Mecwins

What Mecwins does

Mecwins S.A. is a privately held Spanish biotechnology company founded in 2008 as a spin-off of the CSIC Institute of Micro and Nanotechnology, headquartered operationally in Tres Cantos (Madrid) with a registered legal seat in Santiago de Compostela. The company develops ultra-sensitive immunoassay instrumentation based on plasmonic single-molecule digital counting, delivered through two hardware product lines: the AVAC Analyzer (CE-Marked in April 2024, the flagship platform detecting biomarkers at femtogram/ml concentrations across oncology, cardiology, infectious disease, immunology and neurology) and SCALA (a spectrophotometer / microcantilever research instrument). Around these instruments Mecwins builds application-specific assays including the AVAC Sepsis Assay, an Alzheimer's pTau217/pTau181 program, and the BioMultiDeTeC multi-analyte liquid biopsy for early breast cancer detection.

Mecwins monetises through a mix of capital-equipment sales (quote-based AVAC and SCALA deployments, with installations at Destina Genómica, the Chinese Academy of Inspection Quarantine, and other research sites), fee-for-service engagements (immunoassay development, nanoparticle functionalization and characterization, project roadmap consulting), a licensing and co-development agreement with Quidel/QuidelOrtho for point-of-care embedding of AVAC technology (signed June 2021), and substantial non-dilutive public R&D grants from Spanish (CPP, PLEC, Retos-Colaboración) and EU (Horizon 2020 SME Instrument) programs exceeding €4.8M cumulatively.

The company serves hospital and clinical diagnostic laboratories, biomedical and translational research institutions (CSIC, CNIO, university hospitals), blood banks and transfusion centres (CTCM Madrid collaboration), IVD/POC manufacturers (QuidelOrtho), and pharmaceutical and biotech R&D teams requiring ad-hoc biosensing. Distribution is direct in Spain, executed via channel partners GermanTech in China and VIJASES in Southeast Asia, and through the QuidelOrtho OEM/licensing model for global POC reach. Pricing is quote-based with no publicly disclosed list prices, and customer engagements are predominantly enterprise sales initiated through inbound contact forms, email, and conference presence.

Name

Mecwins

Legal name

MECWINS S.A

Website

https://mecwins.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Mecwins is a Spanish CSIC spin-off developing ultra-sensitive plasmonic single-molecule digital counting immunoassay platforms (AVAC Analyzer, SCALA) for clinical diagnostics, translational research, blood banks, and IVD manufacturers across oncology, cardiology, infectious disease, immunology, and neurology applications.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Biotechnology Diagnostic Instruments

NAICS

Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516), In-Vitro Diagnostic Substance Manufacturing (325413)

SIC

Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826), Services-Medical Laboratories (8071)

akta.pro primary industry

Specialty & Biomarker Laboratory Services (Immunoassays/Flow/Cytometry) (HLAGAEAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Clinical Biomarker Testing Services (central labs, trial enrollment/monitoring assays) (HLAAAMAC), Immuno-Oncology & Immune Monitoring Biomarkers (TMB, MSI, MRD, immune profiling) (HLAAAMAK)

Keywords

• Ultrasensitive immunoassays
• Plasmonic biosensing
• Biomarker detection
• Digital counting diagnostics
• Nanotechnology instrumentation

Headquarters

HQ city

Madrid

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Instrument Sales (AVAC Analyzer / SCALA): Capital equipment sales of the AVAC analyzer and SCALA instruments to research institutes, hospitals, and diagnostic labs (e.g., sale of SCALA to the Chinese Academy of Inspection Quarantine in November 2018; installation of AVAC platform at Destina Genomica in February 2023).
2. Immunoassay Development & Functionalization Services: Fee-for-service offering covering immunoassay development, nanoparticle functionalization and characterization, and project roadmap consulting to clients who need custom assay development beyond standard technologies.
3. Licensing & Co-Development Royalties: Licensing and co-development agreement with Quidel Corporation (now QuidelOrtho) signed in June 2021 to embed AVAC technology in point-of-care testing; Mecwins receives value via the licensing arrangement and joint development.
4. Strategic Equity Investment & Capital Increases: Capital raises from investors (CRB BIO II, Masela Inversiones, Progenika-Grifols) totalling €4 million in June 2021; selection into Almenara Capital Partners' LifeTech Innovation Fund (October 2025); 20% equity acquisition of Destina Genomics in July 2025.
5. Public R&D Grants & Subsidies: Significant grant funding from Spanish and EU public programs including CPP program (€1.3M for Alzheimer's sensor), Líneas Estratégicas / PLEC2021-007892 (€1.4M for breast cancer detection), Retos-Colaboración / RTC-2017-6311-1 (over €1M for Spectrasens), Horizon 2020 SME Instrument Phase I (€50K for IVD4Sepsis), and HyperSp OCT (€1.1M total budget) — financing R&D projects that generate IP, products, and downstream commercial revenue.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Mecwins develops and commercializes ultra-sensitive biosensing instruments and immunoassays based on single-molecule digital counting via plasmonic nanoparticles. Its flagship AVAC analyzer platform enables detection of protein and RNA/DNA biomarkers at femtogram/ml concentrations across oncology, cardiology, infectious disease, immunology and neurology indications, supported by SCALA instrumentation for microcantilever-based research and fee-for-service immunoassay development, nanoparticle functionalization and project consulting.

