What CysBio does

Cysbio ApS (Denmark) is a private industrial biotechnology company founded in 2019 as a spin-out from the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). The company is headquartered at DTU Science Park in Hørsholm, Denmark, and uses proprietary metabolic engineering and synthetic biology methods to construct bacterial cell factories — including antibiotic marker-free strains — that produce commodity and novel biochemicals from renewable feedstocks via fermentation. The technology stack spans two platforms: an Amino Acid Technology Platform producing serine and cysteine (with pathway optimization delivering ~10% yield and titer gains, plus an expected additional 10–20% from omics/synbio tools) and a patented Sulfated Biochemical Technology Platform capable of enzymatic sulfation of phenolic compounds, exemplified by zosteric acid (ZA-bio), a bio-based antifouling agent. ZA-bio has been upscaled to 15 m³ pilot fermentation at Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant.

CysBio sells B2B across a broad vertical stack: feed, food, pharma, polymer/materials, construction, marine, and agriculture. Go-to-market combines direct sales of bio-based chemical compounds with strategic OEM integration partnerships (notably Henkel, which is testing and modifying ZA-bio for use in silicone and acrylate sanitary sealants and façade coatings) and biocatalysis/fee-based services for sulfation of customer-provided molecules. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. Distribution is enterprise-led via direct sales and partner/OEM channels with regional (Danish/European) and global ambition.

Revenue mechanics today are dominated by non-dilutive funding rather than commercial sales: the company raised approximately $6.2M in a 2019 round led by Zhejiang NHU, completed two EU Horizon 2020 grants (BioBAA under EIC, Dec 2020–May 2023; ZABIO under FTI, Oct 2020–Mar 2023), and continues to build out REACH and feed/food regulatory pathways via third-party regulatory experts. Patents on both core platforms are filed-pending, headcount sits at 11–50, and operational activities are evidenced by active student project postings and partner collaborations in 2024–2025.

Name

CysBio

Legal name

Cysbio ApS

Website

https://cysbio.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CysBio is a Danish biotech spin-out from DTU using metabolic engineering and synthetic biology to produce bio-based amino acids and sulfated biochemicals for B2B customers in feed, food, pharma, materials, construction, marine, and agriculture.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Biotechnology

NAICS

Chemical Manufacturing (325), Pesticide, Fertilizer, and Other Agricultural Chemical Manufacturing (3253)

SIC

Industrial Organic Chemicals (2860), Medicinal Chemicals & Botanical Products (2833)

akta.pro primary industry

Biochemicals & Bio-based Platform Chemicals (cellulose sugars, lignin derivatives, organic acids) (IMAMALAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Biological Formulation, Fermentation & Scale-Up Manufacturing (AFABAEAM), Enzymes & Industrial Biotechnology Inputs (Enzymes, Microbial Strains, Fermentation Aids) (EUAAAIAL)

Keywords

• Metabolic engineering services
• Synthetic biology platforms
• Bio-based amino acids
• Sulfated biochemicals production
• Industrial fermentation technology

Headquarters

HQ city

Kongens Lyngby

HQ country

Denmark

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Bio-based Amino Acids Sales: Production and sale of amino acids (serine and cysteine) for food, feed, pharma industries, and polymer industry applications. Generated via fermentation using proprietary bacterial strains.
2. Zosteric Acid (ZA-bio) Sales: Commercial sale of bio-based antifouling agent zosteric acid as a chemical compound. Expected to be sold directly and integrated into products by partners like Henkel.
3. Sulfated Biochemicals: Production and sale of various sulfated phenolic compounds, including novel compounds difficult to produce chemically, and biocatalysis services for sulfation of customer-provided molecules.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

CysBio uses advanced metabolic engineering and synthetic biology to construct proprietary bacterial cell factories that ferment renewable feedstocks into commodity and specialty biochemicals. The company sells amino acids (serine, cysteine) for food, feed, pharma and polymer applications, sulfated phenolic compounds produced through a patented enzymatic sulfation platform, and the bio-based antifouling agent zosteric acid (ZA-bio) for construction, marine and agriculture markets.

Product overview

CysBio is a biosolutions company that uses synthetic biology and metabolic engineering approaches to construct bacterial cell factories for sustainable production of biochemicals from renewable feedstocks. The company offers two core technology platforms: the Amino Acid Technology Platform (producing serine, cysteine, and other amino acids through fermentation with unprecedented yields and titers) and the Sulfated Biochemical Technology Platform (patented sulfation technology for producing sulfated phenolic compounds). These platforms enable production of commodity chemicals for existing markets including amino acids for food, feed and pharma, precursors for functional polymers, pharmaceutical compound modifications, and natural biodegradable antifouling agents like zosteric acid (ZA-bio). The product portfolio is at various developmental stages, with amino acids and sulfated products intended for market introduction.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Amino Acids (Serine, Cysteine) Bio-based amino acids (serine, cysteine) produced via fermentation of proprietary bacterial cell factories from renewable feedstocks, for use in food, feed, pharmaceutical and polymer industry applications.
• Sulfated Biochemicals Sulfated phenolic compounds produced via CysBio's patented enzymatic sulfation technology platform, applicable to novel compound production, detoxification of toxic compounds, and improving molecular characteristics of existing compounds. Includes biocatalysis services for sulfation of customer-supplied molecules.
• Zosteric Acid (ZA-bio) Bio-based, non-toxic antifouling agent (zosteric acid) produced via cell-based manufacturing as a green alternative to toxic heavy-metal and synthetic chemical antifouling agents, for use in construction sealants and coatings, marine paints, and agriculture applications.

