BioThema

What BioThema does

BioThema AB is a Swedish biotechnology company founded in 1987 and headquartered in Handen, Sweden, that develops and manufactures reagents, kits, and instruments for analytical applications of the firefly luciferase reaction. Its core technology exploits the proportionality between light emission and ATP concentration to quantify ATP in biological samples, with a proprietary three-tier reagent system (ATP Reagent SL for stable light, HS for high sensitivity, SS for super-sensitive detection) enabling detection from approximately 10⁻¹⁸ to 10⁻⁶ mol ATP. The proprietary Internal ATP Standard Method, certified liquid-stable ATP standards, and the ATP+ADP+AMP (A3) measurement approach allow results to be expressed in moles rather than relative light units and reduce false negatives in hygiene applications.

The company sells more than 30 catalog SKUs spanning individual reagents, application-specific kits (cell viability, microbial ATP, intracellular ATP, hygiene control, kinase reaction rate, luciferase reporter gene assays, HTS kits), supporting buffers and standards, luciferin substrates, and the Lumitester Smart portable luminometer. Recent additions are the LuciPac A3 Surface, Pre-Moistened, Water, and Filter Assay swabs (manufactured by Kikkoman) and the Lumitester Smart instrument, forming a portable rapid hygiene-control ecosystem.

BioThema serves four end segments — research institutes, pharma & biotech, healthcare (hospitals for UTI diagnostics and clinical chemistry), and food & beverage hygiene — through direct worldwide e-commerce, five named regional distributors in Europe, Africa, and Asia, and an OEM manufacturing line for other companies' ATP reagent products. Pricing is transactional per-unit; reagents range from roughly $19 to $200+, kits from $233 to over $2,000, and the Lumitester Smart instrument at $1,433. The company is privately held with 1–10 employees, no disclosed external funding, and an owner-operator management team led by CEO Leo Lundin (son of scientific founder Dr. Arne Lundin) and Production Manager Demet Aksakal. Revenue, funding rounds, M&A, and headcount history are not disclosed in the available data.

Name

BioThema

Legal name

BioThema AB

Website

https://biothema.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

BioThema AB is a Swedish biotech founded in 1987 that develops firefly luciferase-based ATP reagents, kits, and the Lumitester Smart luminometer for research, pharmaceutical, clinical, and hygiene-control customers worldwide via direct e-commerce, regional distributors, and OEM supply.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Bioluminescence Reagents and Assay Kits

NAICS

Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516), In-Vitro Diagnostic Substance Manufacturing (325413)

SIC

Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826)

akta.pro primary industry

Reagents, Chemicals & Assay Kits (Buffers, Antibodies, ELISA, Enzymes) (HLAGAIAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

ATP Bioluminescence Hygiene Verification & Rapid Cleanliness Testing (AFALAEAB), Rapid On-Site Environmental Testing Kits & Instruments (Lateral Flow, PCR, ATP Devices) (AFALAEAK), Impurity / Reference Standard Synthesis & Characterization (HLAGAHAG)

Keywords

• Luminescence reagents
• ATP assay kits
• Firefly luciferase reagents
• Cell viability assays
• Hygiene monitoring kits

Headquarters

HQ city

Handen

HQ country

Sweden

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. ATP Reagents and Kits: Sale of specialized luciferase-based reagents including ATP Reagent SL, HS, SS and various assay kits for different applications (cell viability, bacterial detection, enzyme assays)
2. Luminometers and Instruments: Sale of Lumitester Smart portable luminometer and related instruments for hygiene control and ATP measurement
3. OEM Manufacturing: Customized reagent and kit manufacturing for other companies on OEM basis according to their specifications
4. Direct Sales: Direct sales to customers via website and distributor network with standard payment terms (30 days net for existing customers, advance payment for first-time customers)

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

BioThema manufactures and sells firefly luciferase-based ATP measurement reagents, assay kits, and luminometer instruments for analytical applications including cell viability testing, bacterial detection, enzyme and metabolite assays, reporter gene assays, and hygiene control. The company produces three proprietary ATP reagent grades (SL, HS, SS) with different sensitivity and decay profiles, supplemented by certified liquid-stable ATP standards, supporting buffers and extractants, and application-specific kits sold under the ATP Kit, Cell Viability Kit, Microbial ATP Kit, Kinase RR Kit, and LuciPac A3 product lines.

