What Acepix Bioscience does

Acepix Bioscience, Inc. is a privately held biospecimen and biomarker research services company headquartered in Hayward, California, founded in 2017 with 11-50 employees. It supplies pharmaceutical and biotechnology customers with FFPE and frozen cell pellets, FFPE human and animal tissues, tissue and cell pellet arrays, and disease-specific or IHC control arrays (HER2, PD-L1, HPV, Stimulated PBMC, plus lung, prostate, colorectal, pancreatic, and leukemia/lymphoma cancer arrays), as well as fee-for-service laboratory offerings spanning histology, biomolecule extraction, biomarker discovery, cell line-based services, AI-powered digital pathology, and custom A-FLX FFPE cell pellet production.

The company's core technology is its patent-pending A-FLX™ FFPE Cell Pellet Technology, which produces uniform, homogeneous FFPE cell pellet blocks with preserved protein, DNA, and RNA, available in block, slide, and scroll formats. This underpins the largest claimed bank of FFPE cell line control materials in the market, covering over 500 cell lines and over 1 million FFPE cell pellet slides delivered to date across more than 7,000 projects. The Biomarker Cell Line Explorer Windows software extends this catalog into a queryable interface that maps Human Protein Atlas RNA-seq expression data onto Acepix's inventory, enabling researchers to assemble custom cell pellet arrays for biomarker research, antibody screening, assay optimization, and run controls.

Acepix monetizes through a hybrid go-to-market: a self-service e-commerce storefront (acepixbio.com) selling standard catalog products with unit pricing in the $105-$2,050 range and bulk arrays up to roughly $9,373, plus a quote-based direct sales channel for enterprise and custom orders (e.g., HER2 Control Array, custom arrays). Distribution is augmented by a worldwide biobank and distributor network. Revenue derives primarily from one-time product sales (FFPE cell pellets, tissues, arrays) and professional services fees for histology, digital pathology, biomarker discovery, and biomolecule extraction, with no disclosed subscription or licensing line items. The company provides no public revenue or funding disclosures, and no named customer accounts are disclosed.

Name

Acepix Bioscience

Legal name

Acepix Biosciences, Inc.

Website

https://acepixbio.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Acepix Bioscience supplies pharmaceutical and biotechnology researchers with FFPE and frozen cell pellets, tissue arrays, and IHC control arrays built on its patent-pending A-FLX technology, alongside histology, digital pathology, and biomarker discovery services. It serves pharma and biotech R&D workflows globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Hayward

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Biospecimen Products: Sale of FFPE cell pellets, frozen cell pellets, human tissues, and animal tissues as research and diagnostic reference materials. Products sold in various formats (blocks, slides, scrolls) with different pack sizes.
2. Laboratory Services: Fee-for-service offerings including biomarker discovery, histology services, digital pathology, cell line based services, and biomolecule extraction services for pharmaceutical and biotech research.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Acepix Bioscience manufactures and sells FFPE (formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded) and frozen cell pellets, human and animal tissue biospecimens, and validated control arrays for life science research, using its proprietary A-FLX™ technology. The company also provides fee-for-service laboratory offerings including biomarker discovery, histology, AI-powered digital pathology, biomolecule extraction, and custom cell pellet array assembly for pharmaceutical and biotech researchers.

Product overview

Acepix Bioscience offers a unified portfolio of high-quality bio-specimen products and biomarker research services. The core product line centers on A-FLX™ Cell Pellets (FFPE and frozen), which serve as consistent research and diagnostic reference materials created with proprietary patent-pending technology. Supporting products include High RNA Quality FFPE Human Tissues for spatial/NGS analysis and High Quality Animal Tissues and Arrays (mouse/rat) for biomarker validation. Specialized Cancer Cell Pellet Arrays (Lung, Prostate, Colorectal, Pancreatic, Leukemia/Lymphoma) and Control Arrays (HER2, PD-L1, HPV, Stimulated PBMC) provide assay run controls for IHC and biomarker testing. The Biomarker Cell Line Explorer software enables researchers to search their 500+ cell line inventory by gene expression to build custom arrays. Services span the complete biomarker discovery workflow including Cell Line Based Services, Biomarker Discovery, Histology, AI-Powered Digital Pathology, Biomolecule Extraction, and A-FLX FFPE Cell Pellet Services. The company positions itself as the largest bank of FFPE cell line control materials with over 1 million FFPE cell pellet slides delivered.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• A-FLX™: Proprietary FFPE cell pellet technology ensuring uniformity and homogeneity of blocks with well preserved biomolecules. Used for assay development, run controls, and clinical reference materials.
• Biomarker Cell Line Explorer

