What Ximbio does

Ximbio, operating as CancerTools.org, is the non-profit research tools arm of Cancer Research UK and functions as a global catalogue and distribution platform for cancer research reagents. Founded around 2015 and rebranded as CancerTools.org in April 2022, the platform provides scientists with access to more than 13,900 validated cancer research tools, spanning antibodies, cell lines, organoids, PDX models, mouse models, cell culture media, proteins, small molecules, and vectors. Tool provenance includes 175+ university partners across six continents, with several exclusive offerings such as the TRACERx NSCLC PDX models (UCL), the PC346C prostate cancer panel (Erasmus MC), platinum-resistant HGSC ovarian cell lines (Queen Mary University of London), and melanocyte lines from St George's University of London, as well as the proprietary Plasmax™ cell culture medium developed at the Cancer Research UK Scotland Institute (Beatson).

The platform operates under a non-profit model in which proceeds from tool sales and commercial licensing are reinvested into cancer research, with cumulative contributions of £52+ million cited on the company's website. Go-to-market combines a direct e-commerce storefront for academic and not-for-profit purchasers (with publicly listed pricing such as £598 for the OvsahoCis cell line) and a dedicated licensing team handling commercial use enquiries under multi-year, quote-based contracts. Channel and community partnerships—most notably the European Association for Cancer Research (EACR, 10,000+ members in 100+ countries) and academic institutes including UCL, Queen Mary University of London, Erasmus MC, St George's, Oxford, and the Danish Cancer Society—drive both tool contributions and customer acquisition. Distribution transitioned from ECACC to direct exclusive handling in September 2024 for several previously ECACC-supported popular cancer cell line series.

Customer segments split between academic researchers and universities (primary) and pharmaceutical and biotech companies (primary commercial segment) that require authenticated preclinical models for drug discovery. The company is registered as Cancer Research Technology Limited (company number 1626049), trading as Cancer Research Horizons, and is wholly owned by Cancer Research UK; the registered office is at 2 Redman Place, London, E20 1JQ. Headcount sits at 11–50 employees and revenue is not publicly disclosed.

Name

Ximbio

Legal name

Cancer Research Technology Limited

Website

https://ximbio.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Ximbio (operating as CancerTools.org) is the non-profit research tools arm of Cancer Research UK, distributing a catalogue of 13,900+ cancer research reagents—including cell lines, PDX models, antibodies, and the proprietary Plasmax™ medium—to academic researchers and pharmaceutical companies worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Life Sciences Research Reagents

NAICS

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

SIC

Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836)

akta.pro primary industry

Cell-Based & Potency Assays (Bioassays) (HLAGADAH)

Keywords

• Cancer research reagents
• Cell line distribution
• Antibody repository
• PDX mouse models
• Biomedical research tools

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Research Tools Sales: Sale of cancer research tools including cell lines, antibodies, proteins, vectors, small molecules, and other reagents to academic and commercial organisations. Tools are sold for research use only with specific licensing terms for commercial applications.
2. Licensing Fees: Licensing revenue from commercial organisations requiring commercial use licenses to use research tools. Proceeds are reinvested into cancer research as a non-profit entity.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Ximbio, operating as CancerTools.org, is a non-profit global platform that aggregates, authenticates, stores, and distributes cancer research tools—including antibodies, cell lines, cell culture media (Plasmax™), mouse models, PDX models, proteins, small molecules, and vectors—on behalf of researchers from 175+ university partners across six continents. Proceeds from tool sales and licensing are reinvested into cancer research under the Cancer Research UK umbrella.

Product overview

CancerTools.org is a non-profit, global cancer-focused research tools platform and the research tools arm of Cancer Research UK. The platform offers a unified marketplace for cancer researchers to access and contribute research tools. The portfolio includes eight core product categories: Antibodies, Cell Culture Media (including Plasmax™ and Plasmax™ Glucose-Free), Cell Lines (patient-derived and engineered variants), Mouse Models, PDX Models, Proteins, Small Molecules, and Vectors. Researchers deposit tools developed in their laboratories, and CancerTools.org handles production, storage, authentication, and worldwide distribution. The platform builds on the original Ximbio platform created by CRUK approximately 7 years prior to the 2022 CancerTools.org launch. Scientists from over 175 university partners on six continents have contributed tools, and proceeds from distribution are reinvested into cancer research.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Plasmax™ Cell Culture Medium Physiologically relevant cell culture medium formulated from 80+ components with more than 50 mirroring human plasma concentrations; used by cancer researchers for primary and established cell lines, organoids, and spheroids.
• Plasmax™ Glucose-Free Glucose-free variant of Plasmax™ supporting glucose starvation experiments, tumour microenvironment studies, and metabolic tracing with stable isotopes (e.g. 13C); preserves the 80+ original components of the standard formulation.
• Cancer Cell Lines Cancer cell lines covering ovarian, colorectal, bladder, breast, prostate, lung, head and neck, brain, and other cancer types; includes patient-derived and engineered variants such as platinum-resistant HGSC and anti-oestrogen resistant MCF7/TAMR lines.
• Antibodies Research antibodies for cancer research applications, developed by scientists from academic universities and leading cancer centres worldwide and distributed via CancerTools.org.
• PDX Models Patient-derived xenograft models including 44 new NSCLC models from the TRACERx study and breast cancer PDXs that recapitulate patient tumour characteristics and heterogeneity; available to the global cancer research community.
• Mouse Models Genetically engineered mouse models for cancer research including models for colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, and other cancer types, contributed by academic researchers.
• Proteins Recombinant proteins for cancer research applications distributed via CancerTools.org.
• Small Molecules Small molecule tool compounds for cancer research and drug discovery distributed via CancerTools.org.
• Vectors Plasmid vectors including the pBABE retroviral vector system for stable gene expression and cancer research applications.
• OvsahoCis Cell Line Platinum-resistant high-grade serous carcinoma (HGSC) cell line derived from the Ovsaho parental line; part of a six-line platinum-resistant ovarian cancer model panel from Prof. Michelle Lockley at Queen Mary University of London.
• CovCis Cell Line Platinum-resistant HGSC cancer cell line derived from the Cov318 parental line; shows growth advantage in the presence of platinum therapy.
• MCF7/TAMR Series Anti-oestrogen resistant MCF7 breast cancer cell line series including TAMR-1, TAMR-4, TAMR-7, TAMR-8 variants resistant to tamoxifen and 164R/182R variants resistant to fulvestrant; developed by Dr. Anne Lykkesfeldt at the Danish Cancer Society.
• TRACERx NSCLC PDX Models 44 new non-small cell lung cancer patient-derived xenograft models from the Lung TRACERx study, developed by Dr. Robert Hynds and Dr. David Pearce at UCL Cancer Institute and reflecting intratumour heterogeneity across multiple regions of primary NSCLC tumours.
• Commercial Tool Licensing Service Licensing service for commercial and for-profit organisations requiring commercial-use licences for CancerTools research tools, managed by a dedicated licensing team with quote-based pricing and multi-year agreements.

