Cambio

Name

Cambio

Legal name

Cambio Limited

Website

https://cambio.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Cambio is a UK specialist distributor of molecular biology reagents, kits, and consumables, headquartered in Cambridge, serving academic research laboratories, biopharmaceutical companies, and educational institutions through proprietary brands like STAR*FISH and INCOGNITO plus partner-supplied products since 1985.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Cambridge

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Molecular Biology Reagents and Kits Sales: Sale of molecular biology reagents, kits, and laboratory consumables through direct sales channels. Products include PCR reagents, protein purification materials, antibodies, enzymes, chromatography media, and specialized kits for various research applications.
2. Custom Product Services: Custom synthesis services including custom aptamer synthesis, custom buffers, and custom peptide synthesis using Matrix Innovation reagents.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Cambio is a UK-based specialist distributor and supplier of molecular biology reagents, kits, and laboratory consumables founded in 1985 and headquartered in Littleport, Cambridgeshire. The company sells a curated catalogue of DNA/RNA research reagents, protein purification resins and MagBeads, FISH chromosome paints, CRISPR-Cas9 reagents, mRNA production systems, peptide synthesis reagents, cell culture contamination control products, biopharma quality control kits, and STEM education kits to academic, commercial, and biopharmaceutical research laboratories. Revenue is generated primarily through product sales, supplemented by fee-based custom services such as custom aptamer synthesis and bespoke peptide production.

