Texcell SA

What Texcell SA does

Texcell SA is a France-headquartered contract research organization (CRO) founded in 1987 at the Pasteur Institute by Professor Florian ('Nardi') Horaud to provide viral safety services in response to the HIV contamination crisis. The company operates from its Evry-Courcouronnes headquarters and runs wholly-owned subsidiaries and offices in the United States (Frederick, Maryland), Germany (Gronau, via the 2016-acquired Vivo Science GmbH), China (Shanghai), and Japan (Osaka), employing approximately 140 people. Customers are biopharmaceutical, cell and gene therapy, medical device, and select consumer products companies that require regulatory-grade viral safety testing for biologic products destined for FDA, EMA, WHO, and PMDA submissions.

The service portfolio is organized along the lifecycle of a biologic: custom cell culture and cell line expansion feed research cell banking and GMP cell banking (CHO, HEK, Vero, HeLa, 3T3, Lymphocytes, Sf9) in EMA-certified ISO 5 and ISO 7 suites; biosafety testing provides PCR-based viral detection and cell-based infectivity assays; viral clearance studies (Levels I–III) are run under GLP or FIO protocols, including a multi-spike approach designed to compress IND timelines; prion clearance studies run in BSL-3 facilities; and bioassays (in vitro on ELISA/ECLIA/ELISPOT/flow cytometry, in vivo for biodistribution, immunogenicity, potency, and toxicology per ISO 10993) complete the offering. Texcell reports execution of over 10,000 viral clearance studies since 1990 across its European, US, and Asian sites and experience with more than 1,000 unique cell lines, with gene therapy work representing roughly 50% of the current viral clearance portfolio.

Commercially, Texcell earns revenue through project-based service contracts assigned to dedicated project managers, with relationships typically extending across R&D, GCLP, GLP, and GMP project categories. The go-to-market is direct enterprise B2B supported by participation in major industry events (PEGS, CPHI, BioProcess International, BIO Asia-Taiwan, Bioproduction Congress). The company is privately held under French law as a Société Anonyme, with no public listing, no disclosed institutional investors, and no publicly disclosed revenue figures.

Name

Texcell SA

Legal name

SA Texcell

Website

https://texcell.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Texcell SA is a private French CRO, founded in 1987, providing viral safety testing, viral clearance studies, GMP cell banking, and bioassays to biopharmaceutical, cell and gene therapy, and medical device clients across facilities in France, the US, Germany, China, and Japan.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Biosafety Contract Research Services

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Toxicology & Safety Assessment CROs (GLP) (HLAGAAAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Specialty Therapeutic-Area CROs (e.g., oncology/rare disease) (HLAGAAAL)

Keywords

• Contract research organization
• Viral clearance studies
• GMP cell banking
• Biosafety testing services
• Biologics safety assays

Headquarters

HQ city

Frederick

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Contract Research Services: Texcell generates revenue through service contracts for biologics safety testing, viral clearance studies, GMP cell banking, bioassays, and related laboratory testing services. Revenue is project-based, with dedicated project managers assigned to each engagement. Services span R&D, GCLP, GLP, and GMP project categories.
2. GLP/GMP Compliance Testing: Laboratory testing under GLP and GMP conditions for cell banks, raw materials, cell derivatives, and biotherapeutic products. Provides Certificate of Analysis for batch release testing, contributing to recurring engagement revenue from established biopharmaceutical clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Texcell SA is a contract research organization (CRO) providing biosafety and biologics services for the biopharmaceutical industry. Its core offerings include custom cell culture, research and GMP cell banking, viral safety testing, viral clearance studies (GLP and FIO), and in vitro and in vivo bioassays, all delivered under GLP, GCLP, and GMP compliance to support therapeutic, vaccine, gene therapy, and medical device programs.

Product overview

Texcell SA is a contract research organization (CRO) specializing in viral safety, biosafety testing, and biologics services for the biopharmaceutical industry. The company operates as a unified service portfolio organized around the core stages of biologic drug development: Custom Cell Culture provides foundational cell-based services; Cell Banking ensures consistent cell substrate supply; Viral Safety and Viral Clearance Studies provide viral contamination assurance; BioAssays (in vitro and in vivo) support bioanalysis and immune response evaluation; and specialized services cover Monoclonal Antibodies, Gene Therapy, and Multi-Spike Viral Clearance Studies. The company also offers BioManufacturing and Conditioned Media services. All services comply with GLP, GcLP, and GMP regulatory standards and meet FDA, EMA, WHO, and PMDA requirements. Texcell operates facilities in France (headquarters), United States, Germany (Vivo Science), China, and Japan.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Vivo Science: A Texcell company specializing in in vivo bioassays, toxicology studies, tumorigenicity assessment, biodistribution studies, and medical device testing under GLP conditions. Located in Gronau, Germany.

