What ABL does

ABL (Advanced BioScience Laboratories, Inc.) is a privately held contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) founded in 1964 and headquartered in Rockville, Maryland. The company specializes in GMP viral vector biomanufacturing for gene therapies, oncolytic viruses, viral vaccines, and immunotherapies, operating from three GMP facilities in Rockville (USA), Strasbourg, and Lyon (France), the latter a 6,500 m2 site acquired in 2018 through its wholly-owned subsidiary ABL Europe SAS. ABL is a member of the Institut Mérieux group and a portfolio company of EW Healthcare Partners following its November 2024 merger with Ascend Advanced Therapies.

ABL's technology platform spans single-use adherent and suspension bioreactor systems up to 400L scale, supporting AAV, adenovirus, HSV-1, vaccinia, MVA, and retrovirus production. Its proprietary electroporation-based transient transfection manufacturing process, validated in a peer-reviewed npj Vaccines publication, compresses HIV vaccine production timelines from 12+ months to approximately 4 months. ABL's customer base includes the NIH/NIAID Division of AIDS (its largest government anchor under the RAPPS contract), leading academic and research institutions (Scripps, MIT Koch Institute, Ragon Institute, HHMI, IAVI), and pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies across the US and Europe.

ABL generates revenue primarily through project-based contract manufacturing and development services priced via proposals and task orders. Distribution is direct to enterprise customers, with no intermediaries. The company also sells research-use-only ELISA kits (including HIV p24 kits) as a minor product line. Commercial pipeline development is driven by active participation in industry conferences (ASGCT, World Vaccine Congress, ESGCT, Bioprocessing Summit), peer-reviewed scientific publications, and direct enterprise business development. In April 2025, ABL was named Best Contract Manufacturing Organization at the Vaccine Industry Excellence Awards during the World Vaccine Congress in Washington, D.C.

Name

ABL

Legal name

Advanced BioScience Laboratories, Inc.

Website

https://ablinc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1964

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

ABL is a US-headquartered, transatlantic CDMO specializing in GMP viral vector biomanufacturing for gene therapies, oncolytic viruses, and vaccines, serving government agencies, biotech, and academic research clients from facilities in Rockville, Strasbourg, and Lyon.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Biopharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing (CDMO)

NAICS

Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing (3254), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Testing Laboratories (8734)

akta.pro primary industry

Clinical Trial Material (CTM) Manufacturing & Supply CDMO (HLAGABAK)

Keywords

• Viral vector manufacturing
• Gene therapy CDMO
• Vaccine contract manufacturing
• Oncolytic virus production
• Biopharmaceutical development services

Headquarters

HQ city

Rockville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Contract Manufacturing Services: ABL generates revenue through contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) services for biopharmaceutical companies, biotech firms, and government agencies. Services include GMP manufacturing of viral vectors, gene therapies, oncolytic viruses, and vaccines. Revenue is project-based with proposals and task orders defining scope and pricing.
2. ELISA Kit Sales: Sale of research-use-only ELISA kits including HIV p24 ELISA kits, p24 and p27 antigen capture kits for lentivirus quantification in industrial processes.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ABL is a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) providing GMP viral vector biomanufacturing services for gene therapies, oncolytic viruses, viral vaccines, and immunotherapies. Services span process development, GMP drug substance and drug product manufacturing, aseptic fill finish, cell and virus banking, and QC release and stability testing from facilities in the US and France, complemented by direct sales of research-use ELISA kits.

Product overview

ABL (Advanced BioScience Laboratories) is a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) offering an integrated suite of biomanufacturing services. The core offerings include Viral Vector Biomanufacturing for gene therapies, oncolytic viruses, and vaccines; Government Partnering for NIH and public health initiatives; and a comprehensive suite of supporting services including Process Development, Aseptic Fill Finish, Cell & Virus Banking, and Biologics/QC Testing. ABL operates GMP facilities in Rockville, MD (USA), Strasbourg and Lyon (France) and provides manufacturing capabilities for virus-based oncolytic therapies, gene therapies (including AAV), and viral vaccines. The company also offers research-use ELISA kits and exosome production services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ABL Europe: European biomanufacturing operations based in Strasbourg and Lyon, France specializing in viral vector GMP contract manufacturing for oncolytic, vaccine and gene therapy projects.

