ARTES Biotechnology

What ARTES Biotechnology does

ARTES Biotechnology GmbH is a private German Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) founded in May 2002 and headquartered in Langenfeld, Germany. The company specializes in microbial cell line and process development for recombinant protein production using proprietary yeast (Hansenula polymorpha, Pichia pastoris, Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and bacterial (E. coli) expression platforms, with the Hansenula polymorpha platform capable of integrating up to 120 gene copies per cell. ARTES operates approximately 875 m² of S1 laboratory and process development facilities and employs a team of about 24 people, with a leadership team including founder Dr. Michael Piontek, Business Development Director Dr. Melanie Piontek, and Managing Director Volker Jenzelewski (appointed January 2024, prior roles at Dynavax Europe and EUFETS/BioNTech).

The company's commercial offerings span three revenue streams: (1) CDMO services covering microbial cell line development, upstream and downstream process development, non-GMP manufacturing of test and preclinical material, and VLP vaccine development using proprietary METAVAX (enveloped VLP) and SplitCore (capsid VLP) platforms; (2) technology licensing of pre-developed ready-to-use cell lines and processes for biosimilars, vaccines, and enzymes, with flexible terms including non-exclusive or exclusive, regional or global licenses; and (3) direct-to-customer sales of lab reagents (antigens, enzymes, functional proteins such as HBsAg, HPV L1 proteins, Endoglycosidase H, T7 RNA Polymerase, Human Serum Albumin, and Interferon Alpha) through an online webshop. ARTES serves pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies, vaccine manufacturers, enzyme producers, cosmetics, diagnostics, and nutrition companies globally, with named engagements including Serum Institute of India (R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine, 2024), Basic Pharma (recombinant Human Serum Albumin), Cellumed (enzymes for mRNA vaccine manufacturing), Provenance Bio (precision-fermented collagen peptides), and Burnet Institute (malaria vaccine research).

ARTES holds patents in the EU (EP3594330A1) and US (US11053478B2) for VLP purification technology, and its platforms have supported products achieving US-FDA, EMA, NRC approvals, GRAS certifications, and WHO recommendations. The company monetizes through CDMO contracts, licensing fees and royalties, and small-ticket lab reagent sales, exhibiting at major industry conferences including BIO International and BIO-Europe to drive enterprise business development.

Name

ARTES Biotechnology

Legal name

ARTES Biotechnology GmbH

Website

https://artes-biotechnology.biz

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ARTES Biotechnology is a German CDMO founded in 2002 that develops microbial cell lines and production processes (Hansenula polymorpha yeast, E. coli) for recombinant proteins, vaccines, and biosimilars, serving pharmaceutical, biotech, cosmetics, diagnostics, and nutrition clients globally via services, licensing, and lab reagents.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Bioprocess CDMO and Microbial Expression Services

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414), Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing (3254)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836)

akta.pro primary industry

Biologics (mAbs/Recombinant Proteins) CDMO (HLAGABAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Gene Therapy (Viral Vector/Plasmid) CDMO (HLAGABAE)

Keywords

• Microbial cell line development
• CDMO services
• Recombinant protein production
• VLP vaccine platform
• Biopharmaceutical process development

Headquarters

HQ city

Langenfeld

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. CDMO Services: Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization services including microbial cell line development, process development, and manufacturing of high-quality test and preclinical material for vaccines, biopharmaceuticals, biosimilars, and enzymes.
2. Technology Licensing: Licensing of pre-developed 'ready-to-use' production cell lines and processes for biosimilars, vaccines, enzymes, and other products. Licenses available as non-exclusive or exclusive, regional or global, with flexible payment terms including lump sum, milestone payments, and royalties.
3. Lab Reagents Sales: Direct sales of recombinant protein antigens, enzymes, and functional proteins for research purposes through the company's webshop. Products manufactured using proprietary Hansenula polymorpha or E. coli expression systems.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

ARTES Biotechnology is a Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) providing microbial cell line development, fermentation and downstream process development, non-GMP manufacturing of test and preclinical material, and VLP vaccine development for recombinant proteins. The company also licenses pre-developed ready-to-use production cell lines and processes for biosimilars, vaccines, and enzymes, and sells recombinant antigens, enzymes, and functional proteins as research reagents through an online webshop. Core platforms include the proprietary Hansenula polymorpha yeast expression system and the METAVAX and SplitCore VLP vaccine technologies.

Product overview

ARTES Biotechnology is a CDMO (Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization) offering a comprehensive platform for recombinant protein production using microbial expression systems. The core offering consists of CDMO Services including Microbial Cell Line Development, Process Development, Manufacturing, and VLP Vaccine Development, supported by a License Offer for pre-developed processes and Technology Transfer services. The company operates proprietary technology platforms including METAVAX® (enveloped VLPs) and SplitCore/Hep-B Core (capsid VLPs). Lab Reagents product line includes research-grade antigens (HBsAg, HPV L1 proteins), enzymes (Endoglycosidase H, Enterokinase, T7 RNA Polymerase, Inorganic Pyrophosphatase), and functional proteins (Human Serum Albumin, Interferon Alpha 2A/B, Brazzein, Monellin). The company also offers vaccine products (Hepatitis B, HPV) and biosimilar processes through technology licensing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• METAVAX: Platform for enveloped Virus-Like Particles (eVLPs) for development of novel nanoparticle subunit vaccines in human and animal health.
• SplitCore

