What Crown Bioscience does

Crown Bioscience is a global contract research organization (CRO) headquartered in San Diego, California, specializing in translational oncology and immuno-oncology drug discovery and development. Founded in 2006, the company operates 11 offices across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific (including laboratories in Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou, Taicang, Tokyo, Leiden, Hamburg, Osgathorpe, Kannapolis, Frederick, and San Diego) with 1,001-5,000 employees.

The company's core platform combines patient-derived in vivo (PDX) and in vitro (organoid) models with next-generation sequencing, high-content imaging, multi-omics biomarker analysis, bioinformatics, and DMPK/toxicology services. Differentiating technical assets include the world's largest commercial PDX database (2,500+ models) with extensive multi-omics annotation; an exclusive global license for HUB Organoid Technology enabling 600+ organoid models; a matched PDXO-PDX platform across 22 cancer types; and a nearly 1 million-sample clinical biobank acquired through the IndivuServ business unit. CAP accreditation and dual CLIA certifications support regulated clinical-grade biomarker testing.

Crown Bioscience generates revenue primarily through fee-for-service preclinical contract research engagements with pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients across North America, Europe, and Asia. Revenue is project-based and milestone-driven, sold via direct enterprise field sales teams, supplemented by regional distributors in Korea, Japan, India, and Singapore. Client segments span large global pharmaceutical companies (GSK, Boehringer Ingelheim, Gilead Sciences), mid-stage and early-stage biotechs (Simcha Therapeutics, Normunity, Kumquat Bio, NextPoint Therapeutics), and academic institutions (Duke University). Therapy modalities addressed include ADCs, cell and gene therapies, and radiopharmaceuticals.

Name

Crown Bioscience

Legal name

Crown Bioscience, Inc.

Website

https://crownbio.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Crown Bioscience is a global contract research organization (CRO) headquartered in San Diego that provides preclinical and translational oncology services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, leveraging the world's largest commercial PDX model database, an exclusive HUB Organoid license, and multi-omics biomarker capabilities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Preclinical Contract Research Services

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414)

SIC

Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834)

akta.pro primary industry

Clinical CROs (Phase I–IV) (HLAGAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Regulatory Strategy & Global Submissions (IND/CTA/NDA/BLA/MAA) (HLAGAKAA)

Keywords

• Preclinical contract research
• Translational oncology services
• Patient-derived xenograft models
• Organoid drug screening
• Biomarker discovery services

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Clara

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices11 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Contract Research Services (CRO): Crown Bioscience generates revenue by providing fee-for-service preclinical contract research services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Services span in vitro screening (organoids, cell lines), in vivo efficacy studies (PDX, CDX, syngeneic models), biomarker analysis, DMPK/toxicology, bioinformatics, and clinical biospecimen services. Revenue is project-based and milestone-driven, with clients engaging Crown for specific studies or integrated programs across the drug discovery pipeline.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Crown Bioscience is a contract research organization that provides fee-for-service preclinical and translational oncology drug development services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Its offerings span patient-derived xenograft (PDX) studies, tumor organoid screening, biomarker discovery and validation, DMPK/toxicology, multi-omics analysis, and clinical-grade biospecimen services through the world's largest commercial PDX biobank and an exclusive global HUB Organoid license.

