What Urosphere does

Urosphere SAS is a France-based Contract Research Organization (CRO) founded in 2004 in Toulouse, specializing in preclinical drug development for urogenital pathologies. The company provides a vertically integrated platform spanning target identification to clinical development support, combining in vivo and in vitro pharmacological assays, a proprietary portfolio of 60+ urogenital preclinical models, and a certified biobank of more than 1,000 human biological specimens. Its core products include Patient-Derived Xenograft (PDX) models covering bladder, kidney, and prostate cancers, 3D organoid models (PDOs and PDXOs), cancer cell lines, human tissue specimens, and bespoke in vivo and in vitro assay services spanning urology, nephrology, oncology, gynecology, andrology, and gastroenterology therapeutic areas.

The company monetizes primarily through fee-for-service contract research engagements with pharmaceutical and biotech companies, supplemented by PDX model licensing and co-development arrangements on therapeutic compounds. It holds ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 20387:2018 certifications, operates from 650m² of combined office, laboratory, and animal care facilities, and reinvests 20% of turnover into internal R&D. Urosphere serves 150+ companies across 400+ tested compounds and is led by founder-CEO Philippe Lluel, with a PhD-level scientific team that has prior tenure at Pfizer, Sanofi-Aventis, Institut Curie, Inserm, and Pelvipharm.

Go-to-market is enterprise-direct, driven by custom study proposals and reinforced by presence at major scientific congresses (AACR, EAU, ESHRE, EEC, Fertility) and industry partnering events (BIO Digital, Meet2win). Strategic positioning is anchored by the 2017-2019 acquisition of Urolead (oncology PDX), the 2013 spin-off of Ixaltis (urological biotech), the MAGenTA €22.5M collaborative program with Vectalys, and ongoing co-development partnerships with Institut Curie, Inserm IRSD, Pierre Fabre, I2MC, CHU Toulouse, and Bpifrance. Sister-company XenTech extends the group's oncology PDX and organoid reach, demonstrated by joint AACR 2026 booth activity.

Name

Urosphere

Legal name

Urosphere SAS

Website

https://urosphere.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Urosphere is a Toulouse-based preclinical CRO founded in 2004 that provides in vivo and in vitro pharmacology services, PDX models, organoids, and a certified human tissue biobank to pharmaceutical and biotech clients developing drugs for urogenital and related diseases.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Preclinical Contract Research Services

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Preclinical CROs (Discovery/Pharmacology/DMPK) (HLAGAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Bioanalytical & Biomarker CROs (PK/PD/Immunogenicity) (HLAGAAAD), Nephrology & Urology Specialty Pharmaceuticals (HLAIACAH)

Keywords

• Preclinical CRO services
• Urogenital disease models
• Patient-derived xenografts
• Organoid drug development
• Pharmacology assays

Headquarters

HQ city

Toulouse

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Contract Research Services (CRO): Urosphere provides preclinical pharmacology services to pharmaceutical and biotech companies, offering testing of compounds using their validated experimental models for drug efficacy, toxicity evaluation, and proof of concept studies.
2. PDX Model Licensing: Licensing of their biobank of more than 60 patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models from bladder, kidney, and prostate cancer for client in-house testing.
3. Co-development of Therapeutic Compounds: Collaborative drug development partnerships where Urosphere contributes preclinical expertise and models in exchange for co-development rights or milestones.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Urosphere is a Contract Research Organization (CRO) providing preclinical pharmacology services for urogenital pathologies. The company offers in vivo and in vitro pharmacological assays, a biobank of patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models and organoid models, and customized study design for drug efficacy, toxicity, and proof-of-concept testing. Services span urology, nephrology, oncology, gynecology, andrology, and gastroenterology therapeutic areas.

Product overview

Urosphere operates as a Contract Research Organization (CRO) specializing in preclinical drug development for urogenital diseases. The company offers an integrated platform combining in vivo and in vitro pharmacological assays, supported by a certified biobank containing over 1,000 human specimens. The core offerings include Urosphere Platform (the research infrastructure), Urosphere Services (contract research), Urosphere Biobank (biological materials), and Urosphere Innovation (customized model development and licensing). Key products include Patient-Derived Xenograft (PDX) models from bladder, kidney, and prostate cancers; organoid models (3D in vitro); cancer cell lines; human tissue specimens; and validated in vivo and in vitro assay services. The portfolio spans six therapeutic areas: urology, nephrology, oncology, gynecology, andrology, and gastroenterology.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Urosphere Services
• Urosphere Biobank
• Urosphere Innovation Customized preclinical model development, co-development of therapeutic compounds, and licensing of proprietary PDX models for pharmaceutical and biotech partners.
• Patient-Derived Xenograft (PDX) Models Tumor models derived from patient cancer tissues grown in immunodeficient mice, with over 30 bladder cancer models, 30 kidney cancer models, and 6 prostate cancer models, available for licensing and drug testing.
• Urosphere Platform Comprehensive preclinical research platform combining in vivo and in vitro pharmacological assays, offering drug development evaluation from target identification to clinical development stages for pharmaceutical and biotech clients.
• Consultancy Services Expert preclinical development consultancy including research strategy development, customized study design, protocol development, portfolio review, target evaluation, and participation in Scientific Advisory Boards.