Product overview

Mecwins offers a single, integrated biotechnology platform anchored by its core AVAC technology (single-molecule digital counting via plasmonic optical detection) and delivered through two hardware product lines: the AVAC Analyzer (the flagship ultra-sensitive immunoassay platform, CE-Marked in 2024 and including the AVAC SPECTRA configuration) and SCALA (micro/nanomechanical instrumentation for research). Around these instruments, Mecwins builds application-specific assays and projects such as the AVAC Sepsis Assay and BioMultiDeTeC (multi-analyte liquid biopsy for early breast cancer detection), while complementing the platform with fee-based services — Immunoassay Development, Functionalization & Characterization, and Project Roadmap consulting — that help clients translate the AVAC and SCALA capabilities into validated research and clinical solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AVAC: Ultra-sensitive AVAC (single molecule digital counting) analyzer instrument platform for high-sensitivity immunoassay detection across oncology, cardiology, infectious disease, immunology, and neurology indications.
• SCALA
• BioMultiDeTeC

Products and services

• AVAC Analyzer Ultra-high sensitivity analyzer based on single-molecule digital counting of plasmonic nanoparticles, delivering several orders of magnitude better sensitivity than conventional immunoassays with multiplexing, broad dynamic range and hundreds of samples per shift throughput across oncology, cardiology, infectious disease, immunology and neurology applications.
• SCALA Instrumentation Mechanical-optical instrumentation line used for microcantilever and nanomechanical biosensing research, supporting micro/nanomechanical structure characterization and inspection applications in proteomics and biophysics research.
• Immunoassay Development Services

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

20 partnerships are on record, tiered clinical-supply partner, core r&d consortium partner, flagship strategic partner / equity holding, academic research partner, custom engineering partner, european partnering network, ip legal partner, exploratory commercial partner, exploratory research partner, flagship licensing partner, core clinical-research partner, exclusive china sales representative, regional distribution partner, founder & scientific promoter and scientific advisor.