Products and services

• Custom Cell Culture Custom cell culture services including cultured medium production, research cell banking, cell line expansion, stable cell line generation, virus production, and purification, supporting adherent and suspension cell formats across various culture systems.
• Cell Banking Cell banking services including Research Cell Banking (RCB) and GMP Cell Banking, cell line characterization, sterility testing, mycoplasma testing, and cell identity verification using STR assay, cox-1 gene sequencing, and NGS.
• Viral Safety (Biosafety) Viral safety testing services providing assurance that bioprocessing or manufacturing does not contain or introduce adventitious agents, including PCR-based detection of viral nucleic sequences and cellular methods for assessing infectious virus presence.
• Viral Clearance Studies Viral clearance studies as a preventative measure ensuring security of biological products, including GLP and investigational (FIO) studies, virus panel selection, chromatography studies, virus inactivation and filtration, and prion clearance studies.
• BioAssays in vitro In vitro bioassay services for drug development including neutralization tests, biomarker expression, and cytokine expression, with validation and testing under GLP, GcLP, and GMP regulations.
• BioAssays in vivo In vivo bioassay services including biodistribution studies, immunogenicity testing, potency assays, pharmacokinetics/toxicokinetics, tumorigenicity assessment, toxicology studies, and medical device testing according to ISO 10993.
• BioManufacturing Biomanufacturing services for therapeutic product development.
• Monoclonal Antibodies Services Specialized services for monoclonal antibody safety evaluation including viral clearance assessment, model virus selection (XMuLV, MVM), virus inactivation (low pH, detergent), virus filtration, and chromatography process evaluation.
• Gene Therapy Services Gene therapy viral clearance services addressing AAV vectors, baculovirus-expressed VLPs, helper virus-dependent products, and nanoparticle-based therapeutics, including risk assessment and customized viral clearance strategies.
• Multi-Spike Viral Clearance Studies Accelerated viral clearance study approach utilizing multiple viruses spiked simultaneously, measuring virus titer using virus-specific assays to help accelerate IND filing timelines.
• Conditioned Media Custom conditioned media production for protein expression, supporting gene therapy, monoclonal antibody production, and stem cell research with tailored protein expression capabilities.
• Cell Line Expansion Small-scale and large-scale cell line expansion services for adherent and suspension cells using tissue culture flasks, roller bottles, cell factories, and large cell pellets for research, diagnostics, and therapeutic development.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 10,000 viral clearance studies executed across Europe, USA, and Asia since 1990
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves13 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• SGS SA: Global life sciences testing services provider with biosafety, viral clearance, and biologics safety testing offerings. Competes with Texcell on viral safety while delivering services across far wider geographies and industries.
• Eurofins Scientific: Global testing services group with a substantial biopharma services arm including viral clearance, biosafety, and cell banking. Overlaps directly with Texcell while also offering far broader analytical and clinical testing capabilities.
• WuXi AppTec / WuXi Biologics: Asia-headquartered CRO/CDMO with significant biosafety and viral clearance capabilities, particularly strong in China. Competes directly with Texcell's Asian operations while also offering integrated discovery-to-manufacturing services.
• Charles River Laboratories: Global CRO with dedicated biosafety and viral clearance services through its Biologics Testing Solutions segment, serving biopharma and gene therapy clients. Significantly larger portfolio than Texcell, but directly overlapping in viral safety testing.
• Labcorp (Covance): Major clinical/diagnostic CRO with biopharma biosafety testing capabilities, including viral clearance. Competes on enterprise-scale programs where Texcell's specialty expertise differentiates.

Direct peers

• ABL Inc. Pure-play biologics CDMO and CRO specializing in viral clearance, bioassays, and GMP cell banking for gene and cell therapy developers — a direct specialist competitor to Texcell with comparable scope.
• BioReliance (MilliporeSigma / Merck KGaA): Specialized biosafety testing and viral clearance services business within MilliporeSigma, focused on biologics safety, viral clearance, and cell banking — among the closest direct competitors to Texcell's core offering.
• Cobra Biologics (Charles River): Specialist viral clearance, cell banking, and plasmid/gene therapy services, now part of Charles River. Closely comparable service mix to Texcell for gene therapy and biologic clients.

Emerging players

• Vironova: Specialized viral clearance and viral vector characterization services, with strong technology focus. Smaller and more emerging than Texcell, but addressing the same gene therapy viral safety customer segment.

Others

• Sartorius AG: Bioprocessing and laboratory solutions provider with biosafety-adjacent offerings (testing consumables, filtration, analytics). Not a direct service competitor to Texcell, but a key ecosystem participant in the biosafety testing value chain.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/texcell

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Texcell SA