Quantifiable outcome

• 500 studies conducted in 15 years
• +2 more outcomes

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

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• UroleadcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2017Urosphere acquired Urolead in December 2019 (announced October 2017). Urolead specialized in uro-oncology and development of Patient-Derived Xenograft (PDX) models for kidney, bladder, and prostate cancers. The acquisition strengthened Urosphere's oncology platform with PDX biobank capabilities.
• XenTechcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerXenTech is Urosphere's sister company. Both companies have a joint presence at AACR Annual Meeting 2026, combining expertise in patient-derived xenografts (PDX) and organoid models for translational oncology research.
• AmbiotismajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUrosphere and Ambiotis signed a strategic collaboration agreement in January 2016. Ambiotis provides expertise in molecular characterization of inflammatory and pain mediators, complementing Urosphere's physiological and pathological animal models in uro-genital, gastro-intestinal, and oncological areas.
• Institut CuriemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term collaboration with Institut Curie (Paris) on PDX models for bladder cancers. Together with Urolead, they have established a fully characterized biobank of PDX from bladder cancers for drug discovery.
• Inserm U1043 (IRSD)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Inserm's Institut de Recherche en Santé Digestive on inflammation and cancer of intestinal tract and liver pathologies. Partner in multiple R&D projects including ORGANOCAN, UGGINNOV, and ORHUMAN.
• Hôpitaux de Toulouse (CHU Toulouse)majorOthersPartnership with Toulouse University Hospital for ethically obtained fresh human tissues and collaborative research projects in endometriosis and other urogenital conditions.
• E-PhysminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerScientific collaboration with E-Phys (Clermont-Ferrand, France) for erectile dysfunction models. Dr. Julien Allard provides in vivo electrophysiological expertise specialized in male and female sexual function studies.
• I2MC (Institute of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with I2MC in Toulouse on the ENDOTREAT project focused on developing preclinical models for endometriosis using organoids from human endometriosis samples.
• Pierre Fabre LaboratoriesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partner in the ORGANOCAN project for developing organoid models from prostate, bladder, and colon cancers. Pierre Fabre contributes pharmaceutical industry expertise.
• Clinique Urologique Nantes-AtlantisminorOthersPartnership with France's first institution exclusively specialized in urology for access to human tissue samples.
• VectalysmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration in the MAGenTA project (22.5 million euros total budget) for developing innovative experimental models and clinical trials for urogenital diseases. Vectalys specializes in viral vector production and gene transfer tools.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Crown Bioscience: Preclinical CRO specializing in oncology with one of the largest commercial PDX biobanks and organoid platforms. Highly comparable to Urosphere's oncology-focused PDX/organoid offering to pharma and biotech.
• Porsolt: European preclinical CRO with safety pharmacology and efficacy models, including urology and gastrointestinal indications. Comparable as a similarly-sized French/European specialty preclinical CRO competing for similar pharma clients.
• Pelvipharm: Niche preclinical CRO specialized in pelvic and urogenital pharmacology models. Directly comparable to Urosphere's therapeutic-area focus on urology, gynecology, and andrology preclinical research.
• XenTech: Specialty CRO focused on patient-derived xenografts and organoid models for translational oncology. Comparable as a sister/adjacent company offering overlapping PDX and organoid services to the same oncology drug-development market.

Broad incumbents

• Eurofins Scientific: International bioanalytical and contract research group with deep pharmacology and biomarker offerings. Comparable as a Europe-headquartered CRO providing experimental and laboratory research services to pharma and biotech clients.
• Inotiv: Preclinical CRO and research models provider offering in vivo pharmacology, toxicology, and animal model services. Comparable in providing outsourced preclinical efficacy and safety work to pharma and biotech.
• Labcorp Drug Development (Covance): One of the largest global CROs offering preclinical, clinical, and bioanalytical services. Comparable as an enterprise-scale preclinical partner to pharma/biotech, including oncology model development, against which Urosphere competes for outsourced pharmacology work.
• WuXi AppTec: Global CRO/CDMO with significant preclinical and oncology model capabilities, including PDX platforms. Comparable because it competes for outsourced preclinical pharmacology and translational oncology work from pharma/biotech sponsors.
• Charles River Laboratories: Global preclinical CRO with extensive in vivo pharmacology, safety assessment, and PDX/biomarker capabilities. Comparable because it serves the same pharmaceutical/biotech buyers with preclinical efficacy and safety testing, including oncology and urology-related programs.

Others

• Taconic Biosciences: Provider of genetically engineered rodent models and preclinical research services. Adjacent peer because it supplies and licenses animal models — including urology and oncology models — that complement or compete with parts of Urosphere's in vivo portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/urosphere
• Xx.com/urosphereplus

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries3 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 Urosphere