What JSR Life Sciences does

JSR Life Sciences is the life sciences operating arm of Japan-based JSR Corporation, established in 2012 and headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, with operations spanning 28 sites across 7 countries. The company is structured as a portfolio of wholly-owned subsidiaries serving the biologics value chain: KBI Biopharma provides contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) services including mammalian and microbial production with 6x2000L single-use bioreactor capacity; Selexis SA offers the SUREtechnology Platform and PUREplatform for mammalian cell line and microbial expression development; MBL distributes in vitro diagnostic reagents primarily across APAC; and Crown Bioscience (being divested) provides CRO services in oncology and immuno-oncology, including the world's largest commercial PDX collection and exclusive HUB Organoid licensing.

The company's proprietary bioprocess product franchise centers on the Amsphere Protein A chromatography resin line — Amsphere A3 and the newer Amsphere A+ — engineered for downstream purification of therapeutic antibodies, with claimed up to 50% higher dynamic binding capacity than market standard and validated use in over 150 clinical drug product trials. Complementary products include the CELLiST BASAL CHO MX cell culture medium (co-developed with Ajinomoto Genematrix), the Chromassette modular chromatography platform, Magnosphere magnetic microparticles, and Blockmaster synthetic blocking reagents for diagnostics.

JSR Life Sciences operates a B2B enterprise sales model with direct field sales to pharmaceutical and biotechnology manufacturers, CRO/CDMO service delivery, and regional distribution (notably MBL in Japan). Pricing is quote-based under multi-year contracts with regulatory support files provided under NDA. The company is undergoing major portfolio reshaping: it divested its chromatography business to MilliporeSigma (Merck KGaA) in April 2026 and agreed to sell Crown Bioscience to Adicon (a Carlyle Group affiliate) for $204M, with closing scheduled for 2026, leaving KBI Biopharma, Selexis, and MBL as the retained core operations.

Name

JSR Life Sciences

Legal name

JSR Life Sciences, LLC

Website

https://jsrlifesciences.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

JSR Life Sciences is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Japan-based JSR Corporation that provides bioprocess products and contract manufacturing and research services to biopharmaceutical companies globally through subsidiaries including KBI Biopharma (CDMO), Selexis (cell line development), and MBL (diagnostics).

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Biopharmaceutical CDMO and CRO Services

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414), In-Vitro Diagnostic Substance Manufacturing (325413)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834), In Vitro & In Vivo Diagnostic Substances (2835)

akta.pro primary industry

Raw Materials & Critical Reagents Supply (Media/Resins/Cytokines) (HLAGAGAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Raw Materials & Critical Reagents Supply Services (media, resins, single-use) (HLAAAKAI), Manufacturing Quality Assurance & GMP Compliance (batch release, deviation/CAPA, tech transfer QA) (HLAGAKAJ), GMP Quality, Validation & Regulatory Support (GMP/CSV/Qualification) (HLAGAGAL)

Keywords

• Biopharmaceutical manufacturing services
• Contract development manufacturing
• Protein A chromatography resins
• Preclinical contract research
• Life sciences reagents

Headquarters

HQ city

Sunnyvale

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Chromatography Resin Sales: Sale of Amsphere™ brand Protein A chromatography resins (Amsphere A3, Amsphere A+) to biopharmaceutical manufacturers for downstream purification of antibodies and biologics. Products include resin slurry and pre-packed columns in various sizes.
2. Contract Research Services (CRO): Crown Bioscience provides discovery, preclinical, and translational research services including oncology and immuno-oncology drug discovery, PDX models, organoid services, and biomarker discovery to pharmaceutical and biotech companies.
3. Contract Manufacturing Services (CDMO): KBI Biopharma provides fully-integrated drug development and biomanufacturing services from cell line development through commercial manufacturing, including mammalian and microbial production capabilities.
4. Cell Culture Media Products: CELLiST™ BASAL CHO MX cell culture media product for biologics manufacturing, developed in partnership with Ajinomoto Genematrix.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