Product overview

Cambio is a UK specialist distributor of molecular biology reagents and kits established since 1985, offering a comprehensive portfolio of products across 30+ application categories. The core offerings include protein purification systems (Ni-NTA/Ni-IDA/Co-NTA agarose beads and magnetic beads, FPLC cartridges, APOLLO ultrafiltration concentrators), chromosome painting tools (STAR*FISH Chromosome Paints, TURBOFISH probes), CRISPR-Cas9 reagents, mRNA production tools (INCOGNITO IVT systems, dsRNA removal kits), peptide synthesis reagents and resins, cell culture contamination control products, PCR/qPCR products, transfection reagents, and sampling swabs. Cambio positions itself as a specialist distributor providing expert technical support alongside products from multiple suppliers including Matrix Innovation, EZ Biosystems, Biontex, Orbital Biosciences, and others. The company emphasizes molecular biology research products rather than a unified software platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• STAR*FISH Chromosome Paints A proprietary set of FISH (fluorescence in situ hybridisation) chromosome paints used in cytogenetics research to visualise whole chromosomes in cell and tissue samples, primarily for academic and clinical research laboratories.
• TURBOFISH Rapid Hybridisation Probes Rapid hybridisation probe reagents for cytogenetic and molecular biology research applications where fast turnaround on FISH workflows is required, sold to research laboratories.
• Aptamers and Custom Aptamer Synthesis Standard and custom-synthesised aptamers sold as binding molecules for research, diagnostics, and detection applications, with custom aptamer synthesis services offered on a fee basis to academic and commercial customers.
• Research Antibodies A range of research-grade antibodies sold for use in molecular biology, cell biology, and biochemistry workflows in research laboratories, with custom antibody services also offered.
• Biopharma Quality Control Reagents Quality control reagent kits and consumables for biopharmaceutical customers, supporting routine and regulatory QC workflows in cell-based production and biologics manufacturing.
• Cell Culture Contamination Control Products Reagents and kits (such as Venor mycoplasma detection qPCR kits) for detecting and preventing mycoplasma, bacterial, and other contamination in cell culture workflows, sold to academic and biopharma laboratories.
• CRISPR-Cas9 Reagents CRISPR-Cas9 reagents for genome editing in molecular biology research, sold to academic and commercial research laboratories.
• INCOGNITO IVT and mRNA Production Systems Trademarked in vitro transcription (IVT) kits and systems for low-endotoxin mRNA production used in mRNA therapeutics and vaccine research, targeted at biopharma customers.
• Min-Immune Gold dsRNA Removal Kit A reagent kit for removing double-stranded RNA contaminants from in vitro transcribed mRNA preparations, supporting mRNA therapeutic and vaccine production workflows.
• EZ-QC mRNA Assay Kit A quality control assay kit for characterising mRNA products, sold to biopharma customers performing QC on mRNA-based therapeutics and vaccines.
• Ni-NTA Agarose Resin An agarose-based affinity resin for His-tagged protein purification, sold in multiple pack sizes for research and bioprocess laboratories.
• Ni-IDA Agarose Resin An IDA-based agarose affinity resin for His-tagged protein purification, sold as an alternative to Ni-NTA for research and process applications.
• Co-NTA Agarose Resin A cobalt-charged agarose resin for His-tagged protein purification with selectivity for polyhistidine tags, sold for research and process applications.
• Glutathione Agarose Resin A glutathione-functionalised agarose resin for affinity purification of GST-tagged proteins, sold for research and process-scale protein purification.
• NTA Agarose Resin An NTA-functionalised agarose resin for His-tagged protein purification, with uncharged ligand support for charge and stripping flexibility.
• Ni-NTA MagBeads Magnetic agarose beads functionalised with Ni-NTA for high-capacity His-tagged protein purification, with stated 70 mg/mL binding capacity. Sold in multiple pack sizes for research and process-scale workflows.
• Ni-IDA MagBeads Magnetic agarose beads functionalised with Ni-IDA chelate for His-tagged protein purification workflows.
• Co-NTA MagBeads Magnetic agarose beads functionalised with cobalt-NTA chelate for selective His-tagged protein purification.
• NTA MagBeads Magnetic agarose beads functionalised with uncharged NTA ligand for user-charged His-tagged protein purification workflows.
• Glutathione MagBeads Magnetic agarose beads functionalised with glutathione for affinity purification of GST-tagged proteins in research and process workflows.
• MagBead Separators Magnetic stands and tube/well separators for use with Cambio MagBead affinity products, supporting manual and automated magnetic bead workflows.
• Ni-IDA FPLC Cartridge A pre-packed chromatography cartridge containing Ni-IDA affinity resin for His-tagged protein purification on FPLC systems.
• Ni-NTA FPLC Cartridge A pre-packed chromatography cartridge containing Ni-NTA affinity resin for His-tagged protein purification on FPLC systems.
• Co-NTA FPLC Cartridge A pre-packed chromatography cartridge containing Co-NTA affinity resin for His-tagged protein purification on FPLC systems.
• APOLLO 7 mL Ultrafiltration Concentrator A 7 mL ultrafiltration concentrator device (with stated 20,000 MWCO) for concentrating proteins, nucleic acids, and other biomolecules in research and process workflows.
• APOLLO 20 mL Ultrafiltration Concentrator A 20 mL ultrafiltration concentrator device (with stated 20,000 MWCO) for concentrating larger-volume protein and nucleic acid samples.
• APOLLO Concentrator Accessories Accessories for APOLLO ultrafiltration concentrators, sold to support normal use and maintenance of APOLLO concentration workflows.
• Preactivated Agarose Beads Preactivated agarose beads sold as a base matrix for users to couple their own affinity ligands, supporting custom affinity chromatography workflows in research laboratories.
• Peptide Synthesis Reagents A catalogue of reagents used in solid-phase peptide synthesis, including resins, protected amino acids, and coupling/deprotection reagents, sold to research laboratories performing custom peptide synthesis.
• Wang Resin A Wang polystyrene resin used as a solid support for Fmoc-based solid-phase peptide synthesis.
• Fmoc-D-Ala-OH An Fmoc-protected D-alanine derivative amino acid building block for use in solid-phase peptide synthesis.
• Venor Bacteria qPCR Kit A qPCR-based detection kit for bacterial contamination (including mycoplasma screening) in cell culture, sold to academic and biopharma laboratories.
• RapiDxFire Hot Start Taq DNA Polymerase A hot-start Taq DNA polymerase reagent enabling rapid, high-specificity PCR amplification, sold for use in routine PCR workflows in research laboratories.
• miniPCR mini16X Thermal Cycler A bench-top thermal cycler instrument used to run PCR amplification, distributed by Cambio to research and educational laboratories.
• Xenometrix Rapid Micronucleus MoA Test Kit A rapid micronucleus mode-of-action (MoA) test kit for genotoxicity assessment in genetic toxicology and regulatory workflows.
• Sampling Swabs Laboratory sampling swabs used in collection, contamination testing, and diagnostics workflows by academic and biopharma laboratories.
• Transfection Reagents (EZ Biosystems and Biontex) Reagents for nucleic acid and protein delivery into eukaryotic cells, including partner lines from EZ Biosystems and Biontex, distributed by Cambio for use in cell biology and molecular biology research.
• Cap-Clip Acid Pyrophosphatase An acid pyrophosphatase enzyme (Cap-Clip) used in RNA processing and mRNA capping workflows, sold for use in mRNA production research.
• STEM Learning Kits Classroom-oriented STEM learning kits for teaching molecular biology, genetics, and biosciences principles in schools, universities, and STEM outreach programmes.
• Bespoke Peptide and Custom Antibody Services Fee-based custom synthesis services for bespoke peptides and custom antibodies, providing made-to-order reagents for academic, commercial, and biopharma research customers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 46% higher yield obtained with Cambio Ni-NTA MagBeads compared to market-leading competitors in GFP purification studies
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 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

