Roowin

What Roowin does

Roowin is a privately held French Contract Research Organisation (CRO) founded in 1997 and headquartered in Riom (Auvergne region). The company provides an integrated suite of fine chemistry and cGMP API manufacturing services spanning five core practice areas: drug discovery, custom synthesis (50 mg to multi-kilogram scale), GMP synthesis, analytical chemistry, and ICH-compliant stress/stability studies. Operations are delivered across over 1,600 m² of facilities containing R&D laboratories, a cGMP kilolaboratory, and a pilot plant equipped with specialised reactors (photochemistry, high-pressure hydrogenation, microwave, peptide synthesis), Novasep preparative chromatography, and an extensive analytical instrumentation platform (NMR 300/500 MHz, GC/MS, UPLC/MS, HPLC, ICP-AES, DSC, TGA, FTIR).

The company generates revenue through project-based, fee-for-service engagements under a professional services model, with quotes delivered within 24-48 hours. Its primary customers are pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms requiring chemistry support from early discovery through clinical-phase API manufacturing, with secondary exposure to fine chemicals and cosmetics. Notable disclosed clients include Sanofi, Genfit, Wittycell, Sirona Biochem, and Pfa brei. Roowin has been cGMP compliant since 2007, holds ISO 9001 certification (since 2006), and is regularly inspected and approved by ANSM (most recently in September 2025). It has also advanced more than 100 molecules to clinic and claims to have supported first-batch production for startups now valued at billions.

The go-to-market is sales-led, leveraging direct expert consultation, industry conferences (e.g., BIOFIT 2023, AFSSI Connections), and dedicated international business development trips into the USA (since 2014) and Japan (since 2015). The company is recognised by the French government as a research undertaking, allowing eligible partners to recover 30% of project costs through the research subsidy programme — a structural cost advantage that supports pricing competitiveness.

Name

Roowin

Legal name

ROOWIN S.A.

Website

https://roowin.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Roowin is a French CRO founded in 1997 providing integrated fine chemistry, custom synthesis, cGMP API manufacturing, and analytical/stability services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, fine chemicals, and cosmetics clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pharmaceutical Contract Research & Manufacturing Services (CRO/CDMO)

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

Central Laboratory & Clinical Trial Testing CROs (HLAGAAAE), Toxicology & Safety Assessment CROs (GLP) (HLAGAAAC)

Keywords

• Contract research organisation
• Process chemistry services
• CGMP API synthesis
• Analytical method development
• Pharmaceutical contract manufacturing

Headquarters

HQ city

Riom

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Contract Research Services (CRO): Roowin operates as a CRO providing fee-for-service project-based engagements across drug discovery, custom synthesis, GMP API manufacturing, and analytical chemistry. Projects are scoped per client needs with no subscription model; revenue is earned on a per-project basis spanning from early discovery through clinical phase manufacturing.
2. cGMP API Synthesis and Manufacturing: Production of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients under cGMP conditions, ranging from 50 mg to several dozen kilograms, supporting exploratory stage through advanced clinical phases. Documentation, batch release, and regulatory compliance services are bundled into the manufacturing engagement.
3. Stability and Analytical Testing Services: Forced degradation studies, stability studies under ICH guidelines, and analytical method development and validation services. Charged on a per-study or per-project basis.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Roowin is a privately held French Contract Research Organisation (CRO) that delivers specialised fine chemistry services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, fine chemical, and cosmetics industries. The company operates over 1,600 m² of facilities in Riom (Auvergne, France), providing five integrated service lines — Drug Discovery, Custom Synthesis, GMP Synthesis, Analytical Chemistry, and Stress/Stability Studies — covering processes from medicinal chemistry through cGMP-compliant API production at scales from 50 mg to several dozen kilograms and supporting clients from IND/IMPD enabling work through advanced clinical phases.

Product overview

Roowin is a Contract Research Organisation (CRO) providing specialized fine chemistry services for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. The company offers an integrated suite of five interconnected service lines: Drug Discovery Services (medicinal chemistry and early-stage research), Custom Synthesis Services (from milligram to multi-kilogram scale), GMP Synthesis Services (cGMP-compliant API production for clinical phases), Analytical Chemistry Services (comprehensive chemical analysis and method validation), and Stress/Stability Studies (ICH-compliant stability and degradation testing). These services are designed to support clients from early drug discovery through advanced clinical phases and small-scale commercial production, with capabilities spanning research laboratories, kilolaboratories, and pilot plant facilities totaling over 1600m².