Product overview

Crown Bioscience is a Contract Research Organization (CRO) specializing in translational oncology and immuno-oncology drug discovery and development. The company offers a comprehensive platform of preclinical and translational services organized across six main service areas: Oncology & IO Solutions, Preclinical Services (in vitro and in vivo), Patient-Derived Translational Oncology, Biomarker & Bioanalysis Services, Clinical Biomarker & Biospecimen Services, and Bioinformatics & Data Solutions. The portfolio includes disease-specific therapeutic modalities for ADCs, Cell & Gene Therapy, and Radiopharmaceuticals, alongside targeted drug development for KRAS, EGFR, IO Targets, PARP, and Drug Combinations. The company maintains extensive model databases including the world's largest PDX Model Database (2,500+ models), Organoid Models Database (600+ models), IO Murine Models Database (100+ models), and Cell Line and CDX Database (1,000+ cell lines, 200+ CDX models). Key platforms include OmniScreen and OrganoidXplore for high-throughput screening, PDX Mouse Clinical Trials, High Content Imaging Services, DMPK/Tox Services, CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Editing, and Human Biospecimen Solutions. CrownLink and Databases provide access to these resources for clients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• PDX Mouse Clinical Trials Patient-derived xenograft (PDX) clinical trial services using 2,500+ models for translational oncology research and preclinical drug efficacy testing, for pharmaceutical and biotechnology sponsors.
• ADC Development Services Preclinical development services for antibody-drug conjugates including target selection, antibody generation, linker-payload optimization, and efficacy testing, for oncology drug development sponsors.
• Cell & Gene Therapy Services Preclinical development services for CAR-T and cell therapies including in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo models mimicking the human tumor microenvironment for efficacy, safety, and persistence evaluation.
• Radiopharmaceutical Services Preclinical development services for radiopharmaceutical cancer treatments delivered in collaboration with Medicines Discovery Catapult.
• OmniScreen Cancer Cell Panel Screening High-throughput in vitro screening platform covering 500+ genomically diverse cancer cell lines for drug response profiling and biomarker identification in oncology research.
• OrganoidXplore High-throughput organoid screening service for 3D tumor models supporting cytotoxicity screening, combination analysis, and multimodal data generation using NGS, CellTiter-Glo, high-content imaging, and immunofluorescence.
• 3D Bone Marrow Models Advanced 3D in vitro models for hematological malignancy research and drug testing, for translational oncology and immuno-oncology sponsors.
• High Content Imaging Services High content imaging integrated with tumor organoid analytics to provide mechanism of action, resistance mechanism, and biomarker discovery insights for drug development assays.
• DMPK / Tox Services Drug metabolism, pharmacokinetics, ADME, and toxicology studies with bioanalysis to establish therapeutic windows and ensure drug safety before advancing to efficacy studies.
• Biomarker Discovery Services Comprehensive biomarker discovery including spatial biology, tissue-based biomarker analysis, genomics, proteomics, and immune monitoring for biomarker-driven drug development.
• CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Editing Services Engineered models and services including target knockout and CRISPR-based gene editing for drug discovery and functional genomics workflows.
• Preclinical Imaging Technologies Advanced preclinical imaging technologies including orthotopic, metastatic, and bioluminescent models for in vivo drug efficacy studies.
• Human Biospecimen Solutions Human biospecimen services including longitudinal plasma and clinical biomarkers, expanded by the IndivuServ acquisition with nearly one million biobanked samples across US, Europe, and Asia.
• Ex Vivo Patient Tissue Platform Fresh patient samples retaining full tumor microenvironment complexity and heterogeneity for drug response testing on both cancer and immune cells, the most patient-relevant translational model system, supporting 3D phenotypic analysis.
• In Vivo Oncology Models (PDX, CDX, Syngeneic, Humanized GEMM, Tumor Homograft) In vivo model access and studies including PDX, CDX, syngeneic, humanized GEMMs, tumor homografts, and humanized HSC/PBMC models for immuno-oncology efficacy testing.
• Engineered Models and Target Validation Services Target identification and validation services using engineered cell lines, CRISPR knockout, and functional genomics screening to support drug discovery workflows.
• CRO Consulting Services Scientific and strategic consulting provided alongside preclinical services to support study design, translational strategy, and program planning for oncology drug development sponsors.

Quantifiable outcome

• Customer satisfaction scores of 96-98% across US, EU, and APAC territories (Q2 2024)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 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 capability6 records