• Transfusion Center of the Community of Madrid (CTCM)clinical-supply partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2025Formal approval in November 2025 by the Centre's Committee for Research and Teaching Evaluation for Mecwins to collaborate on supplying blood samples for the 'Mecwins Sepsis Project: AVAC Sepsis Assay' for early sepsis detection.
• Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM) + FIBHULPcore r&d consortium partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2025HyperSp OCT CPP project consortium (>€1.1M total budget) led by Mecwins as coordinator with Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM) and Fundación para la Investigación Biomédica del Hospital Universitario La Princesa (FIBHULP). Goal: develop next-generation optical and plasmonic tools to study inflammatory processes at the cellular level.
• Destina Genomicsflagship strategic partner / equity holdingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2025In July 2025 Mecwins acquired approximately 20% of Destina Genomics as a strategic partnership. Destina specializes in proprietary chemistry for the detection of nucleic acids and microRNAs. The deal is expected to foster deeper collaboration in diagnostics and RNA detection; Mecwins CEO Óscar Ahumada joined Destina Genomics' Board of Directors. Earlier in February 2023, Mecwins installed an AVAC platform at Destina Genómica's laboratories in Granada for the ALZHEIMER-PROmiR-SENSOR CPP2021-008902 project. New CEO Jane Theaker appointed in September 2025.
• Prof. Carlos Alemán's group (IMEM, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya)academic research partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2025Collaboration on advanced spectroscopic experiments at the MIRAS beamline of the ALBA Synchrotron to understand how surface chemistry translates into functional biosensor performance at the nanoscale; joint PhD student Marta Villa; technical support from Dr. Jordi Sans and David Naranjo. Builds on prior joint publications using SCALA-CAL.
• IMB-CNM-CSIC (Institute of Microelectronics of Barcelona)custom engineering partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2025Mecwins delivered a custom sensor housing for IMB-CNM-CSIC's groundbreaking research (June 2025).
• Enterprise Europe Network (EEN)european partnering networkGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 May 2025Mecwins joined the Enterprise Europe Network in May 2025 with a new profile on Scientific Instrumentation; participated in the Cluster Health Horizon Europe Brokerage Event 2025 to strengthen European partnering.
• Herrero & Asociadosip legal partnerImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 October 2024Leading industrial property firm (40+ years of experience) advising Mecwins on the international expansion of its patents in key markets (US, Europe, China, Japan, Canada). Published press release highlighting Mecwins' outstanding track record in protecting its AVAC platform globally.
• IMN-CSIC (Bionanomechanics Lab) + CNIO + FIB Hospital 12 de Octubrecore r&d consortium partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Consortium partner under PLEC2021-007892 'Oncodeeplasm: Platform of ultrasensitive optoplasmonic immunoassays for the early detection of breast cancer based on protein biomarkers of the blood's deep proteome region' (over €1.4M). Partners include the Bionanomechanics Lab from IMN-CSIC, CNIO (Spanish National Cancer Research Center) and the Foundation for Biomedical Research of the 12 de Octubre University Hospital.
• FAPON Biotech Inc.exploratory commercial partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2023Exploratory two-day visit by Mecwins GM Oscar Ahumada and Senior R&D Engineer Antonio Salvador to FAPON Biotech's production facilities in Dongguan and headquarters in Shenzhen, meeting CEO Cui Peng and President He Zhiqiang. FAPON has expressed interest in Mecwins' optoplasmonic AVAC technology for its chemiluminescence and IVD reagent platforms.
• Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology (SIAT) — Prof. Zhang Jiexploratory research partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2023Visit to Prof. Zhang Ji at the Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering (SIAT, Chinese Academy of Sciences) marking the first-ever presentation of Mecwins' AVAC technology in China; sets the stage for new collaborative opportunities.
• Destina Genómica SL (Alzheimer's CPP consortium)core r&d consortium partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Consortium partner with the Foundation for Biomedical Research of the Ramon y Cajal University Hospital (FIBioHRC) and the Advanced Photonic & Biofunctional Materials Group of UAM for project CPP2021-008902 'Development of a sensor for the simultaneous detection of proteins and microRNAs for the diagnosis and prognosis of Alzheimer's disease' (€1.3M+ in financial aid). Second technical meeting held October 2023.
• Quidel Corporation (now QuidelOrtho)flagship licensing partnerOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 1 June 2021Licensing and co-development agreement signed in June 2021 (with collaboration dating back to December 2019) to jointly develop a new testing platform capable of detecting and quantifying biomarkers below picogram per ml level in the POC setting. Mecwins contributes the AVAC analyzer and Quidel contributes cartridge and immunoassay expertise. Joint research published in Nanomaterials in November 2023 (multifunctional plasmonic magnetic nanoparticles). Quidel CEO Douglas Bryant publicly endorsed the partnership.
• IRYCIS (Instituto Ramón y Cajal de Investigación Sanitaria) / FIBioHRCcore clinical-research partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 March 2021Co-development R&D agreement signed 29 March 2021 between Mecwins CEO Óscar Ahumada, IRYCIS Genetics/Neurosensorial Group Head Miguel Ángel Moreno Pelayo, and Multiple Sclerosis Group Head Luisa María Villar, through the Foundation for Biomedical Research of the Ramón y Cajal University Hospital (FIBioHRC). Two pilot studies: nucleic acid determination for hematology (Moreno-Pelayo group) and protein biomarkers for autoimmune diseases (Villar team). Bioscience team led by Virginia Cebrián, Engineering team by Valerio Pini.
• University of Teramoacademic research partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2020Joint research collaboration resulting in two prominent publications: one on cholesterol detection in Biosensors (November 2024) and a follow-up featured on the front page of Biosensors (January 2025).
• IMN-CSIC (Bionanomechanics Lab) + UAM + UPCcore r&d consortium partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2019Spectrasens consortium (RTC-2017-6311-1) under the RETOS-COLABORACIÓN program for 2018-2020 with over €1M in financial aid. Partners: Bionanomechanics Lab from IMN-CSIC, Advanced Photonic and Biofunctional Materials Group from UAM, and Chemical Engineering Department (IMEM) from UPC. Aimed at hyperspectral ultrasensitive detection of infectious disease markers in blood donations.
• GermanTech Co. Ltd. (China)exclusive china sales representativeChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 November 2018Exclusive sales representative for Mecwins in China, supporting on-site customer engagements and SCALA / AVAC installations. Played a key role in the November 2018 CAIQ installation (Prof. Lei at the Chinese Academy of Inspection Quarantine) and in the 2023 visit to Shenzhen (SIAT/FAPON Biotech).
• VIJASESregional distribution partnerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 June 2017Distribution agreement to promote the SCALA instrument in Southeast Asia.
• Prof. Javier Tamayo (Co-founder / Scientific Promoter)founder & scientific promoterStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008Co-founder of Mecwins since 2008. Research Professor and Team Leader of the Bionanomechanics Lab at IMN-CNM (CSIC). Ranked in Stanford's top 2% most-cited researchers; recipient of the 2018 RSEF Prize for Physics, Innovation & Technology; helps Mecwins achieve its ambitious scientific goals.
• Prof. Montserrat Calleja (Co-founder / Scientific Promoter)founder & scientific promoterStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008Co-founder of Mecwins since 2008. CSIC Research Professor at the Institute of Micro and Nanotechnology (IMN-CNM-CSIC); winner of the 2022 Rei Jaume I Prize in New Technologies (€100K); 15 registered patents, 90 indexed articles, and creator of the technology company Nanodreams SL.
• Dr. Priscila Kosaka (Scientific Advisor)scientific advisorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008Scientific promoter referenced on the Investors page as helping Mecwins achieve its goals; recipient of Fundación Fero award for translational oncology research (2019).

