Cellabs
Cellabs Pty Ltd is a privately-held Australian biotechnology company that designs, manufactures, and distributes immunodiagnostic kits (IFA, ELISA, RDT) for tropical and infectious diseases, selling 20+ products to medical, veterinary, blood banking, water testing, and research customers across more than 40 countries.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1985
- HeadquartersBrookvale, Australia
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Cellabs does
Cellabs Pty Ltd is an Australian privately-held biotechnology company founded in 1985 by immunologist Dr Anthony Smithyman and headquartered in Brookvale, Sydney. It is described as Australia's oldest private biotechnology company. Cellabs designs, develops, and manufactures immunodiagnostic kits for tropical and infectious diseases, organized across three core test formats: direct and indirect immunofluorescence assays (DFA/IFA), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), and rapid diagnostic tests (RDT). The portfolio spans more than 20 products covering malaria (including the Quantimal ultra-sensitive PfHRP2 CELISA and Pan Malaria Antibody CELISA), filariasis (TropBio Og4C3 Filariasis Antigen ELISA and Bm14 Filariasis Antibody CELISA), cryptosporidiosis and giardiasis (Crypto Cel and Giardia Cel IFA kits), chlamydial diseases, trypanosomiasis (Chagas), toxocariasis, amoebiasis, pneumocystis, and selected veterinary targets. All products are manufactured under ISO13485:2016, carry CE marking and TGA ARTG listing, and the Crypto Cel antibody holds a distinctive UK Drinking Water Inspectorate approval for drinking water compliance testing.
The company's technology rests on a proprietary library of monoclonal antibodies — substantially expanded through the 1998 acquisition of TropBio Pty Ltd, formerly a James Cook University spin-off relocated to Sydney in 2013 — together with recombinant antigens and quantitative standards such as the first Pf-HRP2 standard. Differentiation is built on domain specialization in neglected tropical diseases, first-mover product positions (e.g., the first commercial antibody ELISA for filariasis), and regulatory certifications that create barriers for substitute products.
Cellabs generates revenue primarily through one-time sales of diagnostic kits via a worldwide distributor network spanning more than 40 countries across six continents, supplemented by direct sales from Sydney to customers in Australia, New Zealand, and the USA. A secondary revenue stream is contract research services for third-party Australian and overseas customers requiring bespoke immunodiagnostic assay development. Customer segments are diversified across medical pathology laboratories, veterinary pathology labs, blood banking facilities, water testing companies, and research organizations including WHO-affiliated tropical disease elimination programs. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is handled via direct sales inquiry.
Cellabs firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Cellabs
- Legal name
- Cellabs Pty Ltd
- Website
- https://cellabs.com.au
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1985
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Cellabs Pty Ltd is a privately-held Australian biotechnology company that designs, manufactures, and distributes immunodiagnostic kits (IFA, ELISA, RDT) for tropical and infectious diseases, selling 20+ products to medical, veterinary, blood banking, water testing, and research customers across more than 40 countries.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Cellabs industry classification
Industry- Product category
- In Vitro Diagnostics
- NAICS
- In-Vitro Diagnostic Substance Manufacturing (325413)
- SIC
- In Vitro & In Vivo Diagnostic Substances (2835)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Immunoassay Diagnostics (ELISA, chemiluminescence, serology) (HLAAALAB)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Reagents, Chemicals & Assay Kits (Buffers, Antibodies, ELISA, Enzymes) (HLAGAIAI)
Keywords
Where Cellabs is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Brookvale
- HQ country
- Australia
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices1 record
Markets served
Cellabs business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Diagnostic Kit Sales: Cellabs generates revenue through the sale of immunodiagnostic kits for tropical and infectious diseases. Products are sold directly and through a global distributor network spanning over 40 countries. Revenue is derived from one-time product purchases of IFA, ELISA, and RDT diagnostic kits.
- Contract Research Services: Cellabs offers contract research and collaboration services for designing and developing novel immunodiagnostics for third party Australian and overseas customers. Services include assay design, prototype development, testing, and scale-up.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
Cellabs product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Cellabs designs, develops, and manufactures immunodiagnostic kits for tropical and infectious diseases, supplying Direct Immunofluorescence Assays (DFA), Indirect Immunofluorescence Assays (IFA), Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays (ELISA), and Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDT) for malaria, filariasis, cryptosporidiosis, giardiasis, chlamydia, amoebiasis, trypanosomiasis, toxocariasis, and related conditions. Products are manufactured under ISO13485:2016, CE marked, listed on the TGA Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods, and exported to more than 40 countries through a worldwide distributor network.
