Cerba Research
Cerba Research is a Belgium-headquartered specialty and central clinical trial laboratory serving pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and vaccine developers globally through 42+ labs across five continents, offering integrated biomarker, genomics, flow cytometry, histopathology, and bioanalytical testing services.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1970
- HeadquartersGhent, Belgium
- Headcount5,001–10,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Cerba Research does
Cerba Research is a private, Belgium-headquartered clinical research laboratory services provider founded in 1970, operating from its registered office in Zwijnaarde (Ghent). The company serves the global pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and vaccine development industries through an integrated specialty and central clinical trial laboratory platform. Cerba Research maintains 14 core laboratories and 31 partner laboratories across five continents (42+ facilities total), with harmonized SOPs enabling consistent data quality across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa, and Australia. Since 2018, the company has supported more than 1,400 clinical trials and currently runs 300+ ongoing studies, with 210+ of those in oncology.
The company's technology stack spans flow cytometry (BD FACSLyric, Cytek Aurora), next-generation sequencing (Illumina, Element, Oxford Nanopore), digital pathology (HALO, Visiopharm), spatial omics (NanoString GeoMx DSP), multiplex IHC/IF, and immunoassay platforms. Validated proprietary assets include 250+ IHC biomarkers, 160 biomarker targets, and specialized panels such as HISTOPROFILE-TRM for solid tumor phenotyping. Cerba Xpert, a biobank sub-brand, provides access to 40,000+ well-characterized samples, while the Frépillon facility in France houses 2.4 million+ samples under regulatory-aligned SOPs. The portfolio is anchored by multi-jurisdictional accreditations including CAP, CLIA, ISO 15189, ISO 13485, ISO 27001, GLP, GCLP, SANAS, NATA/RCPA, and NGSP Level 1.
Cerba Research generates revenue through professional services contracts with pharmaceutical and biotechnology sponsors conducting clinical development programs, with pricing structured around study requirements, sample volumes, and geographic scope. Distribution is direct enterprise sales with recommended early engagement at protocol design, supported by a scientist-to-scientist engagement model, an active conference presence (AACR, ASH, ESMO, ISCT, World Vaccine Congress, with 20+ events planned for 2026), and a scientific content engine (blogs, white papers, peer-reviewed publications at a cadence of approximately 30 per year). The company employs 5,001-10,000 people globally and serves primary customer segments of pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, life science companies, and vaccine developers across therapeutic areas including oncology, infectious diseases, cell and gene therapy, inflammation and immunology, metabolics, neuroscience, and rare diseases.
Cerba Research firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Cerba Research
- Legal name
- Cerba Research NV
- Website
- https://cerbaresearch.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1970
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 5,001–10,000 employees
- Short description
- Cerba Research is a Belgium-headquartered specialty and central clinical trial laboratory serving pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and vaccine developers globally through 42+ labs across five continents, offering integrated biomarker, genomics, flow cytometry, histopathology, and bioanalytical testing services.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Cerba Research industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Clinical Trial Laboratory Services
- NAICS
- Medical Laboratories (621511), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)
- SIC
- Services-Medical Laboratories (8071), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Testing Laboratories (8734)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Clinical Research & Trial Central Laboratories (HLAFAMAL)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Clinical Biomarker Testing Services (central labs, trial enrollment/monitoring assays) (HLAAAMAC), Genomics & Molecular Diagnostics (Trial Support) (HLAGAEAD)
Keywords
Where Cerba Research is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Ghent
- HQ country
- Belgium
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices16 records
Markets served
Cerba Research business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
Revenue model
- Specialty Laboratory Testing Services: Cerba Research provides specialty laboratory testing including flow cytometry, genomics, biomarkers, immunoassays, and histopathology for clinical trials. Revenue is generated through service contracts with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies conducting clinical development programs.
- Central Laboratory Services: Global central laboratory services for clinical trials including sample logistics, project management, protocol development, and safety testing across all trial phases.
- Custom Assay Development: Custom assay development and validation services for specific biomarker testing requirements, supporting regulatory submissions and clinical trial endpoints.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels8 records
Cerba Research product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Cerba Research provides central laboratory services for clinical trials, including biomarker discovery, specialty testing, bioanalytical services, and sample management for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and vaccine developers. The company supports early-phase through late-phase clinical studies with integrated testing platforms, scientific expertise, and global logistics. It operates as the dedicated clinical research arm of Cerba HealthCare, offering end-to-end lab solutions that span study setup, sample analysis, data delivery, and post-trial storage.
Product overview
Cerba Research is a clinical research laboratory services provider offering an integrated platform combining specialty laboratory expertise with central lab scale and global reach. The core portfolio includes specialty laboratory solutions (anatomic pathology, assay development, bioanalytical solutions, biomarker solutions, data intelligence, flow cytometry, genomics, immunoassay, pre-clinical services, pre-analytical/PBMC processing, and virology/vaccine laboratory) alongside central laboratory solutions (clinical trial lab services, global laboratory network, logistics, project management, protocol development, safety testing). Key add-on services include Cerba Xpert Biobank for sample access and Data Quality & Accreditation for regulatory compliance. The company operates through 14 core laboratories and 31 partner labs across five continents, providing consistent, harmonized assay results from early discovery through regulatory submission, particularly for oncology, infectious diseases, cell and gene therapy, and rare diseases.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Cerba Xpert: Biobank repository providing access to over 40,000 well-characterized prospective and retrospective samples, including diverse biofluids and tissues, with the Frépillon biobank facility housing over 2.4 million samples.
