Bio-protocol
Bio-protocol is a peer-reviewed, open access protocol journal that publishes detailed, step-by-step life science experimental protocols across 13+ disciplines, earning revenue from author-paid Article Processing Charges and distributing content through its website and nine partner-journal recommendations.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2001
- HeadquartersSunnyvale, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Bio-protocol does
Bio-protocol is a peer-reviewed, open access protocol journal founded in 2001 and operated by Bio-protocol LLC, registered in Beijing with reported presence in Sunnyvale, California. The platform publishes detailed, step-by-step experimental protocols intended to improve research reproducibility across the life sciences and is indexed in Web of Science and PubMed Central under ISSN 2331-8325. Coverage spans 13+ disciplines including Biochemistry, Bioinformatics, Cancer Biology, Cell Biology, Developmental Biology, Immunology, Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Neuroscience, Plant Science, Stem Cell, and Systems Biology. Beyond the core journal, the company operates a product surface that includes the Bio-protocol Preprint Repository, Bio-protocol Exchange (a protocol-request platform tied to published articles), Bio-protocol Webinars (a recurring educational webinar series), Protocol Collections (curated topical compilations such as STED Microscopy and High-Pressure Freezing), Bio-101 (foundational biology educational content), and an Advanced Search across 14 biological categories.
The business operates under a gold open-access model: readers access all protocols free of charge and authors pay Article Processing Charges (APCs) upon publication. Specific APC amounts are referenced on the journal's Article Processing Charges page but are not publicly disclosed in the input data. Go-to-market is product-led and inbound: organic researcher submissions, word-of-mouth within the scientific community, formal recommendation partnerships with nine major journals (Science/AAAS, ASCB/MBoC, Cell Research, eLife, eNeuro, JBC, JCB, Journal of Neuroscience, Plant Physiology), and content marketing through webinars, social media (X, YouTube, Bluesky, LinkedIn), and email alerts. The customer base consists of academic life science researchers globally; named testimonial authors come from institutions such as Kansas, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and UCSF. No enterprise contracts, no named institutional subscribers, and no disclosed revenue are present in the source data. The company is privately held with no disclosed venture funding, acquisitions, or parent organization.
Bio-protocol firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Bio-protocol
- Legal name
- Bio-protocol LLC
- Website
- https://bio-protocol.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2001
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Bio-protocol is a peer-reviewed, open access protocol journal that publishes detailed, step-by-step life science experimental protocols across 13+ disciplines, earning revenue from author-paid Article Processing Charges and distributing content through its website and nine partner-journal recommendations.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Bio-protocol industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Open Access Scientific Publishing
- akta.pro primary industry
- Life Sciences (Biology, Ecology, Agriculture) Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAC)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Scientific & Laboratory Reference (Chemistry, Biology, Physics; Methods & Protocols) (EDAGAGAG)
Keywords
Where Bio-protocol is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Sunnyvale
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Bio-protocol business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Article Processing Charges (APCs): Open access journal model where authors pay processing charges for published protocols. The journal is freely accessible to readers worldwide.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Pay-as-you-go | Open access publication with reader access at no cost |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Bio-protocol product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Bio-protocol operates a peer-reviewed, open access scientific protocol journal and web publishing platform for the life sciences. Authors submit detailed, step-by-step experimental protocols that undergo expert peer review and are published for free global reader access, with authors paying Article Processing Charges (APCs). The platform also hosts a preprint repository, curated protocol collections, webinars, and a protocol exchange feature serving researchers across 15 disciplines including biochemistry, cell biology, neuroscience, cancer biology, and plant science.
Product overview
Bio-protocol is a peer-reviewed, open access protocol journal and platform dedicated to improving research reproducibility in the life sciences. The core offering is the Bio-protocol Journal, which publishes detailed, step-by-step experimental protocols. The platform also includes the Bio-protocol Preprint Repository for sharing protocols prior to formal peer review, Protocol Collections (curated topic-specific compilations), Bio-protocol Exchange (enabling protocol requests from research articles), Bio-protocol Webinars (educational content), and Advanced Search functionality across 14 biological science categories. The platform serves researchers across disciplines including Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Neuroscience, Cancer Biology, Developmental Biology, Immunology, Microbiology, and other life science fields.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Bio-protocol Preprint Repository: A preprint repository hosting protocols for any area of the life sciences.
- Bio-protocol Exchange
- Bio-protocol Webinars
- Bio-101
Products and services
- Bio-protocol Journal A peer-reviewed, open access protocol journal listed in Web of Science and PubMed Central, dedicated to improving research reproducibility by publishing detailed, step-by-step experimental protocols across the life sciences. Authors pay Article Processing Charges (APCs) and readers access protocols free of charge.
- Bio-protocol Preprint Repository A preprint repository hosting protocols for any area of the life sciences, allowing researchers to share protocols prior to formal peer review.
- Bio-protocol Exchange A platform feature enabling researchers to request protocols directly from the Materials and Methods section of any research article.
- Bio-protocol Webinars Educational webinar series featuring scientific protocol demonstrations and updates on latest research methodologies.
- Protocol Collections Comprehensive collections of detailed, peer-reviewed protocols focusing on specific scientific topics, such as High-Pressure Freezing Protocols for Ultrastructural Imaging and 3D Analysis, and STED Microscopy Protocols for Super-Resolution.