Quantifiable outcome

• £52+ million contributed to cancer research
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

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

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• University College London (UCL) / UCLBcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 November 2024Continued partnership enabling access to pioneering TRACERx NSCLC PDX models to the global cancer research community. CRUK Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence at UCL deposits new PDX models through CancerTools.org. Joint aim to accelerate lung cancer research and therapeutics development.
• St George's University of London (SGUL)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 March 2024Partnership strengthened to make 68 murine melanocyte and melanoblast cell lines from Dr. Elena Sviderskaya readily available globally. SGUL and the Functional Genomics Cell Bank deposit cell lines through CancerTools.org. Partnership ongoing since December 2017.
• European Association for Cancer Research (EACR)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 April 2022First professional membership organisation to join the global cancer research tools collaborative. EACR has 10,000+ members in 100+ countries. Partnership designed to reach EACR members to contribute research tools developed in their laboratories for global access. CancerTools.org developed co-marketing collaboration plan benefiting EACR membership.
• Cancer Research UK Scotland Institute (The Beatson Institute)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSource institution for Plasmax™ cell culture medium - a physiologically relevant medium that mimics human plasma. The Beatson Institute developed the Plasmax formulation as part of CRUK's research infrastructure.
• European Collection of Authenticated Cell Cultures (ECACC)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPreviously produced and supplied important cell line resources on behalf of CancerTools.org for 15 years. CancerTools now handles cell line distribution exclusively following transition.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• ATCC (American Type Culture Collection): ATCC is the dominant global non-profit bio-resource center distributing authenticated cell lines, microbial strains, and biological materials to research and industry. Directly comparable to CancerTools.org as a centralized distributor of validated cancer research tools with a fee-for-service and licensing model.
• Crown Bioscience: Crown Bioscience is a global contract research organization specializing in patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models and preclinical oncology services. Closely comparable to CancerTools.org's PDX model offering (e.g., TRACERx NSCLC PDX) and serves the same pharma/biotech preclinical market.
• Addgene: Addgene is a major non-profit plasmid repository that distributes vectors for research use and shares a similar mission-driven, community-based distribution model. Direct peer in category (plasmid/vector distribution) and comparable operating philosophy to CancerTools.org.
• European Collection of Authenticated Cell Cultures (ECACC): ECACC operated as a key UK-based cell line distributor that previously supplied cancer cell lines on behalf of CancerTools.org for 15 years. Direct peer in the same scientific category, with overlap in catalog and a partnership history that makes it a clear comparable.
• DSMZ (Leibniz Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures): DSMZ is a major European non-profit cell line and biological resource collection distributing human and animal cell lines for research. Direct peer operating global catalog distribution and licensing for cancer research tools.

Broad incumbents

• Thermo Fisher Scientific (Life Sciences): Thermo Fisher offers an extensive catalog of cell lines, antibodies, media, and reagents through Gibco, Invitrogen, and Applied Biosystems brands. Broad incumbent serving the same research-tool demand as CancerTools.org, with substantially greater scale and commercial reach.
• Merck / Sigma-Aldrich (Life Science): Merck's life science business (including Sigma-Aldrich, MilliporeSigma) provides a deep catalog of reagents, cell culture media, antibodies, and small molecules. Broad incumbent competing with CancerTools.org across multiple product categories.
• Abcam: Abcam is a global commercial leader in research antibodies and life science reagents, serving the same academic and pharma research customer base as CancerTools.org. Compares as a much larger incumbent in the antibody/antibody-related tools category that CancerTools.org also serves.
• Bio-Techne: Bio-Techne is a global life science tools company offering proteins, antibodies, cell culture reagents, and exosomes. Comparable to CancerTools.org across reagent and protein categories serving academic and pharma research.
• Charles River Laboratories: Charles River distributes research animal models and provides cell line and preclinical research services. Comparable to CancerTools.org's mouse model and PDX offerings, with overlap in pharma/biotech customers and licensing for in vivo research tools.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ximbio
• Xx.com/ximbio

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 Ximbio