Product overview

BioThema is a Swedish biotechnology company founded in 1987, specializing in analytical applications of the firefly luciferase reaction for ATP-based bioluminescent assays. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio centered on three core technology areas: ATP reagents (ATP Reagent SL, HS, and SS with varying sensitivity levels), ATP assay kits (including ATP Kit SL, Cellular ATP Kit HTS, Cell viability Kit SL, Microbial ATP Kit HS, Intracellular ATP Kit HS, ATP Biomass Kit HS, ATP Hygiene Kit HS, and Kinase RR Kit), and luciferase-related products (Luciferase assay Kit, Luciferase assay HTS, and D/L-Luciferin variants). BioThema also provides the Lumitester Smart portable luminometer for field hygiene control. The product ecosystem is complemented by supporting reagents (Extractant B/S, Cell Lysing Reagent, ATP Eliminating Reagent), standards (ATP Standard), buffers (Tris-EDTA, Diluents), and the LuciPac A3 hygiene monitoring swabs. These products enable applications including cell viability testing, bacterial quantification, enzyme/metabolite assays, reporter gene assays, and rapid hygiene control across research, pharmaceutical, and industrial markets.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ATP Reagent SL (Stable Light) Proprietary luciferase-based reagent for continuous monitoring of ATP concentration with a light decay rate of less than 1% per minute, designed for measuring ATP in cultivated eukaryotic cells with a linear range covering 1 to 50,000 cells. Targeted at research and pharma labs requiring stable emission for kinetic enzyme and metabolite assays.
• ATP Reagent HS (High Sensitivity) High-sensitivity luciferase reagent with 20x the activity of ATP Reagent SL, capable of detecting as little as 10 amol ATP (approximately 10 bacterial cells), with a decay rate of around 10% per minute. Used for intracellular ATP determination in bacterial cells and hygiene applications.
• ATP Reagent SS (Super Sensitive) Ultra-sensitive ATP reagent with activity 235x higher than ATP Reagent SL, achieving a detection limit below 1 amol ATP, with a light decay rate of about 235% per minute requiring programmed dispensers. Targeted at ultra-low ATP applications such as microbial detection in filtered water.
• ATP Substrate Luciferase substrate containing ATP and activators for stable light emission (less than 2% decay per minute), serving as the ready-to-use substrate component of the luminescent ATP detection chemistry.

Quantifiable outcome

• Detection limit as low as 10 amol ATP (approximately 10 bacterial cells)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered regional and core.

• Biozym Scientific GmbHregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRegional distributor for Germany located at Steinbrinksweg 27, DE-31840 Hess. Oldendorf, Germany. Handles sales and distribution of BioThema products in the German market.
• Isogen Life Science B.VregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRegional distributor for Benelux region (Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg) located at Veldzigt 2A, 3454 PW DE MEERN, The Netherlands.
• Labtech International LtdregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRegional distributor for United Kingdom located at Mytogen House, 11 Browning Road, Heathfield, East Sussex, United Kingdom.
• AqualyticregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRegional distributor for South Africa located at 358 Buffelsdrift Street, Erasmusrand, 0165 Pretoria, South Africa.
• Beijing Chuang Xin Shi Ji Biochemical Science & Technology Development Co.LtdregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRegional distributor for China located at 23 Huoju St, Changping District, Beijing, China, 102206.
• KikkomancoreTechnology or IntegrationBioThema offers LuciPac A3 swabs manufactured by Kikkoman for portable hygiene control. The unique ATP+ADP+AMP (A3) single-use swab system is sold in combination with BioThema's Lumitester Smart instrument.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Promega Corporation: Promega is a leading manufacturer of luciferase-based reporter gene assays, ATP bioluminescence reagents, and cell viability kits. Direct overlap with BioThema in firefly luciferase assays and ATP measurement reagents makes it the closest direct peer.
• Hygiena: Hygiena specializes in ATP-based rapid hygiene monitoring systems for food safety and healthcare environments, including the EnSURE Touch luminometer and numerous swab consumables. It is a direct competitor in the same hygiene-control category as BioThema's LuciPac A3 line.
• Kikkoman Biochemifa: Kikkoman manufactures LuciPac A3 swabs sold through BioThema in parallel with Kikkoman's own global hygiene business. It is both a partner and a direct competitor in ATP+ADP+AMP hygiene swabs and luminometers.
• Berthold Technologies: Berthold Technologies manufactures luminometers and luciferase-based assay kits for research and clinical applications. The company is a direct peer in both the instrument (luminometer) and ATP/luciferase reagent categories.
• Promega Corporation (luciferase portfolio): Promega's CellTiter-Glo and similar ATP-based cell viability kits compete head-to-head with BioThema's Cell Viability and Cellular ATP HTS kits in pharma/biotech screening workflows.

Broad incumbents

• Thermo Fisher Scientific: Through brands such as Molecular Probes and Invitrogen, Thermo Fisher offers ATP/luciferase reagents, luminometers, and assay kits as part of a much broader life-science portfolio. It overlaps with BioThema's reagent and instrument lines while serving far more applications and geographies.
• Revvity (formerly PerkinElmer Life Sciences): Revvity offers ATP-based detection kits, reporter gene assays, and luminescence readers within a larger diagnostics and life-sciences portfolio. Comparable as a broad incumbent serving pharma and research customers with overlapping reagent offerings.
• Agilent Technologies (Cell Analysis): Agilent, including its Seahorse and Cell Analysis portfolio, provides instruments and consumables that overlap with BioThema's luminometers and ATP kits in cell-based assay workflows. Serves pharma/biotech as a broader instrumentation incumbent.

Emerging players

• Lonza Bioscience: Lonza's bioscience division sells cell-based assay reagents and services that intersect with BioThema's cell viability and intracellular ATP kits. It is a partial competitor in pharma QC and cell biology research applications.
• Biotium: Biotium provides fluorescent and luminescent reagents, including ATP-detection chemistries and luciferase substrates for research use. It overlaps with BioThema's reagent portfolio for life-science research customers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 BioThema