Products and services

• Viral Vector Biomanufacturing GMP viral vector biomanufacturing services for gene therapies, oncolytic therapies, and vaccines using multiple production platforms including suspension and adherent systems, delivered to biopharmaceutical and biotech clients.
• Government Partnering Partnership services for government agencies including NIH, BARDA, and DAIDS to advance vaccines and biotherapeutics for public health priorities, including the RAPPS contract task orders.
• Oncolytic Virus Manufacturing GMP manufacturing of oncolytic viral vectors including Vaccinia, MVA, HSV, and Adenovirus, with drug substance and drug product capabilities supporting Phase I-III clinical trials, delivered to developers of oncolytic virotherapies.
• Gene Therapy Manufacturing GMP gene therapy manufacturing using single-use adherent and suspension platforms for AAV, Adenovirus, HSV-1, retrovirus, and other viral vectors at scales up to 400L, with aseptic processing for drug substance and drug product.
• Virus Manufacturing Comprehensive virus manufacturing services for vaccine and therapeutic development including process development, GMP production, and characterization, serving vaccine and advanced therapy developers.
• Process Development Process development services to optimize manufacturing processes for viral vectors and biologics production, supporting client programs from preclinical through commercial scale.
• Aseptic Fill Finish Aseptic fill finish services for drug product manufacturing including live virus fill finish capabilities, supporting viral vaccine and gene therapy programs.
• Cell & Virus Banking GMP cell and virus banking services to support manufacturing and clinical programs, providing master and working cell banks and virus seed stocks.
• Biologics and QC Testing Comprehensive QC testing services for biologics including release testing, stability testing, and analytical development to support client GMP manufacturing programs.
• ELISA Kits Research-use-only ELISA kits including HIV p24 ELISA kits and p24/p27 antigen capture kits for lentivirus quantification in industrial processes, sold directly to research customers.
• Exosome Production Exosome production services as part of ABL's biomanufacturing capabilities, supporting clients developing exosome-based therapeutics and research applications.
• Immunology Services Immunology services supporting immunotherapy development and characterization for clients developing immune-based therapeutics.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduced HIV vaccine production timeline from 12 months to 4 months (66% reduction)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 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

AI capability1 record

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Ascend Advanced TherapiescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 November 2024ABL merged with Ascend Advanced Therapies to expand US capacity and capabilities. The complementary services combine ABL's development and manufacturing experience with additional virus modalities and GMP capacity for AAV production. The merger expands fill/finish capacity in the US, making the combined group one of the few suppliers with comprehensive R&D to commercial offering.
• The Scripps Research InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research partner on published npj Vaccines article demonstrating electroporation-based transient transfection manufacturing approach that reduces HIV vaccine production timeline by two-thirds.
• International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partner on HIV vaccine research and development, participating in the peer-reviewed publication on accelerated vaccine manufacturing approaches.
• MIT Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer ResearchsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic research collaboration partner on HIV vaccine manufacturing research published in npj Vaccines.
• Ragon InstitutesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic research collaboration partner on HIV vaccine manufacturing research.
• Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration partner on HIV vaccine development and manufacturing published in npj Vaccines.
• NIH/NIAID Division of AIDS (DAIDS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing government partnership with NIH/NIAID Division of AIDS under RAPPS contract (75N93023D00001). ABL has been awarded six new task orders for HIV prevention products in pediatric population, covering taste science, CMC project management, pediatric animal models, AI/ML for excipients, and product development lifecycle. ABL scientists have supported NIAID's mission since the 1980s.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Catalent: Catalent is a global CDMO providing viral vector, gene therapy, and biologics manufacturing services to pharma and biotech. Comparable to ABL as a multi-modality CDMO serving gene therapy developers with GMP manufacturing capacity across US/EU.
• Lonza Group: Lonza is the world's largest biologics CDMO offering viral vector, mammalian cell culture, and gene therapy manufacturing. Comparable to ABL in cell and gene therapy CDMO services and global US/EU regulatory footprint.
• Samsung Biologics: Samsung Biologics is a major biologics CDMO offering gene therapy and viral vector manufacturing services with large-scale GMP capacity. Comparable as a top-tier contract manufacturer serving global pharma/biotech customers.
• WuXi Biologics: WuXi Biologics is one of the largest biologics CDMOs globally offering viral vector, cell line development, and GMP manufacturing. Comparable to ABL in providing end-to-end CDMO services to gene therapy and vaccine developers.
• Vibalogics: Vibalogics is a specialized viral vector and oncolytic virus CDMO offering GMP manufacturing across multiple virus modalities. Highly comparable to ABL as a focused viral vector CDMO serving gene therapy and vaccine developers.
• Yposkesi (SK Pharmteco): Yposkesi is a viral vector and gene therapy CDMO offering AAV and lentiviral GMP manufacturing. Comparable to ABL as a specialized CDMO focused on viral vector production for cell and gene therapy clients.
• Cobra Biologics (Biovian): Cobra Biologics (now part of Biovian) is a viral vector and gene therapy CDMO offering AAV, lentivirus, and plasmid DNA GMP manufacturing. Comparable to ABL as a focused viral vector CDMO serving biotech and academic clients.

Broad incumbents

• Charles River Laboratories: Charles River is a broad life sciences services company offering biologics CDMO, viral vector manufacturing, and research models. Comparable to ABL in viral vector and gene therapy CDMO services as part of a broader CRO/CDMO portfolio.
• Thermo Fisher Scientific (Patheon): Thermo Fisher operates a large pharma services and CDMO business (Patheon) offering biologics and viral vector manufacturing. Comparable to ABL as an established CDMO but at vastly greater scale and breadth.

Others

• Cytiva (Danaher): Cytiva supplies bioprocessing equipment, single-use bioreactors, and consumables used in viral vector and biologics manufacturing. Adjacent to ABL as a key supplier of biomanufacturing infrastructure underpinning CDMO operations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/advanced-bioscience-laboratories
• Xx.com/abl_inc
• Facebookfacebook.com/abl-inc-125807159461

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about ABL