CytoBioscience

What CytoBioscience does

CytoBioscience (legal entity: CytoBioScience GmbH) is a private life sciences tools and contract research organization founded in 1989, headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, with an International Headquarters in Germany and additional offices in undisclosed locations. The company develops and manufactures the CytoPatch, a robotic automated patch clamp platform that uses quartz glass electrodes to achieve gigohm (≥2 GΩ) seals without chemical enhancers, supports recordings at physiologic temperature, and integrates well perfusion for multi-concentration exposures on a single cell — enabling difficult-to-record currents such as ligand-gated and rapidly desensitizing channels. CytoPatch is offered in a higher-throughput variant, CytoPatch4, and is sold alongside a catalog of electrophysiologically validated, stably transfected ion channel cell lines (hERG, NaV1.5, CaV1.2, KV channels, nAChR, GABA, P2RX7, TrpV1, and others) and supporting consumables.

CytoBioScience monetizes this product stack through three revenue streams: (1) CRO and safety pharmacology services spanning CiPA-aligned ion channel screening, iPSC-CM and native cardiac myocyte assays, Langendorff prep, in vivo telemetry and imaging across multiple species (mice, rat, guinea pig, canine, sheep), and GLP hERG and dose formulation analysis; (2) sale of ion channel cell lines; and (3) sale or licensing of the CytoPatch instrument and consumables. Pricing is opaque and quote-based across all three streams. The company is contracted by the U.S. FDA to provide ion channel screening services in support of the CiPA initiative and is one of the few vendors with that regulatory mandate.

The company's go-to-market is sales-led and enterprise-focused, with a dedicated Sales and Technical Support team at the International Headquarters driving 'Request a Quote' conversions, supported by a categorized publications library, application notes, and product demonstration videos targeted at pharma/biotech safety pharmacology buyers and academic electrophysiology labs. CytoBioScience acquired BioDtech in November 2018, raised approximately $8.17M across two funding rounds (2015 and 2018), and operates the SolubleBioScience sub-brand in adjacent biochemical research. James Garvin is listed as CEO. Notably, the website copyright dates to 2017-2018 and there is no public revenue disclosure, suggesting either a stable niche operator or a period of reduced public-facing activity.

Name

CytoBioscience

Legal name

CytoBioScience GmbH

Website

https://cytobioscience.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CytoBioscience develops the CytoPatch robotic automated patch clamp platform, validated ion channel cell lines, and consumables, and provides CRO safety pharmacology services — including FDA-contracted CiPA ion channel screening and GLP hERG/in vivo studies — to pharma, biotech, and academic electrophysiology labs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

San Antonio

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. CRO / safety pharmacology services: Contract research services spanning in vitro ion channel screening (including the CiPA panel), iPSC-CM and native cardiac myocyte assays, Langendorff prep, in vivo telemetry/imaging studies across multiple species, and GLP hERG and dose formulation analysis. Engagement spans discovery through IND-enabling studies.
2. Cell line sales: Sale of electrophysiologically validated, stably transfected ion channel cell lines (hERG, NaV1.5, CaV1.2, KV7.1/mink, KV4.3, Kir2.1, KV1.3, KV1.5, KV10.1, NaV1.4, NaV1.6, NaV1.7, nAChR alpha 7, GABA a2b3g2, P2RX7, Stim1/ORAI1, TrpV1) optimized for patch clamp assays.
3. CytoPatch instrument and consumables sales: Sale or licensing of the CytoPatch robotic AI patch clamp instrument platform, positioned as a hands-free manual patch alternative with competitive pricing for labs needing manual-quality data with automated throughput.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

CytoBioscience designs, manufactures, and sells the CytoPatch robotic AI automated patch clamp instrument and related ion channel cell lines and consumables, and provides contract research (CRO) services for in vitro and in vivo cardiac and safety pharmacology, including CiPA-aligned ion channel screening, iPSC-CM and native cardiac myocyte assays, Langendorff ECG, in vivo telemetry/imaging studies, and GLP hERG and dose formulation analysis. The company is contracted by the U.S. FDA to provide ion channel screening services in support of the CiPA initiative.

