Cureline
Cureline is a translational human biospecimen biobank and CRO founded in 2003, sourcing annotated tissue and biofluid specimens from 150+ clinical partners across 20 countries for 700+ pharmaceutical, biotech, diagnostics, academic, and government clients.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2003
- HeadquartersBrisbane, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Cureline does
Cureline is a translational human biospecimen biobank and contract research organization founded in 2003 and headquartered in South San Francisco. The company procures, processes, and supplies annotated human tissue and biofluid specimens — drawn from a network of 150+ clinical partners across 20 countries — to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, diagnostics, academic, and government clients. It maintains a biorepository of 50,000-100,000 specimens, supports custom collections through IRB-approved protocols, and offers downstream analytical services including the Tissue 2 Target workflow, AQIX-based ex vivo tissue viability, and a Caltech-licensed glycoproteomics capability. The company has completed 4,000+ projects for 700+ clients, including most of the top-20 global pharmaceutical firms.
The business model is project-based: clients contract Cureline to source specific specimen cohorts matched to therapeutic-area, disease-stage, and demographic criteria, with pricing tied to specimen type, annotation depth, processing requirements, and any add-on assay work. Cureline extends its offering upstream via the Palleos Healthcare partnership (clinical study design and execution) and downstream via Cellecta collaboration (customized assay pipelines), positioning itself as a one-stop translational services provider rather than a commodity biobank. The company holds a layered compliance stack — CAP accreditation, HIPAA, WOSB, ANAB, ISO 9001, and ISBER Best Practices adoption — that pre-qualifies it for pharma vendor onboarding.
In January 2026, Cureline was acquired by ABS Bio, a private-equity-backed (3 Boomerang Capital) biospecimen and translational CRO platform, providing capital and consolidation runway for further geographic, therapeutic-area, and service-line expansion.
Cureline firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Cureline
- Legal name
- Cureline, Inc.
- Website
- https://cureline.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2003
- Operating status
- Acquired
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Cureline is a translational human biospecimen biobank and CRO founded in 2003, sourcing annotated tissue and biofluid specimens from 150+ clinical partners across 20 countries for 700+ pharmaceutical, biotech, diagnostics, academic, and government clients.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Cureline is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Brisbane
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices4 records
Markets served
Cureline business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
Revenue model
- Biospecimen Procurement and Sales: Sale of human biospecimens including tumor tissues, normal tissues, FFPE blocks, frozen tissues, blood products, bone marrow, and primary cells. Customers order through the company's e-commerce platform or via direct project engagement. Pricing is quote-based based on specimen type, rarity, and collection requirements.
- Laboratory Services: Fee-for-service laboratory operations including translational histopathology (Cureline BioPathology), molecular testing (Cureline Molecular Services), digital pathology, IHC services, tissue microarray production, and biomarker analysis. Services billed per project or per test.
- Biobanking Consulting and Management: Consultancy services for biospecimen management including protocol review, site auditing, gap analysis, training, improvement and standardization, ongoing monitoring, and HBS management. Billed as project consulting engagements.
- Custom Protocol Development: Custom biospecimen collection protocols developed for specific client research programs. Services include study design, inclusion/exclusion criteria development, clinical data collection specifications, and logistics planning.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Biospecimen Products (Standard Catalog) |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Custom Collection Protocols |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Laboratory Services |
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels9 records
Cureline product offering
Product offeringCore offering
No source material was provided in the input block; core offering cannot be extracted without supporting sources.