Quantifiable outcome

• 10% increase in yield and titer for amino acid production
• +3 more outcomes

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• BioBAA Consortium (EU Horizon 2020 EIC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2020EU-funded project (Grant agreement ID: 101009882) under Horizon 2020 EIC program to develop bio-based amino acid production platform. Cysbio developed proprietary technology using patented metabolic engineering and synthetic biology methods for sustainable, low-cost amino acid production. Project ran from December 2020 to May 2023 (extended by 6 months).
• ZABIO Consortium (EU Horizon 2020 FTI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2020EU-funded project (Grant agreement ID: 958730) under Horizon 2020 FTI program for development of zosteric acid (ZA-bio) as green antifouling agent. Project focused on completion, upscaling, and initial production. Consortium included Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant and Henkel. Project ran from October 2020 to March 2023 (extended by 6 months).
• Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant (BBEPP)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerService provider for process development and scale-up of biobased products and processes. Transferred ZA-bio production strain and fermentation process to BBEPP for upscaling to 15m³ scale and downstream process development.
• HenkelcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLarge multinational chemical and consumer goods company in ZABIO consortium. Testing and modifying ZA-bio compound for integration into non-water-based silicone and acrylate technologies for sanitary sealants and façade coatings. Provides first mover advantage for market entry.
• Testing Institutes (UK and Denmark)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerContracted testing institutes for efficacy and performance testing of purified amino acids in feed applications and food additive functionality assessments.
• Contract Research CompanyminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCollaboration established for practical formulation development of amino acids as nutritional supplements for clinical trials.
• Food Testing InstituteminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCollaboration to assess applicability of amino acid products for various food additive uses, evaluating functionality and consumer acceptance.
• Regulatory Expert CompanyminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerEngaged to provide services ensuring full REACH registration and roadmap for feed and food registration of amino acid products in Europe.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• METabolic EXplorer (METEX): French fermentation-based biochemical company producing amino acids and specialty chemicals via proprietary microbial strains. Closely comparable to Cysbio in using metabolic engineering to make commodity amino acids from renewable feedstocks, addressing the same food, feed, and materials end-markets.
• AMINO GmbH: German specialty amino acids producer serving pharma, food, and feed markets. Comparable scale and product focus to Cysbio's amino acid portfolio.
• Codexis: US-based enzyme engineering and biocatalysis company using synthetic biology to develop novel chemical processes, including pharma intermediates and specialty chemicals. Closely comparable to Cysbio's sulfation technology platform and biocatalysis factory approach.
• Genomatica: US biotechnology company producing bio-based chemicals (butanediol, butylene glycol, hexamethylenediamine) via engineered microorganisms. Comparable to Cysbio's approach of replacing petrochemical processes with fermentation-based production from renewable feedstocks.

Broad incumbents

• Ajinomoto: Global leader in amino acid (especially lysine, threonine, tryptophan) production via fermentation at massive commodity scale. Sets the cost benchmark Cysbio must compete against in feed and food amino acid markets.
• Evonik Industries: Major specialty chemicals player with significant amino acids (e.g., MetAMINO DL-methionine) and probiotics businesses using fermentation. Comparable broad incumbent competing in Cysbio's target feed and food amino acid applications.
• CJ CheilJedang / CJ BIO: Korean conglomerate producing amino acids (lysine, tryptophan, valine, methionine) via fermentation at large global scale. Direct competitor in bio-based amino acids for feed applications.
• Biosynth: Switzerland-based supplier of biochemicals, peptides, and life sciences reagents serving pharma, food, and diagnostics. Comparable to Cysbio in producing specialty biochemicals and intermediates for downstream industrial customers.

Emerging players

• Conagen: US synthetic biology company developing engineered microbial strains for specialty biochemicals, flavors, fragrances, and pharmaceuticals. Comparable to Cysbio in using proprietary cell factories for fermentation-based biochemical production.
• Itaconix: UK-listed company producing bio-based polymers from itaconic acid via fermentation. Comparable to Cysbio as an emerging bio-based specialty chemicals player serving materials markets with fermentation-derived products.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cysbio

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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 CysBio