelet candidate for emergency transfusion patients with thrombocytopenia from cancer chemotherapy, aplastic anemia, or genetic conditions. Provides hemostatic function equivalent to blood-derived platelets with extended shelf life of up to 10 days, targeting hospitals and blood banks.
• DCB-103 (i-aPLP) In-vitro artificial platelet lysate product (i-aPLP) for tissue regeneration, with the primary target indication being osteoarthritis as a Disease Modifying Osteoarthritis Drug (DMOAD). Demonstrated anti-inflammatory effects and cartilage tissue regeneration in animal models, with expanding applications to skin (burn treatment), ophthalmology (macular degeneration), and dental (periodontitis) indications. Produced via GMP-compliant process from iPSC-derived platelets as a standardized alternative to PRP therapy.
• DCB-301 (i-ahPLys / aHPL) Advanced biomaterial product (i-ahPLys) derived from artificial platelet lysis, functioning as a cell culture media supplement to replace fetal bovine serum (FBS) and blood-derived platelet lysate. Provides consistent quality, pathogen-free, and animal-origin-free alternative for cell therapy and regenerative medicine manufacturing. Developed in collaboration with PL BioScience (Germany) for global supply.
• en-aPLT Production Platform Proprietary stem cell differentiation-based artificial platelet production platform using iPSC differentiated through hematopoietic stem cells and megakaryocytes. Supports a five-stage production process with cell banking for scalable GMP-compliant manufacturing at 50-liter bioreactor scale. Sold/licensed to clinical and commercial manufacturing partners, including CDMO partner GC Cell.

Quantifiable outcome

• 50-liter bioreactor scale production - global first achievement

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Thermo Fisher ScientificcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2025Joint development of artificial platelet-specific culture media for optimized production processes
• PL BioScience (Germany)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 March 2025Joint development of artificial platelet lysate products, technology support, and overseas market expansion collaboration
• iPS Academia JapancoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 25 September 2024iPSC license agreement providing access to foundational stem cell technology for artificial platelet production
• GC Cell (지씨셀)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 August 2024Strategic partnership for artificial platelet development and CDMO services for clinical drug production; expanded partnership announced 2025-07-10
• Sartorius Korea BioTekcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 March 2023Joint development partnership for artificial platelet production and culture/process technology development using Sartorius bioreactor systems
• KRIBB (Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-research partnership for production process optimization of artificial platelets
• AIMS BioSciencecoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerNon-clinical and clinical consulting services including IND filing support for regulatory approval

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Megakaryon: Japanese biotech and the world's first developer of iPSC-derived platelets for transfusion; completed Phase 1 trials using 10L bioreactors and is now scaling to 45L. Explicitly cited in DewCell's news as the main competitor in the iPSC platelet space.
• PL BioScience: German company specializing in human platelet lysate (hPL) for cell culture media. Direct competitor in the DCB-301 / i-ahPLys cell culture supplement market and a strategic partner under a $2M LOI for joint lysate development.

Broad incumbents

• GC Cell: Korean cell therapy CDMO and strategic partner of DewCell for clinical drug substance production. Operates broader cell therapy (NK cell, immune cell) pipelines and serves as manufacturing backbone for DewCell's IND-enabling work.
• MEDIPOST: Leading Korean regenerative medicine company commercializing CARTISTEM (cord blood-derived stem cell therapy). Comparable Korean-listed biotech with approved cell therapy products addressing degenerative disease markets overlapping with DewCell's DCB-103 osteoarthritis indication.
• Corestem: Korean biotech focused on autologous bone marrow-derived stem cell therapy for autoimmune and degenerative diseases. Comparable Korean cell therapy competitor with approved products (NEURONATA-R) in adjacent regenerative medicine applications.
• Pharmicell: Korean stem cell therapy company with approved products (Cellgram) for acute myocardial infarction treatment. Comparable Korean cell-based therapeutics player operating in the regenerative medicine space overlapping with DewCell's tissue regeneration pipeline.
• Octapharma: Global leader in plasma-derived therapeutics, including clotting factor products for hemophilia and other blood disorders. Represents the incumbent supply model that iPSC-derived platelets (DCB-101) aim to disrupt over the long term.
• Grifols: Global plasma fractionation leader producing immunoglobulins, albumin, and clotting factors. Comparable incumbent in the broader blood/plasma therapeutics market that artificial platelet technology is positioned to supplement or replace over time.

Others

• Sartorius: Global bioprocessing equipment supplier and strategic partner providing the 50L bioreactor technology used in DewCell's breakthrough scale-up. Indirect ecosystem participant supplying critical manufacturing infrastructure rather than competing therapeutically.
• Thermo Fisher Scientific: Global life sciences tools leader partnering with DewCell to co-develop custom Gibco animal-origin-free cell culture media. Indirect ecosystem participant enabling DewCell's manufacturing through specialized media supply rather than competing in the platelet product market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors6 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 DewCell