Feature10 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• TurbinecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 April 2026Crown Bioscience and Turbine formed a strategic partnership to integrate Turbine's AI-driven in silico Virtual Assays with Crown's tumor organoid assays based on HUB Organoid Technology. The collaboration creates a closed-loop approach linking predictive modeling with experimental validation: Turbine's Virtual Assays simulate biological responses across thousands of samples and hundreds of drugs, generating predictive insights to prioritize targets and therapies; these predictions are validated experimentally using Crown's organoid platform. The partnership aims to improve predictive accuracy, reduce experimental burden, shorten development timelines, and help researchers make faster, more informed decisions with greater clinical translatability confidence.
• Medicines Discovery Catapult (MDC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 September 2025Medicines Discovery Catapult and Crown Bioscience formed a strategic global alliance for radiopharmaceutical innovation. The collaboration leverages MDC's translational imaging expertise with Crown's preclinical modeling capabilities for radiopharmaceutical development in cancer treatment. The partnership combines complementary expertise and resources to advance radiopharmaceutical programs from discovery through preclinical validation, with MDC's Head of Translational Imaging, Juliana Maynard, playing a key role in the development process.
• NEXT OncologycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2025Crown Bioscience and NEXT Oncology extended their existing partnership in May 2025, building on a collaborative relationship in clinical biospecimen and biomarker development services. The extension signals continued focus on the partnership to advance translational oncology research.
• Jiangsu Hengrui MedicineminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Crown Bioscience entered a strategic collaboration with Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine (Hengrui), a leading Chinese pharmaceutical company. The collaboration focuses on preclinical oncology services leveraging Crown's PDX and organoid platforms to support Hengrui's drug development programs.
• XenoSTARTminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Crown Bioscience partnered with XenoSTART (with Minerva Imaging), a strategic collaboration in the PDX models space for preclinical oncology research, expanding Crown's network in the PDX model market.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Champions Oncology: Champions Oncology is a US-based technology-driven oncology CRO that develops and commercializes PDX (patient-derived xenograft) models and offers related drug discovery services. It is the closest direct competitor to Crown Bio in the commercial PDX/cancer-model preclinical space, with overlapping target customers (oncology biotech and pharma) and a similar translational positioning.
• Inotiv: Inotiv is a US-based preclinical CRO providing research models, discovery, and safety assessment services with oncology-relevant capabilities. It is a comparable mid-sized direct peer to Crown Bio with similar reliance on preclinical research services for pharma and biotech sponsors.
• Pharmaron: Pharmaron is a global preclinical CRO with integrated drug discovery and development services, including in vivo efficacy, PK/PD, and oncology pharmacology. It is a comparable preclinical CRO peer to Crown Bio, with overlapping services for pharma and biotech preclinical oncology programs.
• The Jackson Laboratory: The Jackson Laboratory is a nonprofit biomedical research institution providing genetically defined mouse models, including patient-derived and humanized models for cancer research. It is a comparable peer to Crown Bio as a primary supplier of mouse/cancer models used in preclinical oncology drug discovery.
• Medicilon: Medicilon is a China-based preclinical CRO offering drug discovery and development services with oncology in vivo and PK/PD capabilities. It is a comparable mid-sized preclinical CRO peer to Crown Bio, with particular overlap in Asia-based oncology program support.

Broad incumbents

• Charles River Laboratories: Charles River Laboratories is a global, full-service preclinical and clinical CRO with extensive oncology discovery, safety assessment, and research model services. It competes with Crown Bio across the preclinical oncology continuum but operates at materially larger scale and offers broader service breadth, making it the dominant incumbent in the category.
• WuXi AppTec: WuXi AppTec is a leading Asia-based CRO/CDMO with preclinical drug discovery, including in vivo efficacy, PDX, and oncology biology services. It is a direct competitor to Crown Bio in Asia-led preclinical oncology programs and operates one of the largest global preclinical footprints, although its US-China ownership profile differs materially.
• Labcorp (Covance Drug Development): Labcorp's Covance Drug Development segment is a global full-service CRO offering preclinical oncology, translational biomarker, and central lab services. It competes with Crown Bio in translational and preclinical oncology but pairs those services with clinical trial and diagnostic capabilities that Crown Bio does not have.
• Eurofins Scientific: Eurofins Scientific is a global scientific services company offering bioanalytical, preclinical, and oncology testing services. It overlaps with Crown Bio in preclinical oncology and biomarker testing but as part of a much broader testing services portfolio rather than as a focused translational CRO.
• Evotec SE: Evotec is a European drug discovery CRO/CDMO providing preclinical, translational, and integrated drug discovery services with oncology expertise. It is a comparable peer to Crown Bio in preclinical oncology research, though operating at larger scale and with broader modality coverage.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/crownbioscience
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/crown-bioscience-inc-

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors8 records

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

M&A4 records

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Crown Bioscience