Product overview

CytoBioScience operates as a platform-plus-services portfolio anchored by its flagship CytoPatch automated patch clamp instrument (available in the CytoPatch4 variant for higher throughput), which is paired with a catalog of electrophysiologically validated Ion Channel Cell Lines and supporting Consumables. On top of this product stack, the company offers CRO Services for in vitro and in vivo safety pharmacology — including CiPA ion channel screening contracted by the FDA — while the related SolubleBioScience line extends the company's scientific footprint into additional biochemical research publications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CytoPatch Automated Patch Clamp Instrument Robotic AI (Automated Ion) patch clamp platform designed to mimic a manual patch rig, providing automated cell capture and sealing with quartz glass electrodes, gigohm seals without enhancers, perfusion for multiple concentration exposures, and recordings at physiologic temperatures for ion channel and cardiac electrophysiology applications in pharma/biotech safety pharmacology and academic electrophysiology labs.
• Ion Channel Cell Lines Electrophysiologically validated, stably transfected ion channel cell lines optimized for use with patch clamp assays, covering hERG, CaV1.2, NaV1.5, KV7.1/mink, KV4.3, Kir2.1, KV1.3, KV1.5, KV10.1, NaV1.4, NaV1.6, NaV1.7, nAChR alpha 7, GABA a2b3g2, P2RX7, Stim1/ORAI1, and TrpV1. Available for purchase and for screening service, for academic and industrial electrophysiology labs.
• CRO Safety Pharmacology Services Contract research services for pharmaceutical and biotechnology drug safety teams, including CiPA-aligned ion channel screening, iPSC-CM and native cardiac myocyte assays, Langendorff ECG, in vivo telemetry and imaging studies across multiple species (mice, rat, guinea pig, canine, sheep), dose formulation analysis, and GLP hERG assays — delivered as a single-vendor workflow from discovery through IND-enabling studies.
• CytoPatch Consumables Consumables associated with the CytoPatch automated patch clamp platform and related electrophysiology workflows, offered alongside the CytoPatch instrument and supporting day-to-day laboratory use.

Quantifiable outcome

• Seal resistances of 2 GΩ or greater achieved without the use of seal enhancers
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature4 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Nanion Technologies: Germany-based developer of automated patch clamp instruments (Port-a-Patch, Patchliner, SyncroPatch) and validated cell lines. Direct competitor to CytoBioScience's CytoPatch in the same product category, serving the same ion channel screening and cardiac safety customers with a similar instrument + consumables + CRO model.
• Sophion Bioscience: Denmark-based automated patch clamp vendor (QPatch) acquired by Molecular Devices. Closely comparable to CytoBioScience in automated patch clamp instrumentation, ion channel cell lines, and safety pharmacology CRO services for pharma/biotech R&D.
• Multi Channel Systems (MCS): Developer of electrophysiology instrumentation including MEA and patch clamp-related systems. Comparable to CytoBioScience as a specialized electrophysiology equipment vendor serving ion channel and cardiac safety research customers.
• HEKA Elektronik: German electrophysiology instrumentation specialist (patch clamp amplifiers and EPC line). Comparable to CytoBioScience as a specialized electrophysiology equipment vendor for ion channel research, with overlapping customer base in academic and industrial electrophysiology labs.

Broad incumbents

• Molecular Devices: Part of Danaher; offers the IonWorks automated patch clamp platform alongside a broad portfolio of life science instrumentation. Overlaps directly with CytoBioScience in ion channel screening, but addresses many additional life science workflows and is far larger and more diversified.
• Charles River Laboratories: Global CRO with a large safety pharmacology business including cardiac safety, hERG, telemetry, and IND-enabling services. Overlaps with CytoBioScience's CRO service offering and competes for pharma/biotech preclinical safety spend, but at much greater scale and with a broader service portfolio.
• Eurofins Discovery: Part of Eurofins Scientific, offering in vitro safety pharmacology, ion channel screening, and broader drug discovery CRO services. Competes with CytoBioScience for outsourced cardiac safety and CiPA work, with a much larger global footprint and broader service catalog.
• WuXi AppTec: Global CRO/CDMO with preclinical safety pharmacology capabilities including cardiac safety and hERG screening. Overlaps with CytoBioScience's CRO service offering for large pharma and biotech sponsors, with a vastly broader service and geographic footprint.
• Thermo Fisher Scientific: Broad life sciences incumbent with cell line products, lab instrumentation, and preclinical CRO services. Overlaps with CytoBioScience across consumables/cell lines and adjacent safety pharmacology, but operates at a fundamentally larger scale across many additional product categories.

Emerging players

• Axion Biosystems: Specializes in multi-electrode array (MEA) platforms for cardiac and neural safety and disease modeling. Comparable to CytoBioScience as an adjacent electrophysiology-focused safety pharmacology vendor serving similar pharma/biotech R&D customers with complementary (rather than directly competing) assay technology.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cytobioscience-inc

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors

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

M&A1 record

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about CytoBioscience