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Matrix InnovationcoreTechnology or IntegrationMatrix Innovation manufactures high-quality peptide synthesis reagents including HATU, HBTU, HCTU, and other coupling reagents that Cambio distributes. Cambio supplies Matrix Innovation products including amino acids, resins, and linkers for peptide synthesis applications.
• Orbital BiosciencescoreTechnology or IntegrationOrbital Biosciences manufactures Apollo ultrafiltration concentrators for protein and viral vector concentration. Cambio distributes these products in the UK market, offering 7mL and 20mL versions with various MWCO ratings (9kDa, 20kDa, 150kDa).
• BioWorkscoreTechnology or IntegrationBioWorks supplies Workbeads used as the base matrix for Cambio's affinity purification resins including Ni-NTA, Ni-IDA, Co-NTA agaroses, and glutathione agarose products for protein purification applications.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Bio-Techne: Global developer and distributor of life science research reagents, proteins, antibodies, and assay kits across similar molecular biology application areas. Highly comparable in product categories (PCR, protein purification, cell culture) though operating at much larger scale with global reach.
• Bio-Rad Laboratories: Major manufacturer and distributor of life science research and clinical diagnostics products, with strong overlap in PCR reagents, protein purification chromatography media, and molecular biology kits. Closely comparable product mix with global scale.
• Abcam: Cambridge, UK-headquartered life science reagents company specializing in antibodies and molecular biology research tools. Strong geographic and product overlap, though Abcam operates at much greater scale globally.
• Cambridge Bioscience: UK-based specialist distributor of life science research reagents and kits to academic and commercial labs. Closely comparable business model (specialist UK distribution with curated multi-supplier catalog) and customer base to Cambio.
• 2BScientific: UK-based specialist distributor of life science reagents and consumables serving academic and industrial research customers. Closely comparable specialist distribution model and target customer base to Cambio.
• Generon: UK specialist distributor of molecular biology, immunology, and cell biology reagents to research laboratories. Operates a near-identical business model (curated multi-supplier catalog, technical support, direct sales to UK research labs) directly competing with Cambio.

Broad incumbents

• Thermo Fisher Scientific: Largest global life sciences tools provider spanning molecular biology reagents, lab consumables, and biopharma services through the Thermo Scientific and Invitrogen brands. Overlaps substantially with Cambio's entire catalog but operates at vastly greater scale and geographic reach.
• Merck (MilliporeSigma Life Science): Global life science business of Merck KGaA distributing molecular biology reagents, chromatography media, protein purification resins (including Ni-NTA), and cell culture products. Directly competes in Cambio's core product categories.
• Cytiva: Global provider of bioprocessing and molecular biology tools including protein purification resins, chromatography cartridges, and nucleic acid production consumables. Overlaps with Cambio's protein purification (FPLC cartridges) and mRNA workflow products.
• LGC Group: UK-headquartered life science measurement and tools company with genomics, reagents, and molecular biology product lines. Comparable in geographic base and overlap with Cambio's nucleic acid and molecular biology reagents offering.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cambioltd

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Cambio