Immuno-Biological Laboratories

What Immuno-Biological Laboratories does

Immuno-Biological Laboratories Co., Ltd. (IBL), founded in 1982 and listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (tyo:4570), is a Japanese specialty biotechnology company headquartered in Fujioka, Gunma Prefecture, that develops, manufactures, and supplies immunological research reagents and customized testing services. The company's core technology centers on proprietary antibody development and ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay) platform technology, with a flagship service called LipoSEARCH® that uses patented gel-filtration HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography) combined with a patented spherical particle model data analysis algorithm to provide detailed lipoprotein profiling—covering 20 subclasses, particle size, and particle number—demonstrated to be more accurate than NMR-based methods in clinical studies. IBL also operates a proprietary transgenic silkworm protein production platform used to manufacture human collagen for the Neosilk® cosmetics line and to offer contract protein production services to pharmaceutical clients.

The company's revenue model combines product sales (antibodies and ELISA kits sold via direct sales and international distributors), fee-for-service contract testing (lipoprotein profiling via LipoSEARCH, LipoTEST for veterinary, LipoCULTURE for cell cultures, and custom biomarker testing through its consolidated subsidiary Skylight Biotech Inc.), contract protein production services using transgenic silkworms, and consumer cosmetic products under the Neosilk® brand. Its customer base spans academic and industrial researchers, pharmaceutical and biotech companies (including a multi-year collaborative research agreement with Astellas Pharma for silkworm-based protein production), functional food and supplement companies requiring evidence for health claims, veterinary clinics, and cosmetics manufacturers. The antibody-related business division is ISO 13485 certified (medical device quality management system), positioning IBL as a research-use supplier across metabolic disease, cardiovascular, kidney, aging, neurodegeneration, and rare disease biomarker segments, with marketing driven by scientific conferences, seminars, bilingual website content, and a publication footprint exceeding 550 cited papers for LipoSEARCH alone.

Name

Immuno-Biological Laboratories

Legal name

Immuno-Biological Laboratories Co., Ltd.

Website

https://ibl-japan.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Immuno-Biological Laboratories (tyo:4570) is a Japanese specialty biotech that develops and manufactures ELISA kits, antibodies, and the proprietary LipoSEARCH® gel-filtration HPLC lipoprotein analysis service, serving academic researchers, pharmaceutical companies, functional food firms, and cosmetics clients globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Life Sciences Research Reagents

NAICS

In-Vitro Diagnostic Substance Manufacturing (325413), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories (62151)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Reagents, Chemicals & Assay Kits (Buffers, Antibodies, ELISA, Enzymes) (HLAGAIAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Biomarker Assay & Reagent Development (LDT/IVD assay design, antibodies/standards/controls) (HLAAAMAL), Specialty & Biomarker Laboratory Services (Immunoassays/Flow/Cytometry) (HLAGAEAB), Antibody Discovery & Engineering Platforms (display tech, bispecifics, Fc engineering) (HLAAAIAB), Clinical Research & Trial Central Laboratories (HLAFAMAL)

Keywords

• Antibody research reagents
• ELISA assay kits
• Lipoprotein analysis services
• Biomarker testing services
• Transgenic silkworm proteins

Headquarters

HQ city

Gumma

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Antibody and ELISA Reagent Products: IBL manufactures and sells research-use antibodies and ELISA assay kits through its direct sales network and international distributors. Products include ELISA kits for biomarkers across diabetes, cancer, aging, inflammation, and cardiovascular diseases. Revenue is generated through product sales to academic researchers and pharmaceutical companies.
2. Customized/Contract Testing Services: IBL provides fee-for-service testing using its proprietary LipoSEARCH gel-filtration HPLC platform (lipoprotein profiling) and other biomarker testing services through its IBL Testing Center (registered hygiene testing facility). Services include LipoSEARCH, LipoTEST (animal health), LipoCULTURE, and custom biomarker testing.
3. Transgenic Silkworm Protein Production Services: IBL offers contract protein production services using its transgenic silkworm platform, enabling pharmaceutical and cosmetic companies to produce recombinant proteins. The company built a pilot plant for this protein production business.
4. Cosmetic Products (Neosilk®): IBL sells cosmetic products under the Neosilk® brand, featuring human collagen produced via transgenic silkworm technology, marketed for skin care applications.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Immuno-Biological Laboratories develops, manufactures, and supplies immunological research reagents (antibodies, ELISA kits) for life sciences research, alongside contract testing services including its proprietary LipoSEARCH gel-filtration HPLC lipoprotein profiling platform. The company also offers transgenic silkworm-based contract protein production services and sells Neosilk® human collagen-based cosmetic products. Its reagents are designated for research use only, serving academic researchers, pharmaceutical companies, and diagnostic developers globally.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• LipoSEARCH: Lipoprotein profiling and analyzing service using gel-filtration HPLC method for detailed lipid profile analysis.
• LipoTEST
• LipoCULTURE
• Neosilk

Products and services

• LipoSEARCH® Lipoprotein Profiling Service
• LipoTEST® Animal Lipid Profiling Service
• LipoCULTURE® Lipid Profile Analysis Service
• Transgenic Silkworm Contract Protein Production Service
• Neosilk® Human Collagen Cosmetic Products
• Shigella Antibody ELISA IBL (#50200)
• Human Uromodulin ELISA IBL (#27718)
• Human ANGPTL4 ELISA IBL (#27716)
• Human ANGPTL2 ELISA IBL (#27714)
• Human Neurofilament Light (NfL) ELISA IBL (#27712)
• Human pTau217 ELISA IBL (#27710)
• Human α-Klotho ELISA IBL (#27708)
• Human T-Cadherin (Intact) ELISA IBL (#27706)
• Human ANGPTL3 ELISA IBL (#27704)
• Human Titin N-Fragment ELISA IBL (#27702)