Products and services

• A-FLX™ Cell Pellets FFPE and frozen cell pellets manufactured with proprietary A-FLX™ patent-pending technology, designed to serve as consistent research and diagnostic reference materials for biomarker research, assay development, and clinical reference applications. Sold in formats including block, slides, and scrolls with preserved protein, DNA, and RNA.
• High RNA Quality FFPE Human Tissues Highest quality human FFPE specimens with superior RNA quality intended for spatial or next-generation sequencing (NGS) analysis. Validated for RNAscope applications and supplied in standard FFPE formats.
• High Quality Animal Tissues and Arrays FFPE mouse and rat single tissues and organized multi-tissue arrays used as reference materials for biomarker validation and assay development. Available in multiple organ types and pack sizes.
• HER2 Control Array (5 core) Cell pellet control array of five cell lines covering the full HER2 expression spectrum across IHC scores 0, 0.5+, 1+, 2+, and 3+, used to assess performance and consistency of HER IHC assays. Available in Block or Slide (3um) formats.
• HPV Control Array (3 core) Control array containing HPV-, HPV16+, and HPV18+ cell lines intended for HPV testing assay development and quality control. Available in Block and Slide formats.
• PD-L1 Control Array (2-core) Control array containing PD-L1- and PD-L1+ cell lines used to assess PD-L1 IHC assay performance and consistency. Available in multiple formats and pack sizes.
• Stimulated PBMC Control Array (2-core) Control array containing unstimulated PBMC and PMA-Ionomycin stimulated PBMC cell lines for immune cell response assay development and quality control.
• Cancer Cell Pellet Arrays Disease-specific cell pellet arrays assembled from validated cancer cell lines for biomarker research and assay development. Offered for pancreatic (PANC1, MIAPACA2, BXPC3, PSN1), lung (A549, HCC78, H1975, SKMES1, H1703, H596, HOP62, HOP92), prostate (PC3, DU145, 22RV1, LNCAP), colorectal (SW620, LS174T, COLO205, HT29, HCT116, HCT15), and leukemia/lymphoma indications.
• Biomarker Cell Line Explorer Windows desktop software that enables researchers to select cell lines with specific biomarker expression profiles from Acepix's 500+ cell line inventory based on Human Protein Atlas RNA-seq data, and to build custom cell pellet arrays for biomarker research, antibody screening, assay optimization, and run controls.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 7,000 projects completed for pharmaceutical and biotech clients
• +2 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Cell Signaling Technology: CST produces highly validated antibodies and supporting reagents widely used in IHC and biomarker research — comparable to Acepix as a supplier of validated research tools for pharma/biotech R&D, though with a broader antibody-centric catalog.
• Bio-Techne: Bio-Techne (R&D Systems, Novus Biologicals, ProteinSimple) provides a broad portfolio of research reagents including proteins, antibodies, and assay kits used in biomarker research — a larger, established competitor with overlapping capabilities in the life science research tools market.
• Thermo Fisher Scientific: Thermo Fisher offers biospecimens, cell culture products, antibodies, and analytical instruments spanning the entire life science research workflow — a dominant broad incumbent that competes with Acepix in cell line reagents, biospecimens, and adjacent research tools.
• Abcam: Abcam (now part of Danaher) supplies research-grade antibodies and supporting tools used in IHC, biomarker, and cell-based research — a broad incumbent in the same research reagents category that Acepix serves through its cell pellet and tissue products.

Direct peers

• Cureline: Cureline provides human tissue biospecimens including FFPE specimens for translational research and clinical trials — closely comparable to Acepix's FFPE human tissue product line and biomarker discovery services.
• BioIVT: BioIVT specializes in biospecimens (human tissues, biofluids, and FFPE samples) for pharmaceutical and diagnostic research — a directly comparable biospecimen provider serving the same pharma/biotech customer base.
• ATCC: ATCC is the world's largest biological materials resource and authenticates cell lines, microorganisms, and biospecimens — directly comparable to Acepix as a primary source of cell line-based reference materials for life science research.
• iSpecimen: iSpecimen operates a marketplace for human biospecimens connecting researchers to provider networks — competing in the same FFPE/specimen procurement workflow that Acepix serves with its cell pellet and tissue catalog.
• OriGene Technologies: OriGene supplies overexpression cell lysates, FFPE cell pellets, tissues, and arrays used in biomarker and antibody validation — directly overlapping with Acepix's A-FLX™ cell pellet and tissue array portfolio.

Emerging players

• ReproCELL: ReproCELL provides cell-based research tools including iPSC-derived cells and specialty reagents for drug discovery — an emerging player with partial overlap in cell line-based products and services for biomedical research customers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Acepix Bioscience