Biosynth
Biosynth is a PE-backed, globally integrated manufacturer of life sciences reagents, complex chemicals, GMP peptides, and biologics, supplying pharma, diagnostics, and research customers across three continents via an over-one-million-product catalog and custom CDMO services.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1966
- HeadquartersSaint Gallen, Switzerland
- Headcount501–1,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Biosynth does
Biosynth is a privately held, PE-backed manufacturer and supplier of life sciences reagents, complex chemicals, peptides, and biologics, founded in 1966 by Hans Spitz. Since 2019, the company has pursued an aggressive roll-up strategy, merging with Carbosynth in 2019 and completing nine additional acquisitions in 2022-2023 (vivitide, Pepscan, Aalto Bio Reagents, EUCODIS Bioscience, Fitzgerald Industries International, Cambridge Research Biochemicals, celares, Pepceuticals, and VIO Chemicals). The combined group operates over 11 facilities across Switzerland, the UK, Slovakia, Ireland, the Netherlands, Austria, Germany, the United States, and China, with manufacturing capacity ranging from milligram research scale to multi-ton commercial production, including 2500L reactors at the Staad headquarters and a 100L GMP laboratory.
The company offers an integrated portfolio of over one million catalog products spanning bioactive small molecules, peptides, carbohydrates, bioconjugates, antibodies, antigens, enzymes, plasma, nucleosides, and synthetic enzyme substrates, supported by proprietary technology brands (Bio-X, CLIPS, CTAT, AquaSpark, TrypTides, Bibridged). Custom services include CDMO/chemical manufacturing, GMP peptide production, custom antibody development, epitope mapping, phage display-based peptide discovery, and bioconjugation services. The business model combines high-volume catalog product sales with project-based custom synthesis and CDMO contracts, sold through direct enterprise sales, a digital storefront with instant online quoting, and a global distributor network.
Customers span pharmaceutical and vaccine developers, life sciences researchers, IVD manufacturers, food and agrochemical companies, and cosmetics producers. Biosynth is owned by KKR and Ampersand alongside senior management, with Matt Gunnison appointed CEO in 2024 to lead the integrated platform. The company holds ISO 9001 and ISO 13485 certifications and received an EcoVadis Silver sustainability rating in 2024.
Biosynth firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Biosynth
- Legal name
- Biosynth Ltd
- Website
- https://biosynth.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1966
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 501–1,000 employees
- Short description
- Biosynth is a PE-backed, globally integrated manufacturer of life sciences reagents, complex chemicals, GMP peptides, and biologics, supplying pharma, diagnostics, and research customers across three continents via an over-one-million-product catalog and custom CDMO services.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Biosynth industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Life Sciences Reagents
- NAICS
- Pharmaceutical Preparation Manufacturing (325412), Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414), In-Vitro Diagnostic Substance Manufacturing (325413), Medicinal and Botanical Manufacturing (325411)
- SIC
- Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834), Medicinal Chemicals & Botanical Products (2833), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Small-Molecule Drug Product (Solid/Oral/Parenteral) CDMO (HLAGABAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Biologics (mAbs/Recombinant Proteins) CDMO (HLAGABAC), Small-Molecule API & Intermediates CDMO (HLAGABAA)
Keywords
Where Biosynth is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Saint Gallen
- HQ country
- Switzerland
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices11 records
Markets served
Biosynth business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Catalog Product Sales: Sale of research products including bioactive small molecules, peptides, carbohydrates, enzymes, antibodies, antigens, and biological reagents. Over one million products across diverse categories.
- Custom Synthesis & CDMO Services: Contract development and manufacturing services for custom chemicals, peptides, and biologics. Includes route scouting, custom synthesis, GMP manufacturing, large-scale production from milligram to multi-ton scale.
- Biocatalysis Services: Enzyme-based manufacturing routes working seamlessly with synthetic chemistry teams for complex product development.
- GMP Manufacturing: Good Manufacturing Practice production for clinical and commercial supply of peptides and chemicals.
- Custom Antibody Development: Monoclonal and polyclonal antibody production, epitope mapping, and antigen design services.
- IVD Raw Materials: Supply of diagnostic reagents including viral and bacterial antigens, antisera, plasma, and matched antibody pairs for in vitro diagnostics.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Catalog Research Products |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Custom Peptide Synthesis |
| Other | Multi-year contract | CDMO/Manufacturing Services |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Biosynth product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Biosynth is a life sciences company that manufactures and supplies bioactive small molecules, peptides, biologics, carbohydrates, enzymes, antibodies, and diagnostic reagents. The company also offers contract development and manufacturing services (CDMO) including custom peptide synthesis, biologics services, and complex chemical manufacturing for pharmaceutical, diagnostic, and research customers across three continents.