Quantifiable outcome

• LipoSEARCH's GP-HPLC method more accurately reflects drug-induced lipid improvements compared to NMR-based analysis in clinical studies (pemafibrate PII trial, 212 dyslipidemia patients)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 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

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• artience Co., Ltd.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2025IBL entered into a fundamental agreement of business alliance with artience Co., Ltd. (artience株式会社). Artience is a Japanese company engaged in specialty chemicals and related businesses. The partnership was announced as an IR news release and represents a significant strategic alignment. Details of the partnership outcomes were disclosed as ' disclosure matters progress' in June 2026.
• Rinku General Medical Center / Osaka University (Dr. Shizuya Yamashita)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 February 2021Dr. Shizuya Yamashita (Rinku General Medical Center / Osaka University Special Appointment Professor) and colleagues used IBL's LipoSEARCH (GP-HPLC method) in a comparative study with NMR for lipoprotein particle number analysis in a pemafibrate clinical trial (212 dyslipidemia patients). This collaboration generated key validation data for LipoSEARCH's superiority over NMR.
• Intellect Neurosciences, Inc.minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 April 2016IBL entered into a new milestone agreement with Intellect Neurosciences, a biotech company. Intellect Neurosciences is focused on neurodegenerative disease therapeutics. The partnership involves IBL's antibody development capabilities for neuroscience applications. A milestone agreement was announced as an IR news release.
• Skylight Biotech Inc. (株式会社スカイライト・バイオテック)coreTechnology or Integration · 1 April 2016Skylight Biotech Inc. is IBL's consolidated subsidiary providing lifestyle disease biomarker testing services. It operates IBL's testing center (registered hygiene testing facility) and uses IBL ELISA kits for biomarker measurement services. Skylight Biotech's senior technical advisor, Dr. Mitsuyo Okazaki (Tokyo Medical and Dental University Professor Emeritus), co-developed the LipoSEARCH spherical particle model theory.
• Astellas Pharma Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 March 2015IBL and Astellas Pharma Inc. concluded a new collaborative research agreement focused on protein production using transgenic silkworms. Astellas is one of Japan's largest pharmaceutical companies. Progress reports on this collaborative research were published as IR announcements, and Astellas is identified as a key collaborative partner for IBL's transgenic silkworm protein production business. A pilot plant was constructed to support this protein production business.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Abcam: Abcam (now part of Danaher) is a global leader in research-grade antibodies and immunoassay reagents, with comparable product lines to IBL's antibody and ELISA portfolio. Both serve academic and industrial life sciences researchers with validated antibodies for biomarker detection.
• Cosmo Bio: Cosmo Bio is a Japanese life sciences reagent distributor and developer that markets ELISA kits, antibodies, and research reagents domestically and internationally — closely comparable to IBL in catalog scope and target customers in Japan.
• Bio-Techne Corporation: Bio-Techne (NASDAQ: TECH), owner of R&D Systems, is one of the largest specialty reagent companies offering antibodies, ELISA kits, and biomarker assays across the same metabolic, neuroscience, and aging research areas that IBL targets. Both companies compete for academic and pharma researcher wallet share with comparable catalog ELISA products.

Regional players

• Sekisui Medical: Sekisui Medical is a Japanese diagnostics and life sciences company developing clinical chemistry reagents, immunoassays, and IVD products. It overlaps with IBL in immunoassay reagent development and shares Japanese clinical and academic customer relationships.
• LSI Medience Corporation: LSI Medience is a Japanese clinical reference laboratory and diagnostics company that operates in biomarker testing and IVD development. Its clinical laboratory and biomarker assay services overlap with IBL's LipoSEARCH and contract testing business, particularly in the Japanese market.
• Tosoh Corporation: Tosoh is a Japanese chemical and life sciences company that develops diagnostic reagents, immunoassay systems, and clinical chemistry products. It competes with IBL in the Japanese market for specialty immunoassay reagents and shares exposure to Japanese clinical and academic customers.
• Fujirebio Holdings: Fujirebio is a Japanese in vitro diagnostics and life sciences company offering immunoassay reagents and clinical diagnostics. While larger and more diagnostic-focused than IBL, it overlaps in Japanese-market immunoassay development and shares the Japanese regulatory and academic customer base.
• Sysmex Corporation: Sysmex is a leading Japanese in vitro diagnostics company specializing in hematology, immunology, and clinical chemistry reagents and instruments. It serves similar Japanese clinical and research customers as IBL, though at much larger scale and with regulated IVD products.

Broad incumbents

• Thermo Fisher Scientific (Life Sciences / Analytical): Thermo Fisher's Life Sciences and Analytical segments include a broad portfolio of antibodies, ELISA kits, and laboratory analytical instruments that directly compete with IBL's research reagent offerings. Its scale and global distribution dwarf IBL, but it serves many of the same academic and pharma researchers.
• Merck KGaA (Life Science / MilliporeSigma): Merck's Life Science division (MilliporeSigma) is one of the world's largest suppliers of research antibodies, ELISA kits, and analytical instruments. It competes broadly with IBL across the antibody and assay reagent market, but at a much larger portfolio scale with global commercial reach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/immuno-biological-laboratories-co-ltd-ibl

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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 Immuno-Biological Laboratories