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Drug Discovery Services Medicinal chemistry and early-stage drug discovery research services including lead optimization, synthesis of advanced intermediates, and support for research contracts from early discovery through preclinical phases. Targeted at pharmaceutical and biotech R&D teams needing medicinal chemistry expertise.
• Custom Synthesis Services Organic synthesis services ranging from 50 mg (medicinal chemistry scale) to several dozen kilograms, including process development, optimisation, and scale-up with capabilities such as hydrogenation, bromination, nitration, Curtius reaction, chiral chemistry, photochemistry, and cytotoxic reactions. Targeted at pharma, biotech, fine chemical, and cosmetics clients needing bespoke synthesis at multiple scales.
• GMP Synthesis Services cGMP-compliant API synthesis production supporting development from exploratory stage to advanced clinical phases (Phase I and beyond), with batch sizes from 50 mg to several dozen kilograms, complete production documentation, and regulatory compliance support for IND/IMPD submissions. Targeted at pharma and biotech clients running clinical-stage API manufacturing programs.
• Analytical Chemistry Services Comprehensive chemical analysis and separation services including method development and validation, chiral and non-chiral separations, ICH-compliant testing, with facilities equipped with NMR (300 MHz and 500 MHz), GC systems, UPLC/MS, HPLC units, ionic chromatography, DSC, TGA, FTIR, and ICP-AES. Targeted at pharma and biotech clients needing analytical method development, validation, and ICH-compliant testing.
• Stress / Stability Studies Forced degradation and stability studies following ICH guidelines, including accelerated degradation testing (oxidative, pH, temperature, humidity, photostress), with 8 stability chambers maintaining controlled conditions from -20°C to 40°C and 5–75% relative humidity. Targeted at pharma and biotech clients requiring ICH-compliant stability and forced degradation data for regulatory submissions.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100+ molecules advanced to clinic; first batches produced for dozens of startups, some now billion-dollar stock market valuations
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered notable, minor and core.

• Sirona BiochemnotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerRoowin successfully completed the scale-up of Skin Lightening Compound SBM-TFC-1067 for Sirona Biochem, a Vancouver (British Columbia) based public company listed on TSX-V (SBM), Frankfurt (ZSB), and Xetra (ZSB.DE). This represents a direct client partnership for custom synthesis and scale-up services.
• SanofinotableOthersSanofi is listed as a partner and client of Roowin, representing one of the major pharmaceutical companies served by the company's CRO/CDMO services.
• GenfitnotableOthersGenfit is listed as a partner and client, representing Roowin's service relationship with a biotechnology company in the drug development sector.
• WittycellminorOthersWittycell is listed as a partner and client of Roowin in the biotechnology sector.
• Pfa breiminorOthersPfa brei is listed as a partner and client of Roowin in the cosmetics industry, representing the company's reach beyond pharmaceuticals into the cosmetics sector.
• French Government (Research Subsidy Programme)coreOthersRoowin is recognised by the French government as a research undertaking organisation (organisme de recherche). Under this status, partners engaging Roowin for research projects can claim back 30% of project costs from the French government. Research expenses can be recovered at the end of the fiscal year, and special rates are available for companies not having benefited in the last 5 years.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves16 records

Direct peers

• Selvita: Polish contract research provider offering medicinal chemistry, custom synthesis, and analytical services. Comparable to Roowin in discovery chemistry and custom synthesis for early-stage biotech, with a similar European-mid-size positioning.
• Aenova: European CDMO offering API development, manufacturing, and analytical services to pharma and biotech. Direct peer in process chemistry and cGMP manufacturing, though typically operating at larger commercial scale than Roowin.
• Novasep: French CDMO providing API synthesis, custom manufacturing, and purification services including preparative chromatography. Comparable to Roowin in cGMP API manufacturing, complex process chemistry, and chromatography-based separations, with a stronger commercial-scale footprint.
• Hovione: Portuguese-headquartered specialty CDMO offering integrated API development, cGMP manufacturing, and particle engineering services to pharma and biotech. Directly comparable to Roowin in process chemistry, GMP API synthesis, and analytical services for clinical-phase supply.
• ChemPartner: China-headquartered CRO/CDMO providing medicinal chemistry, process chemistry, and cGMP API manufacturing for global pharma and biotech. Comparable in integrated discovery-to-GMP model and target client base (emerging biotech), with significantly larger headcount.
• PCI Synthesis: US-based CDMO offering custom API development, cGMP manufacturing, and process chemistry for early- to mid-stage pharma and biotech. Comparable to Roowin in clinical-phase API supply and integrated analytical services.
• Carbogen Amcis: Swiss-based CDMO specialising in API development, process chemistry, and cGMP manufacturing from clinical to commercial scale. Overlaps directly with Roowin's custom synthesis, GMP synthesis, and analytical chemistry offerings for pharma/biotech clients.

Broad incumbents

• Almac Group: Northern Ireland-headquartered CDMO providing API development, analytical services, and cGMP manufacturing for pharma. Overlaps with Roowin in analytical chemistry and clinical-phase API supply, but at significantly larger scale and broader service portfolio.
• Eurofins Discovery: Large European contract research services provider offering drug discovery, medicinal chemistry, and in vitro pharmacology services. Overlaps with Roowin's drug discovery and custom synthesis offerings, but at significantly greater scale and breadth.
• Evotec (including former Aptuit): Global CRO/CDMO offering integrated drug discovery, CMC, and API manufacturing services. Comparable in integrated discovery-to-GMP positioning but operates at much larger scale and broader service portfolio than Roowin.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/roowin

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Roowin