Product overview
Cureline operates as a global translational and precision medicine Contract Research Organization (CRO) offering an integrated portfolio of human biospecimen (HBS) banking and laboratory services. The core offering centers on the Cureline Tissue Bank, a commercial HBS biobank with a 50,000-100,000 specimen repository in the San Francisco Bay Area, complemented by two specialized subsidiaries: Cureline BioPathology for precision histopathology and translational services (IHC, TMA, digital pathology), and Cureline Molecular Services (CMS) for molecular and cell biology analytics (RNA/DNA/protein work, 3D culture, biomarker discovery). The group also includes BioCrypton for glycoproteomics services. Service offerings span biospecimen procurement across therapeutic areas (oncology, hematology, inflammation, neurology, infectious diseases), various tissue formats (FFPE, fresh frozen, fresh), biofluids (blood, bone marrow, serum, plasma), and primary cells including hepatocytes. Supporting services include custom protocol development, clinical trial sample management, digital pathology scanning, and an e-commerce biorepository catalog. The company maintains clinical networks across 20 countries and was acquired by ABS Bio in January 2026.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Tissue 2 Target: Joint service offering with Cellecta providing validated human samples and expert molecular analysis for drug and biomarker discovery
- Cancer QUADRUPLET Tissue Set
- HBS Biorepository
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 4,000 projects successfully implemented since 2003
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Cureline
Customer profileNamed customers21 records
Segments5 records
Cureline technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
Feature6 records
Cureline partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
15 partnerships are on record, tiered core, strategic, key and supporting.
- ABS Bio, Inc.coreABS Bio, Inc. acquired Cureline, Inc. to strengthen biopharma drug discovery support. The combined entity has nearly 300 clinical collection sites worldwide, enabling broader and faster service delivery to drug discovery and diagnostics clients. ABS Bio was acquired by 3 Boomerang Capital in 2024. Terms undisclosed.
- Palleos HealthcarestrategicStrategic partnership announced May 31, 2023 to combine preclinical and clinical services, offering end-to-end solutions for medical innovation. Cureline Group and Palleos Healthcare partnership enables comprehensive service offering from preclinical through clinical development.
- Cellecta, Inc.strategicPartnership to launch Tissue 2 Target™ Services combining Cureline's biospecimen procurement with Cellecta's biomarker discovery and development capabilities. Joint service offering for preclinical R&D, translational research, and early-stage clinical trials.
- Aqix Ltd.keyStrategic partner providing AQIX RS-I® technology for preservation and transportation of fresh human tissues. AQIX solutions enable up to 72 hours of storage/transport time for human biopsied tissues, maintaining cell viability and morphology. Valuable for international deliveries.
- OncoleadkeyExpertise in large 100-400 cell line panel screening. Performs dose response analysis (IC/GI values), links activity profiles with cell mutation status, and compares candidate drug profiles to thousands of known anticancer agents. Offers complementary tests including combination studies (500+ pairs), drug tolerance detection, and cell cycle analysis.
- Cytes BiotechnologieskeyProvides access to human and animal liver cells and cell medium solutions for in vitro experiments. Enables USA-based companies to access Cytes' products through Cureline's distribution network.
- StrecksupportingProvides Cell-Free DNA BCT® blood collection tubes with formaldehyde-free preservative that stabilizes white blood cells. Samples collected are stable for up to 14 days at room temperature. Also provides Cell-Free DNA Urine Preserve for cfDNA stabilization.
- Stanford Blood CentersupportingLocal blood donation center providing access to thousands of pre-qualified donors for procurement of fresh blood specimens from healthy donors and patients with clinical symptoms.
- U.S. Commercial ServicesupportingDepartment of Commerce service offering trade counseling, market intelligence, business matchmaking, and commercial diplomacy for American companies planning to expand to international markets.
- Biorepositories and Biospecimen Research Branch (BBRB)strategicBranch of NCI, NIH providing leadership, tools, resources, and policies in biobanking for the global biomedical research community. Cureline participates in BBRB initiatives for biorepository standards and Biospecimen Science studies.
- International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories (ISBER)keyLong-term member of ISBER since 2008. Dr. Olga Potapova works closely with ISBER administration on development of Best Practices for HBS Biobanking. Cureline actively participates in biobanking community development and harmonization of approaches.
- Scientist.comkeyWorld's largest AI-powered marketplace for medical research. Cureline listed on platform enabling researchers to discover and procure biospecimen services.
