What Iris Biotech does

Iris Biotech GmbH is a privately held German specialty chemicals supplier founded in 2001 and headquartered in Marktredwitz, Bavaria. The company focuses on chemical reagents and building blocks used in peptide synthesis, PEGylation, and adjacent life science research workflows, serving academic institutions, pharmaceutical and biotechnology R&D groups, peptide synthesis service providers, and contract manufacturing organizations. Its customer base spans pharmaceutical drug discovery, bioconjugation chemistry (including ADC development), and formulation research.

The core product platform is organized into ten catalog categories totaling more than 5,873 SKUs, anchored by over 3,188 amino acids (Fmoc, Boc, and proprietary Smoc protected variants), approximately 1,000 resins for solid-phase synthesis, 898 drug delivery materials (PEGs, poly-amino acids, poly(2-oxazolines), dextrans, lipids, nanoparticles), 588 click chemistry products, and 465 building blocks. Proprietary technology includes the Linkerology® trademarked family of cleavable, photo-activatable, and trifunctional linkers for bioconjugation; Smoc (2,7-Disulfo-9-fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl) protected amino acids enabling water-compatible synthesis with intrinsic fluorescence; and CliCr® strained-alkyne (TMTHSI) reagents for site-specific peptide functionalization. A dedicated Green Chemistry line and a Custom Synthesis service extend the offering beyond the standard catalog.

Iris Biotech operates a B2B sales-led go-to-market built on a direct e-commerce storefront at iris-biotech.de with multi-currency checkout (EUR, USD), complemented by regional distribution partners. Pricing is unit-based, varies by product complexity and quantity, and revenue is generated primarily through one-time catalog purchases of milligram-to-gram quantities. Knowledge base content, workshop series, and downloadable scientific publications support demand generation. Revenue is not publicly disclosed, and the company has no disclosed outside funding, acquisitions, or parent ownership.

Name

Iris Biotech

Legal name

Iris Biotech GmbH

Website

https://iris-biotech.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Iris Biotech GmbH is a German specialty chemicals supplier founded in 2001, providing more than 5,800 reagents and building blocks for peptide synthesis, PEGylation, bioconjugation, and drug delivery to pharma, biotech, and academic research customers worldwide via e-commerce.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Marktredwitz

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Revenue model

1. Chemical Reagent Product Sales: Sale of specialized chemical reagents including amino acids, building blocks, linkers, resins, click chemistry products, and drug delivery materials. Products sold in various quantities (mg, g units) with pricing based on complexity and quantity.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Based on the company name alone, no source-supported description of the core offering is available in the input.

Product overview

Iris Biotech is a supplier of chemical reagents and building blocks for peptide synthesis and related life science applications. The company operates a single e-commerce platform offering multiple product categories that serve as complementary components of the peptide synthesis workflow. The core portfolio consists of: Amino Acids (over 3,188 products) as fundamental building blocks; Linkerology® branded linkers for bioconjugation; Resins (about 1,000 products) for solid phase synthesis; Click Chemistry (588 products) for in vitro/in vivo applications; Building Blocks (465 products); Drug Delivery (898 products) including PEGs and nanoparticles; Reagents; and Life Sciences products. The company also offers Custom Synthesis services for custom compounds and a dedicated Green Chemistry line for sustainable synthesis. The product ecosystem is tied together by a Knowledge Base providing SDF files, FAQs, publications, and workshop resources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Segments3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Distribution PartnerssupportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRegional distribution partners that extend Iris Biotech's market reach in specific geographic areas. Partners resell the company's chemical reagent products to end customers in their respective regions.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• AnaSpec (Kaneka): AnaSpec, now part of Kaneka, supplies specialty peptides, amino acids, and detection reagents to life science researchers. Product categories and customer base closely mirror Iris Biotech's reagent business.
• Polypeptide Group: Polypeptide Group is a peptide CDMO producing peptide APIs and associated intermediates. It shares Iris Biotech's CMO customer segment and overlap in protected amino acids and peptide synthesis building blocks.
• GenScript: GenScript offers custom peptide synthesis, peptide libraries, and a broad life science reagent catalog. It competes directly for custom synthesis orders and research-grade reagent demand served by Iris Biotech.
• ChemPep Inc. ChemPep specializes in custom peptide synthesis and specialty amino acids for the biotech and pharma research markets. It is a smaller, directly comparable competitor with overlapping reagent and custom synthesis offering.
• Bio-Synthesis Inc. Bio-Synthesis provides custom peptide synthesis, peptide libraries, and bioconjugation reagents. Comparable to Iris Biotech in custom synthesis capabilities and research-grade reagent offering.
• Bachem: Bachem is a leading peptide and oligonucleotide CDMO with deep expertise in protected amino acids and peptide synthesis reagents, serving pharma and biotech. It directly overlaps with Iris Biotech's protected-amino-acid core and CMO-customer strategy.
• Peptide Institute, Inc. Peptide Institute is a Japanese specialist in synthetic peptides, protected amino acids, and peptide-related reagents. Comparable scope in protected amino acids, resins, and custom peptide synthesis with similar research and biopharma customers.
• CPC Scientific: CPC Scientific focuses on custom peptide synthesis, amino acid derivatives, and bioconjugation services. It is a direct overlap with Iris Biotech's amino acid, custom synthesis, and linker product lines.

Broad incumbents

• Thermo Fisher Scientific: Thermo Fisher, through its Life Sciences portfolio including Pierce and Acetyl/Methylation reagents, sells into peptide and life science research customers. It competes broadly as an incumbent with deeper regulatory and logistics infrastructure than Iris Biotech.
• Merck KGaA (MilliporeSigma / Novabiochem): MilliporeSigma operates Novabiochem, the established flagship brand for peptide synthesis reagents, protected amino acids, and resins. It is the dominant incumbent against whose pricing Iris Biotech competes for the same research customers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/irisbiotechgmbh
• Facebookfacebook.com/irisbiotechgmbh
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/iris-biotech-gmbh
• Instagraminstagram.com/Iris_biotech

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 Iris Biotech