Product overview
Biosynth offers an integrated portfolio of over one million research products combined with end-to-end manufacturing services across three core areas: Complex Chemicals (carbohydrates, nucleosides, enzyme substrates, bioactive small molecules, research chemicals), Peptides (research peptides, custom synthesis, GMP production, peptide libraries, neoantigens), and Biologics (antibodies, antigens, enzymes, plasma, IVD reagents). The portfolio is organized into catalog products (Bioactive Small Molecules, Bioconjugates, Carbohydrates, Peptides, Research Chemicals, Proteins, Plasma/Serum, Antibodies, Enzymes, Nucleosides, Synthetic Enzyme Substrates) supported by manufacturing services (CDMO, Custom Peptide Synthesis, Biologics Services). Proprietary brands include Bio-X™, TrypTides™, CLIPS Technology, AquaSpark®, Bibridged™ Peptides, and CTAT™. The company operates through multiple acquired brands including vivitide, Pepscan, Aalto Bio Reagents, EUCODIS, Fitzgerald, CRB, celares, Pepceuticals, and VIO Chemicals. Customers span pharmaceutical, vaccine, diagnostic, food, agrochemistry, and cosmetics sectors.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Bio-X™: Bioactive small molecules product line
- TrypTides™
- CLIPS™
- AquaSpark®
- BCM®
- Bibridged™
- FLSharp™
- Aldol®
Products and services
- Custom Peptide Synthesis Services
Quantifiable outcome
- Largest provider of bulk disease state plasma for controls in Europe
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Biosynth
Customer profileSegments5 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Biosynth technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature8 records
Biosynth partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Slovak University of Technology (STU)minorStrong and long cooperation with Slovak University of Technology for research and development support at Bratislava site.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves10 records
Expansion highlights7 records
Biosynth competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Lonza Group: Leading small-molecule and biologics CDMO with peptide, antibody, conjugate and cell-and-gene therapy manufacturing. Closest direct peer to Biosynth's GMP peptide and biologics CDMO services.
- Abcam: Specialist antibody catalog provider (now part of Danaher). Direct overlap with Biosynth's Fitzgerald, Aalto Bio and antibody businesses serving life-science research and IVD manufacturers.
- Bachem: Pure-play peptide CDMO leader with GMP peptide APIs and custom synthesis. Most direct competitor to vivitide/Pepscan/Pepceuticals sites within Biosynth's peptide division.
- Bio-Techne: Research reagents and diagnostics raw materials provider (proteins, antibodies, ELISA kits, GMP cytokines). Directly competes in the IVD reagent, antibody and protein catalog markets.
- Catalent (Novo Holdings): Large-scale CDMO specializing in peptides, biologics, softgel and inhalation fill-finish. Direct competitor in GMP peptide synthesis and complex molecule manufacturing.
Broad incumbents
- MilliporeSigma (Merck Life Science): Largest life-science reagents and chemicals incumbent (Sigma-Aldrich legacy). Overlaps with Biosynth's catalog of bioactive small molecules, carbohydrates, nucleotides, and analytical reagents across pharma, diagnostics and academic research.
- Thermo Fisher Scientific: Global life-sciences platform spanning research reagents (chemicals, peptides, antibodies), CDMO services (Patheon) and IVD raw materials. Competes with Biosynth across catalog reagents and contract manufacturing.
- Eurofins Scientific: Global bioanalytical testing and life-sciences services group with reagents, IVD raw materials and CDMO-like offerings. Comparable in providing critical materials and analytical services to pharma and diagnostics customers.
Regional players
- WuXi AppTec / WuXi Biologics: Asia-based integrated CDMO with API/intermediates (WuXi STA) and biologics (WuXi Bio). Compares to Biosynth's Jinan large-scale API manufacturing and biologics services across Asia-Pacific.
Emerging players
- Sartorius Stedim Biotech: Bioprocess and biologics manufacturer of cell-culture media, filtration and bioreactors. Adjacent/competing supplier for upstream biologics production inputs where Biosynth supplies enzymes, peptides and biological raw materials.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Biosynth social profiles
Digital presenceBiosynth compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Biosynth financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Biosynth leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Biosynth subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries11 records
Biosynth funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Biosynth M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A8 records
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Biosynth
What does Biosynth do?
Biosynth is a life sciences company that manufactures and supplies bioactive small molecules, peptides, biologics, carbohydrates, enzymes, antibodies, and diagnostic reagents. The company also offers contract development and manufacturing services (CDMO) including custom peptide synthesis, biologics services, and complex chemical manufacturing for pharmaceutical, diagnostic, and research customers across three continents.
Is Biosynth a public or private company?
Biosynth is a private company. It is classified as private equity controlled and is currently operating.
When was Biosynth founded?
Biosynth was founded in 1966. It employs 501 to 1,000 people.
Where is Biosynth based?
Biosynth is headquartered in Saint Gallen, Switzerland, in the Europe region.
How does Biosynth make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Catalog Product Sales are the primary driver. The others are custom Synthesis & CDMO Services, biocatalysis Services, GMP Manufacturing, custom Antibody Development and IVD Raw Materials.
Who are Biosynth's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Lonza Group, Abcam, Bachem, Bio-Techne and Catalent (Novo Holdings). Broad incumbents are MilliporeSigma (Merck Life Science), Thermo Fisher Scientific and Eurofins Scientific. WuXi AppTec / WuXi Biologics is listed as a regional player. Sartorius Stedim Biotech is listed as an emerging player.
Does Biosynth have an API?
No public API is recorded for Biosynth.
What industry is Biosynth in?
Biosynth's product category is Life Sciences Reagents. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAGABAB, Small-Molecule Drug Product (Solid/Oral/Parenteral) CDMO, with a secondary code of HLAGABAC, Biologics (mAbs/Recombinant Proteins) CDMO. Its NAICS code is 325412 and its SIC code is 2834.