Axxam
Axxam is a Milan-based Contract Research Organization founded in 2001 that provides integrated early drug discovery services — including AI-enabled target identification, HTS, iPSC models, electrophysiology, and proprietary screening collections — to pharmaceutical, biotech, academic, and consumer-goods clients worldwide.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2001
- HeadquartersMilan, Italy
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Axxam does
Axxam S.p.A. is a privately held Contract Research Organization (CRO) founded in 2001 in Milan, Italy, that delivers integrated early-stage drug discovery services on a fee-for-service basis to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, academic, and patient-foundation clients, and — through its AXXSense sub-brand — to food, beverage, cosmetics, fragrance, and pet-food companies. The company's technical platform spans AI-enabled target identification, wet-lab target validation, a broad in vitro assay portfolio (biochemical, cell-based, iPSC-derived, electrophysiology, organellar electrophysiology, high-content imaging, optogenetics, bitter taste receptor), compound management, high-throughput screening using four fully automated robotic systems, and proprietary synthetic and natural product screening collections (Axxam Collections).
Axxam monetizes these capabilities through project-based B2B contracts priced on a quote basis per engagement, with services organized into Target Assessment, In Vitro Assays, Hit & Lead Discovery, Screening Collections, and Integrated Drug Discovery modules. Distribution is exclusively direct enterprise sales through business development and scientific account teams, supported by scientific content marketing (Science Spyglass blog, webinars, conference participation, peer-reviewed publications) and EU-funded collaborative research. The company holds ISO 9001, ISO/IEC 27001, ISO 45001, UNI/PdR 125:2022, and EcoVadis Silver Medal certifications, and operates from headquarters in Bresso (Milan), a German subsidiary in Constance, and an announced 2026 expansion into Japan.
Governance is founder-led: Stefan Lohmer (formerly Director of Bayer's Research Centre in Milan and Head of Genomics worldwide for Bayer AG) is co-founder and CEO; Ciriaco Maraschiello is COO; Thilo Enderle (formerly Senior Research Director at F. Hoffmann-La Roche) is CEO of Axxam GmbH. No external venture or private equity ownership is disclosed. Notable recent strategic actions include the May 2026 Tessara Therapeutics collaboration for 3D neuroscience drug discovery, the February 2026 Japan market entry, and the company's positioning as the wet-lab validation partner for AI-native drug discovery programs.
Axxam firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Axxam
- Legal name
- Axxam S.p.A.
- Website
- https://axxam.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2001
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Axxam is a Milan-based Contract Research Organization founded in 2001 that provides integrated early drug discovery services — including AI-enabled target identification, HTS, iPSC models, electrophysiology, and proprietary screening collections — to pharmaceutical, biotech, academic, and consumer-goods clients worldwide.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Axxam industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Contract Drug Discovery Services
- NAICS
- Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (541690)
- SIC
- Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Testing Laboratories (8734)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Preclinical CROs (Discovery/Pharmacology/DMPK) (HLAGAAAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Specialty Therapeutic-Area CROs (e.g., oncology/rare disease) (HLAGAAAL), Bioanalytical & Biomarker CROs (PK/PD/Immunogenicity) (HLAGAAAD)
Keywords
Where Axxam is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Milan
- HQ country
- Italy
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Axxam business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- CRO Services - Drug Discovery: Fee-for-service contract research services providing early drug discovery solutions to pharmaceutical, biotechnology companies, startups, patient foundations, and academic groups. Services include assay development, HTS, hit validation, hit-to-lead, and compound management across all therapeutic areas and target classes.
- Non-pharma Life Sciences Services: Services applied to crop protection, animal health, and the food, beverage, pet food, cosmetics, and fragrance industries for identifying novel bioactive compounds using the same science-driven approach as drug discovery.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels6 records
Axxam product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Axxam is a Contract Research Organization (CRO) that provides integrated, fee-for-service early drug discovery solutions to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, academic and non-pharma life sciences clients. Its offerings span target identification and validation, in vitro assay development (biochemical, cell-based, iPSC, electrophysiology, optogenetics, high content imaging), high-throughput screening using proprietary Axxam Collections, hit-to-lead optimization, and integrated end-to-end drug discovery programs, plus the AXXSense platform for flavor, fragrance and taste-modulating ingredient discovery.
Product overview
Axxam operates as a Contract Research Organization (CRO) providing integrated early drug discovery services across the life sciences industry. The company offers a comprehensive platform encompassing Target Assessment (including AI-enabled target identification), In Vitro Assays (biochemical, cell-based, iPSC, electrophysiology, high content imaging, optogenetics), Hit & Lead Discovery (compound management, screening, hit-to-lead, exploratory toxicology), Screening Collections (proprietary Axxam Collections of synthetic and natural products), and Integrated Drug Discovery (end-to-end discovery with wet labs supporting AI-driven approaches and RNA biology capabilities). Through the AXXSense research platform, Axxam also serves the flavors, fragrances, food, beverage, cosmetics, and pet food industries. Services are delivered via direct scientific collaboration rather than a software platform, supported by certifications in quality management (ISO 9001), information security (ISO 27001), and occupational health and safety (ISO 45001).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- AXXSense: Research platform for discovering novel flavours, fragrances and taste imparting or modulating ingredients for food & beverage, flavors & fragrances, pet food, cosmetics, and perfume industries.