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Quanterix: Quanterix commercializes the Simoa (Single Molecule Array) platform — bead-based single-molecule digital counting of proteins — the closest direct analog to Mecwins' AVAC plasmonic digital counting. Both target ultra-sensitive biomarker detection for oncology, neurology (e.g. NfL, pTau) and infectious disease research and diagnostics, with comparable femtogram-level sensitivity claims and overlapping customer segments in pharma/biopharma and academic labs.
• Meso Scale Diagnostics (MSD): MSD offers electrochemiluminescence-based multiplexed immunoassay platforms (SECTOR, QuickPlex, U-PLEX) that compete with Mecwins' AVAC on ultra-sensitive biomarker quantification and multiplexing. Both serve pharma, clinical research, and biomarker validation labs across oncology, immunology, and infectious disease, with similar assay menu breadth.
• SomaLogic: SomaLogic's SomaScan platform uses modified aptamers for large-scale proteomic biomarker measurement, addressing similar use cases to AVAC in oncology, cardiology, neurology and inflammation biomarker discovery. Both compete for translational research and pharmaceutical biomarker-program budgets.
• Olink Holding: Olink's Proximity Extension Assay (PEA) technology delivers high-multiplex, high-sensitivity protein biomarker quantification from minimal sample volumes — directly comparable to AVAC's multiplexed immunoassay positioning. Both target pharma biomarker discovery, translational research, and emerging clinical applications (Alzheimer's, oncology).
• Singulex (MilliporeSigma / EMD Millipore): Singulex developed the Erenna immunoassay system — a single-molecule counting technology for ultra-sensitive protein biomarker detection — and is now commercialized within MilliporeSigma. It competes head-to-head with AVAC on detection sensitivity (sub-pg/mL) and targets similar oncology, cardiovascular and inflammation biomarker applications for research and clinical use.
• QuidelOrtho (Becton Dickinson): QuidelOrtho (now part of Becton Dickinson) is both Mecwins' licensing/co-development partner for POC AVAC integration and a broader POC IVD competitor with rapid test, immunoassay and clinical chemistry platforms. Comparable in target customer (hospitals, clinical labs, POC settings) and overlapping in immunoassay and biomarker detection franchises.

Broad incumbents

• Roche Diagnostics: Roche Diagnostics operates the cobas and Elecsys immunoassay franchises with broad global hospital reach and very large R&D budgets. While not a direct plasmonic competitor, Roche represents the dominant incumbent that Mecwins must displace or partner with to scale ultra-sensitive biomarker detection in routine clinical practice.
• DiaSorin (Luminex): DiaSorin (with acquired Luminex multiplex platform) offers broad IVD and specialty immunoassay menus — including multiplexed infectious disease and biomarker panels — competing with Mecwins in clinical diagnostics. Both target hospital/clinical lab customers and address biomarker detection for infectious disease and specialty diagnostics.
• Bio-Techne (ProteinSimple): Bio-Techne's ProteinSimple division (Simple Western, Single-Cell Western, Milo) and broader reagents portfolio overlap with Mecwins' protein-detection positioning. As a much larger public life-sciences tools company, Bio-Techne is both a competitive incumbent and a potential commercialization/acquisition partner for AVAC-style ultrasensitive detection.
• Abbott Diagnostics: Abbott's ARCHITECT and Alinity immunoassay platforms serve the same hospital and clinical-lab customers that Mecwins targets with AVAC. Abbott's scale, regulatory infrastructure, and existing assay menu make it both a competitive incumbent and a potential acquirer/partner for next-generation ultra-sensitive biomarker detection.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/mecwins_biotech
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mecwins

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Mecwins