WiCell Research Institute

What WiCell Research Institute does

WiCell Research Institute is a nonprofit, nonstock Wisconsin corporation founded in 1998/1999 as a supporting organization of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, specializing in human pluripotent stem cell banking and cell line characterization services. It maintains a catalog of 1,542 stem cell lines — including human embryonic stem cells (hESC), induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC), and cGMP-grade lines — distributed globally through a self-serve e-commerce platform to academic researchers and biotech/pharmaceutical cell therapy developers. The organization also serves as the centralized distribution hub for disease-relevant collections generated under major federally and foundation-funded consortia, including the NHLBI Next Generation Genetic Association Studies Program, MJFF/ASAP Parkinson's disease collections, and the PTEN Hamartoma Tumor Syndrome collection.

WiCell generates revenue through three primary streams: (1) one-time sale of cell line vials via its online catalog at unit prices such as ~$1,750 per specialized vial; (2) fee-for-service cGMP and research-grade characterization testing, including karyotype, FISH, STR, SNP, flow cytometry, mycoplasma, and Oncopanel assays for stem, immune, and engineered cell types, conducted in a newly expanded cGMP laboratory suite opened in January 2025; and (3) ancillary services including cell banking and cryogenic storage (WiCellSAFE), reagent testing, deposit-for-distribution, and the WiCell Cloud inventory management platform. Pricing is product-specific with testing services quoted on request.

The organization serves two primary customer segments — academic and research institutions conducting stem cell and regenerative medicine research, and biopharmaceutical/biotech companies developing cell and gene therapies — with secondary demand from researchers studying specific genetic diseases. Named enterprise clients include Fate Therapeutics, with UW-Madison's PACT having secured eight FDA Investigational New Drug authorizations since 2020 using WiCell-supported cell therapies. Distribution is conducted directly through wicell.org with global shipping, supported by content marketing, press releases, and a newsletter presence on LinkedIn. Leadership comprises CEO Robert Drape and Director of Operations Seth Taapken.

Name

WiCell Research Institute

Legal name

WiCell Research Institute, Inc.

Website

https://wicell.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

WiCell Research Institute is a Madison, Wisconsin-based nonprofit affiliated with UW-Madison that banks and distributes over 1,542 human pluripotent stem cell lines and provides cGMP characterization testing to academic researchers and cell therapy developers worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Stem Cell Banking & Cell Line Characterization Services

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Cell Therapy Quality, Analytics & Release Testing (potency, sterility, comparability) (HLAAABAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cell-Based & Potency Assays (Bioassays) (HLAGADAH), Flow Cytometry & Cellular Analysis Diagnostics (HLAHAAAF), Cell Processing & Ancillary Materials (media, cytokines, beads, vectors, disposables) (HLAAABAH)

Keywords

• Pluripotent stem cell banking
• Cell line characterization
• CGMP testing services
• IPSC cell lines
• Cell therapy testing

Headquarters

HQ city

Madison

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Stem Cell Line Sales: Sale of hESC, iPSC, and cGMP cell lines to researchers. Products are sold via catalog with pricing ranging from approximately $1,750 per vial for specialized cell lines.
2. cGMP Testing Services: Fee-for-service cytogenetic and characterization testing including karyotype, FISH, STR, SNP, flow cytometry, mycoplasma, and Oncopanel assays for various cell types
3. Cell Banking and Storage Services: Services for banking cells, depositing cells for distribution, and reagent testing for researchers

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

WiCell Research Institute is a nonprofit organization that provides pluripotent stem cell banking and distribution services, offering over 1,500 diverse stem cell lines including hESC, iPSC, and cGMP cell lines via an online catalog. It also delivers comprehensive cGMP-compliant characterization testing (karyotype, FISH, STR, SNP, flow cytometry, mycoplasma, Oncopanel) and cell banking, cryogenic storage, and reagent testing services for academic researchers, biotech firms, and pharmaceutical companies developing cell therapies.

Product overview

WiCell Research Institute offers a comprehensive portfolio of pluripotent stem cell banking and characterization services. The core offerings include over 1,500 diverse stem cell lines (hESC, iPSC, cGMP) sold through an online catalog, paired with cGMP and research-grade testing services (Karyotype, FISH, STR, SNP, Flow Cytometry, Oncopanel Assay, Mycoplasma). Supporting services include cell banking, WiCellSAFE cryogenic storage, reagent testing, and WiCell Cloud for inventory management. WiCell also maintains specialized disease-relevant cell line collections including the PTEN Hamartoma Tumor Syndrome (PHTS) Collection, NHLBI Next Gen QT Interval and ECG Cardiac Traits Collection (with CRISPR-edited Long QT lines), Parkinson's disease collections (ESCAPE LRRK2 and iSCORE-PD), and NHLBI Next Gen cardiac trait lines.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Stem Cell Lines (hESC, iPSC, cGMP) Over 1,500 diverse stem cell lines including human embryonic stem cells (hESC), induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC), and cGMP cell lines for research, translational, and clinical applications, sold via the WiCell online catalog.
• cGMP and Research Testing Services