Products and services
- Target Assessment Services
- In Vitro Assays
- Hit & Lead Discovery
- Screening Collections (Axxam Collections)
- Integrated Drug Discovery
- RNA Biology Services
- AXXSense
Companies that use Axxam
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles6 records
Axxam technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration6 records
AI capability5 records
Feature9 records
Axxam partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Tessara Therapeutics Pty LtdcoreStrategic collaboration to advance next-generation neuroscience drug discovery using Tessara's proprietary RealBrain 3D neural micro-tissues combined with Axxam's expertise in high-content imaging and phenotypically enriched target-based drug discovery workflows. The partnership enables deeper understanding of drug responses, enhanced prediction of neurotoxicity, and improved target validation in physiologically relevant 3D human cellular models aligned with New Approach Methodologies (NAMs).
- Japanese Pharmaceutical PartnersminorAxxam expanding into Japan to strengthen collaboration with Japanese pharmaceutical partners as part of Italy-Japan bilateral economic cooperation
- Indena S.p.A.minorCOGNIPLANT project consortium partner for development of botanical products for prevention of cognitive deficits, along with University of Milan and GricarChemical
- University of Milan - DiSFeBminorAcademic partner in COGNIPLANT consortium for neuroprotection research using botanical extracts
- SymeresminorCollaboration on PROTAC discovery platform combining Axxam's cell-based assay capabilities with Symeres' chemistry expertise
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Axxam competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Symeres: European CRO specializing in drug discovery chemistry and integrated discovery services; a known collaboration partner of Axxam (PROTAC discovery platform), with overlapping hit-to-lead and medicinal chemistry capabilities.
- Evotec SE: European-headquartered integrated discovery and development CRO offering HTS, in vitro pharmacology, iPSC and AI-driven drug discovery platforms. Closest direct peer to Axxam in terms of integrated early-stage discovery services and therapeutic-area breadth.
- Selvita S.A. European integrated discovery CRO providing in vitro pharmacology, HTS, medicinal chemistry and bioinformatics to pharma and biotech; comparable scale and service scope to Axxam with similar scientific platform positioning.
Regional players
- Firmenich (now part of dsm-firmenich): Global flavor and fragrance house with proprietary taste and olfactory receptor discovery capabilities; comparable to Axxam's AXXSense sub-brand in the F&B and consumer products vertical.
Broad incumbents
- Eurofins Discovery: Large network of discovery-focused CROs under Eurofins providing assay development, HTS, in vitro pharmacology and ADME/tox services; competes with Axxam across multiple discovery modalities with greater geographic reach.
- WuXi AppTec: Global CRO/CDMO offering extensive discovery services (biology, chemistry, in vitro pharmacology) at scale; competes with Axxam on HTS, assay development and integrated discovery programs for pharma and biotech clients.
- Charles River Laboratories: Global CRO incumbent with a substantial Discovery & Safety Assessment segment that competes for early-stage discovery, HTS and in vitro pharmacology work alongside broader preclinical and manufacturing services.
- ChemPartner: Asia-headquartered CRO providing integrated drug discovery services including in vitro biology, HTS, DMPK and chemistry; competes with Axxam on early-stage discovery for global pharma and biotech sponsors.
- Jubilant Biosys: Integrated discovery CRO offering in vitro biology, HTS, structural biology and medicinal chemistry for global pharma; competes with Axxam particularly on integrated discovery programs.
Emerging players
- Reaction Biology Corp. Discovery CRO offering biochemical and cell-based assay services, including HTS and specialty target expertise; comparable to Axxam in niche assay-platform positioning though smaller in scale.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Axxam social profiles
Digital presenceAxxam compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance5 records
Axxam financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Axxam leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles27 records
Axxam funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Axxam M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments2 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Axxam
What does Axxam do?
Axxam is a Contract Research Organization (CRO) that provides integrated, fee-for-service early drug discovery solutions to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, academic and non-pharma life sciences clients. Its offerings span target identification and validation, in vitro assay development (biochemical, cell-based, iPSC, electrophysiology, optogenetics, high content imaging), high-throughput screening using proprietary Axxam Collections, hit-to-lead optimization, and integrated end-to-end drug discovery programs, plus the AXXSense platform for flavor, fragrance and taste-modulating ingredient discovery.
Is Axxam a public or private company?
Axxam is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Axxam founded?
Axxam was founded in 2001. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Axxam based?
Axxam is headquartered in Milan, Italy, in the Europe region.
How does Axxam make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. CRO Services - Drug Discovery is the primary driver. The others are non-pharma Life Sciences Services.
Who are Axxam's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Symeres, Evotec SE and Selvita S.A.. Firmenich (now part of dsm-firmenich) is listed as a regional player. Broad incumbents are Eurofins Discovery, WuXi AppTec, Charles River Laboratories, ChemPartner and Jubilant Biosys. Reaction Biology Corp. is listed as an emerging player.
Does Axxam have an API?
No public API is recorded for Axxam.
What industry is Axxam in?
Axxam's product category is Contract Drug Discovery Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAGAAAB, Preclinical CROs (Discovery/Pharmacology/DMPK), with a secondary code of HLAGAAAL, Specialty Therapeutic-Area CROs (e.g., oncology/rare disease). Its NAICS code is 541714 and its SIC code is 8731.