Products and services

• CDMO Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Cost of goods below 1 Euro per dose for VLP vaccine production
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Provenance BiocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 March 2026Partnership to scale Col-01, a precision-fermented hydroxylated collagen peptide for the beauty-from-within supplement market. Combines Provenance Bio's proprietary hydroxylation technology with ARTES' expertise in microbial strain engineering and bioprocess development to produce animal-free collagen alternative with superior purity and consistency.
• Serum Institute of IndiacoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2024ARTES technology contributed to R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine launched by Serum Institute of India in 2024. Demonstrates successful application of ARTES VLP vaccine platform in commercial product development.
• Basic PharmacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2023Strategic collaboration and co-marketing partnership for pharmaceutical recombinant protein production. Inaugural product is recombinant Human Serum Albumin (rHSA) from Hansenula polymorpha yeast. Project partially funded by BioMan4R2 project within European SMP COSME program. Collaboration aims to establish streamlined supply chain for expediting time-to-market.
• BioMan4R2minorOthers · 1 October 2023European SMP COSME program project providing financial support and networking for the ARTES-Basic Pharma collaboration on recombinant Human Serum Albumin production. Focuses on EU resilience in health Biomanufacturing and MedTech areas.
• Cellumed Co. Ltd.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2021Development and License Agreement for generating microbial production cell lines, processes, and documentation for cGMP manufacturing of two enzymes required in mRNA vaccine manufacturing. ARTES develops high-yield cell lines and processes; results transferred to Richter-Helm BioLogics for cGMP production. Project management supported by Korean representative Quality by Design, Inc.
• Richter-Helm BioLogics GmbH & Co. KGminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 October 2021German CMO partner for cGMP manufacturing. Receives technology transfer from ARTES for production of enzymes developed for Cellumed mRNA vaccine project.
• Quality by Design, Inc.minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 October 2021Korean representative providing project management support for Cellumed collaboration.
• Burnet InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2014Collaborative research on malaria vaccine candidates using VLP technology. Funded by PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative and others. Published data on efficient production of malaria transmission-blocking vaccine candidates (Pfs25 and Pfs230) as chimeric VLPs using ARTES' METAVAX platform. Demonstrated induction of transmission-blocking antibodies.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Richter-Helm BioLogics: Germany-based microbial CDMO specializing in bacterial and yeast-based recombinant protein production for clinical and commercial supply. Directly comparable to ARTES as a microbial-focused CDMO in Germany; also serves as ARTES' cGMP manufacturing partner, highlighting both overlap and partnership.
• Biovian: Nordic CDMO offering microbial and mammalian process development, manufacturing, and aseptic fill-finish. Comparable as a mid-sized European CDMO serving biotech with similar recombinant protein and vaccine capabilities, though broader in scope (including viral vectors and cell therapy).
• Rentschler Biopharma: German-headquartered CDMO focused on recombinant protein production from microbial and mammalian expression systems. Directly comparable to ARTES in microbial CDMO services for biopharmaceuticals and biosimilars, though larger scale and broader service offering.

Broad incumbents

• AGC Biologics: Global CDMO offering microbial, mammalian, and cell therapy services with facilities in Europe, US, and Asia. Comparable in providing microbial CDMO services for vaccines and recombinant proteins but at significantly larger scale across multiple modalities and geographies.
• Novavax: Commercial-stage vaccine developer using recombinant VLP technology (Matrix-M adjuvant platform). Comparable as a VLP-based vaccine player using similar virus-like particle approach; however, Novavax is product-owning and publicly traded, putting ARTES in a platform-supplier role.
• Medicago (Mitsubishi): Canadian VLP vaccine developer (acquired by Mitsubishi) using plant-based and VLP platforms for vaccines. Comparable as a VLP-vaccine technology player, though using a different production system (plants vs. microbial); both serve global vaccine markets.
• Lonza: Global CDMO leader with extensive microbial and mammalian manufacturing capabilities for biologics, vaccines, and small molecules. Comparable at the CDMO service layer, especially for microbial recombinant protein and vaccine projects, but at vastly greater scale and geographic reach.
• WuXi Biologics: Global biologics CDMO offering end-to-end microbial and mammalian services from cell line to commercial manufacturing. Comparable for recombinant protein CDMO services but with much larger headcount, global facilities, and integrated commercial-scale capacity.

Others

• Boehringer Ingelheim BioXcellence: Large CDMO division of Boehringer Ingelheim offering microbial (E. coli, yeast) and mammalian contract manufacturing. Comparable as a microbial CDMO serving vaccine and biopharma customers but at far greater scale, with global footprint and integrated services.

Emerging players

• GlycoVaxyn: Swiss bioconjugate vaccine developer (GSK-owned) using microbial expression for glycoengineered vaccines. Comparable as a microbial-expressed vaccine technology company in the European biotech ecosystem, though focused on bioconjugates rather than VLPs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/artes-biotechnology-gmbh

Compliance5 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 ARTES Biotechnology