- Science ExchangesupportingScience Exchange mission is to make scientific discoveries available to every organization. Cureline helps scientists discover medicines in less time and at lower cost through the platform.
- 3DHISTECHsupportingProvider of Panoramic MIDI II slide scanner used for Cureline's digital pathology services. High-definition scanning equipment enabling brightfield or fluorescence scanning at 20X or 40X magnification.
- Caltech (California Institute of Technology)keyLicensor of unique glycosylation detection technology through BioCrypton, Inc. for investigation of novel biomarkers. Enables Cureline Group to provide proprietary glycoproteomics services.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Cureline competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- BioIVT: BioIVT is one of the largest global suppliers of human biospecimens and cell-based products to pharma, biotech, and diagnostics companies — directly comparable to Cureline's core biospecimen procurement and biorepository business.
- Discovery Life Sciences: Discovery Life Sciences is a biospecimen and cell services provider offering sample procurement, biospecimen processing, and molecular services across oncology, immunology, and neurology — closely matching Cureline's integrated HBS-to-assay offering.
- iSpecimen: iSpecimen operates a marketplace connecting researchers with biospecimen suppliers worldwide, with a strong emphasis on annotated human samples — directly comparable to Cureline's marketplace-channel strategy on Scientist.com and Science Exchange.
- Indivumed: Indivumed is a biospecimen CRO focused on oncology tissue collection under highly standardized pre-analytical protocols, serving pharma R&D and biomarker discovery — overlapping significantly with Cureline's solid-tumor and CPTAC-style offerings.
- Tissue Solutions (a BioIVT company): Tissue Solutions procures ethically sourced human tissue for pharma and academic research across multiple therapeutic areas, and is now part of BioIVT — directly comparable to Cureline's tissue procurement and custom protocol development services.
Broad incumbents
- Azenta Life Sciences (formerly Brooks Life Sciences): Azenta operates automated biorepositories, sample management software, and genomics services for pharma and academic customers — broader in scope than Cureline but directly competitive in biospecimen storage and sample lifecycle management.
- Labcorp Drug Development: Labcorp's Central Labs and biospecimen operations provide integrated biorepository and molecular services to global pharma clients — a much larger incumbent that competes with Cureline for enterprise biospecimen and central lab mandates.
Others
- Scientist.com: World's largest AI-powered marketplace for medical research services and a current channel partner for Cureline; included as an ecosystem peer given its role in distributing biospecimen and lab services to researchers.
- Cytes Biotechnologies: Cytes supplies primary human and animal hepatocytes and cell media; Cureline distributes Cytes products in the U.S. and provides co-located hepatocyte offerings, making it both a partner and a partial peer in the liver-cell niche.
Emerging players
- Stemcell Technologies: Stemcell Technologies supplies primary cells, cell culture media, and supporting reagents used in pharma R&D — overlapping with Cureline's primary cell and hepatocyte offerings but focused more on research tools than clinical procurement.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Cureline social profiles
Digital presenceCureline compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Cureline financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Cureline leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Cureline subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries4 records
Cureline funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Cureline 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 Cureline
What does Cureline do?
No source material was provided in the input block; core offering cannot be extracted without supporting sources.
Is Cureline a public or private company?
Cureline is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently acquired.
When was Cureline founded?
Cureline was founded in 2003. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Cureline based?
Cureline is headquartered in Brisbane, United States, in the North America region.
How does Cureline make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Biospecimen Procurement and Sales are the primary driver. The others are laboratory Services, biobanking Consulting and Management and custom Protocol Development.
Who are Cureline's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are BioIVT, Discovery Life Sciences, iSpecimen, Indivumed and Tissue Solutions (a BioIVT company). Broad incumbents are Azenta Life Sciences (formerly Brooks Life Sciences) and Labcorp Drug Development. Others are Scientist.com and Cytes Biotechnologies. Stemcell Technologies is listed as an emerging player.
Does Cureline have an API?
No public API is recorded for Cureline.