JSR Life Sciences provides materials and integrated services that enable biopharmaceutical manufacturing and life science research. Its offerings span proprietary Protein A chromatography resins (Amsphere A3, Amsphere A+), cell culture media, in vitro diagnostic reagents, and contract services through subsidiaries: KBI Biopharma (CDMO for biologics development and manufacturing) and Crown Bioscience (CRO for oncology and immuno-oncology preclinical research).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Amsphere: Protein A chromatography resin product line for advanced protein separation in downstream processing of therapeutic antibodies.
• Amsphere A3
• Amsphere A+
• CELLiST
• ChromNeX
• MBL (Medical and Biological Laboratories)
• Crown Bioscience
• KBI Biopharma
• Selexis
• IMMUTEX
• Blockmaster
• Magnosphere

Products and services

• Amsphere A3 Protein A Chromatography Resin

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 50% higher dynamic binding capacity (DBC) compared to market standard at 2-6 minute residence times
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 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

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor, core, strategic and major.

• PfizerminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPfizer and JSR Life Sciences have both introduced advanced Protein A resin products in the Japan market to enhance purification performance for monoclonal antibody production.
• Ajinomoto GenematrixcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJSR and KBI Biopharma collaborated with Ajinomoto Genematrix to develop CELLiST BASAL CHO-MX cell culture media, which Ajinomoto Genematrix commercialized as a product for high-performance CHO cell culture.
• HUB Organoids (Hubrecht Organoid Technology)coreTechnology or IntegrationCrown Bioscience is the only licensed preclinical CRO service provider for HUB Organoid technology, enabling tumor organoid services for drug discovery and development.
• Keio UniversitystrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerJSR-Keio University Medical and Chemical Innovation Center (JKiC) enables collaboration between JSR Group researchers and Keio University School of Medicine researchers for medical-engineering innovation in diagnostics and therapeutics.
• MilliporeSigma (Merck KGaA)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMilliporeSigma completed acquisition of JSR Life Sciences' chromatography business in April 2026, enhancing Merck's downstream purification capabilities for biopharmaceutical manufacturing and incorporating a team from Belgium to support antibody purification solutions.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Cytiva (Danaher): Leading provider of chromatography resins (MabSelect Protein A), bioprocess equipment, and CDMO services. Direct competitor to the divested Amsphere franchise and to KBI in bioprocessing solutions.
• Lonza Group: World's largest CDMO offering mammalian and microbial biologics manufacturing, cell and gene therapy services, and integrated development. Direct competitor to KBI Biopharma in biologics CDMO, but operates at much greater scale and modality breadth.
• Samsung Biologics: Large-scale Korean CDMO with massive bioreactor capacity for commercial biologics manufacturing. Competes with KBI Biopharma for mammalian cell culture contracts and offers similar end-to-end development services at much larger scale.
• WuXi Biologics: Global biologics CDMO with integrated discovery, development, and manufacturing services including cell line development. Directly comparable to KBI's CDMO offerings and operates globally with significantly larger capacity.
• Catalent (Novo Holdings): Major CDMO offering biologics development and manufacturing, including mammalian cell culture. Direct competitor to KBI Biopharma in biologics CDMO with broader service portfolio and global footprint.
• Charles River Laboratories: Major preclinical CRO offering oncology drug discovery, safety assessment, and research models. Direct competitor to divested Crown Bioscience in preclinical oncology CRO services.

Direct peers

• Tosoh Bioscience: Manufacturer of Protein A chromatography resins (TOYOPEARL AF-rProtein A) and other bioprocess media. Direct competitor to Amsphere in the Protein A resin market for mAb purification.
• AGC Biologics: Mammalian and microbial CDMO with similar scale to KBI Biopharma, offering cell line development through commercial manufacturing. Head-to-head competitor for mid-sized biologics CDMO contracts.
• MilliporeSigma (Merck KGaA Life Science): Major supplier of chromatography resins, raw materials, and bioprocessing solutions. Now owns JSR's Amsphere chromatography business and competes with KBI in bioprocess services and consumables.

Emerging players

• Pharmaron: Chinese-headquartered CRO/CDMO offering preclinical research and biologics manufacturing. Comparable to JSR Life Sciences' integrated CRO-CDMO model with strong APAC presence.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/jsrlifesciences
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/jsrlifesciences
• Facebookfacebook.com/jsrlifesciences

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A1 record

Investments2 records

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

Frequently asked questions about JSR Life Sciences