Quantifiable outcome

• 8 FDA Investigational New Drug (IND) authorizations secured by UW-Madison PACT using WiCell-supported cell therapies since 2020

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWiCell collaborated with MJFF to add new Parkinson's disease stem cell collections to its catalog, including the ESCAPE LRRK2 Cell Line Collection and iSCORE-PD collection, establishing a centralized online repository for Parkinson's research.
• Aligning Science Across Parkinson's (ASAP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with ASAP to provide disease-relevant iPSC lines for Parkinson's disease research through a centralized repository.
• Boston Children's Hospital (Human Neuron Core)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCell lines in the PTEN Hamartoma Tumor Syndrome collection were deposited by Professor Mustafa Sahin and Dr. Elizabeth Buttermore at Boston Children's Hospital, with funding from PTEN Research. WiCell serves as the distribution platform.
• University of California San Diego (Dr. Kelly Frazer Lab)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe NHLBI Next Gen collection of 228+ cell lines was generated by Dr. Kelly Frazer at UC San Diego as part of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's $80 million Next Generation Genetic Association Studies Program. WiCell distributes these cell lines.
• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNHLBI funded the Next Generation Genetic Association Studies Program ($80 million) to create iPSC lines from over 1,500 individuals. WiCell serves as the distribution hub for resulting cell lines.
• University of Wisconsin-MadisoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWiCell is a supporting organization of UW-Madison, a world leader in human pluripotent stem cell research. Established in 1999 to advance stem cell technologies.
• PTEN ResearchminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunding provided for the development of PTEN Hamartoma Tumor Syndrome iPSC collection at Boston Children's Hospital.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Coriell Institute for Medical Research: Coriell is a nonprofit biomedical research institute that operates one of the world's most established human cell repositories, distributing cell lines and DNA samples to researchers globally. Like WiCell, it serves both academic and biopharma customers with catalog-based cell line distribution and characterization services.
• ATCC (American Type Culture Collection): ATCC is the dominant nonprofit cell biology resource center, providing authenticated cell lines, microbial strains, and biological materials along with comprehensive characterization testing. It is the closest commercial analog to WiCell's catalog-plus-testing model for research cell lines.
• ReproCELL (now REPROCELL Inc.): ReproCELL distributes iPSC and ES cell lines along with differentiation kits and contract research services for drug discovery. It directly overlaps with WiCell in catalog-based stem cell line distribution and disease modeling services.

Emerging players

• Cedars-Sinai Biomanufacturing Center (iPSC Core): Cedars-Sinai's iPSC Core produces and characterizes iPSC lines for clinical and research use, including disease modeling collections. It competes with WiCell in the iPSC distribution and characterization niche, particularly for cardiac and neurological disease models.
• CellGenix: CellGenix is a CDMO specializing in cell and gene therapy ancillary materials including media, cytokines, and cryopreservation solutions. While focused on consumables rather than cell banking, it competes with WiCell on cGMP-grade cell therapy support services.

Broad incumbents

• Lonza Cell & Gene Technologies: Lonza is the largest global CDMO for cell and gene therapies, offering manufacturing, characterization testing, and banking services. It competes with WiCell in cGMP cell therapy testing and represents the scaled commercial incumbent WiCell could partner with or lose share to.
• Catalent Cell & Gene Therapy: Catalent is a major CDMO with deep capabilities in cell therapy development, manufacturing, and analytical services. It is a broad incumbent in the cell therapy testing and release space where WiCell operates.

Others

• Fate Therapeutics: Fate Therapeutics is a customer of WiCell (cited publicly), developing off-the-shelf iPSC-derived cell therapies. While not a peer in the cell banking sense, Fate's pipeline depends on the kind of iPSC characterization work WiCell provides, making it a key customer and ecosystem signal.
• Biological Industries (Sartorius): Sartorius (via Biological Industries) supplies cell culture media, reagents, and stem cell-related consumables used alongside WiCell's cell lines. It is an adjacent ecosystem participant rather than a direct competitor.

Regional players

• Roslin Cells / RoslinCT: RoslinCT is a UK-based cell therapy CDMO with iPSC banking and cGMP manufacturing capabilities, established out of the Roslin Institute. It is comparable to WiCell in cell banking and cGMP services but serves primarily European customers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wicell-research-institute
• Facebookfacebook.com/209962172383492

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 WiCell Research Institute