- Bio-101 An educational resource providing foundational knowledge and background information for life science researchers.
Quantifiable outcome
- Listed in Web of Science and PubMed Central
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Bio-protocol
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Bio-protocol technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Bio-protocol partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Science/AAAScoreScience and its parent organization AAAS encourages authors to publish step-by-step protocols in Bio-protocol to improve research reproducibility.
- ASCB/Molecular Biology of the CellcoreThe American Society for Cell Biology and its journal MBoC encourage protocol publication in Bio-protocol.
- Cell ResearchcoreNature journal Cell Research recommends Bio-protocol for protocol sharing by authors.
- eLifecoreOpen-access journal eLife works with Bio-protocol to publish peer-reviewed protocols.
- eNeurominorSociety for Neuroscience journal eNeuro encourages authors to publish protocols in Bio-protocol.
- Journal of Biological ChemistrycoreJBC, published by ASBMB, recommends Bio-protocol for detailed protocol publication.
- Journal of Cell BiologycoreJCB (Rockefeller University Press) encourages authors to use Bio-protocol for supplementary protocol materials.
- Journal of NeuroscienceminorSfN journal encourages protocol sharing through Bio-protocol.
- Plant PhysiologyminorASPB journal recommends Bio-protocol for plant science protocol publication.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Bio-protocol competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Nature Protocols: Nature Portfolio's dedicated protocol journal publishing peer-reviewed, step-by-step protocols across the life sciences. Directly comparable to Bio-protocol in mission, peer-reviewed format, and audience of academic life-science researchers.
- Current Protocols: Wiley's flagship protocol reference resource offering continuously updated, peer-reviewed laboratory protocols across biomedical and life-science disciplines. Closest direct competitor to Bio-protocol in terms of detailed step-by-step protocol publishing.
- Cold Spring Harbor Protocols: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press's peer-reviewed protocol journal covering molecular biology, cell biology, genetics, and related life-science methodologies. Comparable target market and product format to Bio-protocol.
- protocols.io: Open-access platform for hosting, sharing, and version-controlling life-science protocols with preprint functionality. Direct competitor to Bio-protocol's journal and Preprint Repository, targeting the same reproducibility-focused researcher audience.
- BioTechniques: Peer-reviewed journal publishing methods, techniques, and protocols in the life sciences. Overlaps with Bio-protocol on detailed methodology content for bench scientists, though it also carries primary research articles.
- Nature Methods: Nature Portfolio journal devoted to publishing new methods and techniques in the biological sciences, including methodological papers that include detailed protocols. Adjacent to Bio-protocol in serving methods-focused life-science researchers.
Broad incumbents
- eLife: Established open-access life-sciences journal also a strategic partner of Bio-protocol. While broader in scope (primary research) rather than protocol-only, it competes for the same open-access author/reviewer community and is closely comparable on publishing model.
- PLOS ONE: Largest broad-scope open-access mega-journal publishing across science and medicine. Competes with Bio-protocol for open-access author budgets and APC revenues across the life sciences, though with much wider topical coverage.
Emerging players
- bioRxiv: Cold Spring Harbor's preprint server for biology, used by many researchers as a low-friction venue to post protocols and methods prior to formal peer review. Indirectly competes with Bio-protocol's Preprint Repository on rapid protocol sharing.
Others
- Journal of Biological Chemistry (ASBMB): Major society-published biochemistry journal and a strategic partner of Bio-protocol. Indirectly comparable as a major life-sciences journal that funnels authors toward Bio-protocol for detailed protocol publication.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Bio-protocol social profiles
Digital presenceBio-protocol financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Bio-protocol leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Bio-protocol funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Bio-protocol M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Bio-protocol
What does Bio-protocol do?
Bio-protocol operates a peer-reviewed, open access scientific protocol journal and web publishing platform for the life sciences. Authors submit detailed, step-by-step experimental protocols that undergo expert peer review and are published for free global reader access, with authors paying Article Processing Charges (APCs). The platform also hosts a preprint repository, curated protocol collections, webinars, and a protocol exchange feature serving researchers across 15 disciplines including biochemistry, cell biology, neuroscience, cancer biology, and plant science.
Is Bio-protocol a public or private company?
Bio-protocol is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Bio-protocol founded?
Bio-protocol was founded in 2001. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Bio-protocol based?
Bio-protocol is headquartered in Sunnyvale, United States, in the North America region.
How does Bio-protocol make money?
One revenue line is on record: article Processing Charges (APCs).
Who are Bio-protocol's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Nature Protocols, Current Protocols, Cold Spring Harbor Protocols, protocols.io, BioTechniques and Nature Methods. Broad incumbents are eLife and PLOS ONE. bioRxiv is listed as an emerging player. Journal of Biological Chemistry (ASBMB) is listed as an others.
Does Bio-protocol have an API?
No public API is recorded for Bio-protocol.
What industry is Bio-protocol in?
Bio-protocol's product category is Open Access Scientific Publishing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAGAFAC, Life Sciences (Biology, Ecology, Agriculture) Scholarly Publishing, with a secondary code of EDAGAGAG, Scientific & Laboratory Reference (Chemistry, Biology, Physics; Methods & Protocols).