Products and services
- Central Laboratory Services End-to-end central lab services for global clinical trials, including routine safety testing, custom kit assembly, sample logistics, and standardized data delivery for pharmaceutical and biotech sponsors.
- Biomarker Services Biomarker discovery, assay development, validation, and clinical-sample testing supporting companion diagnostics, patient stratification, and mechanism-of-action studies across therapeutic areas.
- Specialty Testing Services Specialty immunology, microbiology, molecular biology, flow cytometry, and cell-based assays performed on clinical trial samples to support immunology, infectious disease, and oncology programs.
- Bioanalytical Services Bioanalytical method development, validation, and sample analysis for pharmacokinetics (PK), pharmacodynamics (PD), and immunogenicity testing across all clinical phases.
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Services Specialized lab services for vaccine developers and infectious disease programs, including immunogenicity assays, neutralizing antibody testing, pathogen detection, and correlates-of-protection analyses.
- Sample Management and Biorepository Long-term storage, biorepository management, and chain-of-custody services for clinical trial biospecimens, including biological samples, derivatives, and reference materials.
- Genomics and Molecular Services Genomics, next-generation sequencing (NGS), and molecular profiling services supporting translational research, patient stratification, and genomic biomarker programs in clinical trials.
Quantifiable outcome
- 1400+ clinical trials supported since 2018
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Cerba Research
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Cerba Research technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature6 records
Cerba Research partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators12 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Cerba Research competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- IQVIA Laboratories (Q² Solutions): Global central and specialty clinical trial laboratory formed from Quintiles and Quest Diagnostics. Most direct competitor to Cerba Research, offering comparable central lab, biomarker, genomic, and flow cytometry services for clinical trials worldwide.
- Labcorp Drug Development (Fortrea): Major clinical trial central laboratory with global footprint and integrated CRO services. Directly comparable to Cerba Research on central lab scale and multinational trial support across therapeutic areas including oncology.
- ICON plc (incl. PRA Health Sciences): Large global CRO with substantial central laboratory and specialty biomarker capabilities. Competes with Cerba Research for full-service and specialty lab contracts on multinational clinical trials.
- Frontage Laboratories: Contract research organization providing bioanalytical, biomarker, and central laboratory services for clinical trials. Directly comparable to Cerba Research's specialty lab offerings and has been actively acquiring in the central lab space.
- Eurofins Central Laboratory: Global central laboratory network providing clinical trial testing across multiple continents. Directly comparable to Cerba Research's central lab model with similarly broad geographic reach.
- ACM Global Laboratories: Independent central and specialty clinical trial laboratory offering esoteric testing, microbiology, and biomarker services. Closely comparable to Cerba Research's specialty + central lab integration model.
Broad incumbents
- Charles River Laboratories: Large CRO with discovery, safety, and manufacturing services, including clinical and bioanalytical lab capabilities. Comparable to Cerba Research on the lab services overlap but operates a much broader life-sciences portfolio.
- Thermo Fisher Scientific (PPD Clinical Research): Largest life-sciences tools and CRO platform; PPD's central lab competes with Cerba Research, though it is part of a much broader product/services portfolio rather than a focused lab specialist.
Emerging players
- Medpace Holdings: Mid-sized CRO with growing central lab and biomarker capabilities serving biotech-led clinical trials. Comparable to Cerba Research's biotech customer segment and full-service trial support model.
- Worldwide Clinical Trials: Mid-sized global CRO with central laboratory and specialty biomarker services for Phase I-IV trials. Comparable to Cerba Research on the full-service biotech/pharma client base and specialty lab integration.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Cerba Research social profiles
Digital presenceCerba Research compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance13 records
Cerba Research financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Cerba Research leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Cerba Research subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries17 records
Cerba Research funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Cerba Research M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Cerba Research
What does Cerba Research do?
Cerba Research provides central laboratory services for clinical trials, including biomarker discovery, specialty testing, bioanalytical services, and sample management for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and vaccine developers. The company supports early-phase through late-phase clinical studies with integrated testing platforms, scientific expertise, and global logistics. It operates as the dedicated clinical research arm of Cerba HealthCare, offering end-to-end lab solutions that span study setup, sample analysis, data delivery, and post-trial storage.
Is Cerba Research a public or private company?
Cerba Research is a private company. It is classified as private equity controlled and is currently operating.
When was Cerba Research founded?
Cerba Research was founded in 1970. It employs 5,001 to 10,000 people.
Where is Cerba Research based?
Cerba Research is headquartered in Ghent, Belgium, in the Europe region.
How does Cerba Research make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Specialty Laboratory Testing Services are the primary driver. The others are central Laboratory Services and custom Assay Development.
Who are Cerba Research's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are IQVIA Laboratories (Q² Solutions), Labcorp Drug Development (Fortrea), ICON plc (incl. PRA Health Sciences), Frontage Laboratories, Eurofins Central Laboratory and ACM Global Laboratories. Broad incumbents are Charles River Laboratories and Thermo Fisher Scientific (PPD Clinical Research). Emerging players are Medpace Holdings and Worldwide Clinical Trials.
Does Cerba Research have an API?
No public API is recorded for Cerba Research.
What industry is Cerba Research in?
Cerba Research's product category is Clinical Trial Laboratory Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAFAMAL, Clinical Research & Trial Central Laboratories, with a secondary code of HLAAAMAC, Clinical Biomarker Testing Services (central labs, trial enrollment/monitoring assays). Its NAICS code is 621511 and its SIC code is 8071.