Product overview
Cellabs offers a comprehensive portfolio of immunodiagnostic kits for tropical and infectious diseases. The product line is organized across three main test formats: Direct Immunofluorescence Assays (DFA), Indirect Immunofluorescence Assays (IFA), and Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays (ELISA), along with Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDT). Core products include the Crypto Cel and Crypto/Giardia Cel IFA kits for waterborne parasites (certified by UK Drinking Water Inspectorate), the Pan Malaria Antibody CELISA and Quantimal series (KM2, KM7, KM8) for malaria detection in clinical and blood banking applications, Chlamydia Cel IFA kits for trachomatis and pneumoniae detection, and the TropBio Og4C3 Filariasis Antigen ELISA and Bm14 Filariasis Antibody CELISA for lymphatic filariasis. The TROPBIO sub-brand encompasses veterinary diagnostics including Trop-ELISA IBH for poultry diseases. Additional products target trypanosomiasis (Chagas disease), toxocariasis, amoebiasis, pneumocystis, and COVID-19 (research use only). The company also provides the Pf-HRP2 Standard as a quantitative control and is developing a malaria RDT with reader technology.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- TROPBIO: A subsidiary brand for human and veterinary diagnostics products including the Og4C3 Filariasis Ag ELISA and filter paper blood collection products.
- Quantimal
Products and services
- Crypto Cel
- Crypto/Giardia Cel
- Giardia Cel
- Chlamydia Cel
- Pneumo Cel Indirect
- Entamoeba CELISA Path
- Malaria Antigen (HRP-2) CELISA
- Quantimal Ultra-sensitive PfHRP2 Malaria CELISA
- Quantimal pLDH Malaria Ag CELISA
- Pan Malaria Antibody CELISA
- TropBio Og4C3 Filariasis Antigen ELISA
- Filariasis Antibody (Bm14) CELISA
- T. cruzi IgG CELISA II (Recombinant Antigen)
- Toxocara IgG CELISA
- QuantiSARS-CoV-2 N IgG CELISA
- QuantiSARS-CoV-2 Spike IgG CELISA
- TropBio Filter Paper for Blood Collection
- Trop-ELISA IBH
- Trop-ELISA ILT and Trop-Ag ELISA ILT
- TROPBIO Monoclonal Antibodies
- Pf-HRP2 Standard
- Contract Research Services
Quantifiable outcome
- Detection limit of 10 picograms/millilitre for PfHRP2, twenty times more sensitive than standard tests
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Cellabs
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Cellabs technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature8 records
Cellabs partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Dr Gary Weil, Washington UniversityminorThe Bm14 Filariasis Antibody CELISA was developed in collaboration with Dr Gary Weil from Washington University, St Louis, MI, USA. The kit was designed as a serology test to detect antibodies in sentinel children within populations treated by mass drug administration programs.
- TropBio Pty LtdcoreTropBio Pty Ltd was formed in 1991 to develop and market Australian inventions, originally operating as a subsidiary of James Cook University (JCU Technologies Pty Ltd) under the name JCU Tropical Biotechnology Pty Ltd. In February 1998, Cellabs Diagnostics Pty Ltd purchased TropBio, and in June 2013, TropBio relocated from James Cook University Townsville to the Cellabs premises in Sydney. All TropBio products are now manufactured by Cellabs under ISO13485 Quality Management System and marketed under the TropBio logo. TropBio owns a vast collection of monoclonal antibodies against important human and veterinary diseases.
- James Cook UniversityminorTropBio originated as a subsidiary of James Cook University of North Queensland (JCU Technologies Pty Ltd) before being acquired by Cellabs in 1998. James Cook University provided the original research environment for development of Australian inventions in tropical biotechnology.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Cellabs competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Euroimmun (PerkinElmer): German-born infectious disease serology/ELISA specialist now owned by PerkinElmer. Overlaps with Cellabs' autoimmune and infectious disease ELISA franchise but at much larger scale across all major geographies.
- Bio-Rad Laboratories: Global IVD and life science instrument/reagent manufacturer with significant ELISA kit and infectious disease diagnostic products. Much broader portfolio but competing head-to-head with Cellabs in clinical lab ELISA reagent categories.
- Abbott Diagnostics: Global IVD major with malaria, infectious disease, and immunoassay portfolio including the legacy SD Bioline tropical-disease RDT range. Dominant scale player whose contracting leverage most threatens Cellabs' niche distributor-dependent revenue base.
Emerging players
- Arista Biologicals: Small US-based manufacturer of diagnostic reagents and rapid test components for infectious diseases including malaria, dengue, and neglected tropical disease antigens. Comparable boutique diagnostics supplier with proprietary reagent pipeline serving a similar tropical-disease customer base.
- Mologic (Global Access Diagnostics): UK-based lateral flow and rapid diagnostic developer with deep NTD focus (malaria, sleeping sickness, schistosomiasis). Comparable specialist tropical-disease diagnostic developer supplying global health programs, though earlier-stage and more POC-focused than Cellabs.
Direct peers
- Omega Diagnostics: UK-headquartered IVD manufacturer with infectious disease serology and allergy ELISA products. Comparable mid-sized niche IVD developer with similar global distribution model and tropical-disease / infectious-disease focus.
- InBios International: Seattle-based IVD company focused on tropical and emerging infectious disease diagnostics (Chagas, leishmaniasis, dengue, melioidosis). Closely comparable specialist immunology diagnostic manufacturer targeting similar research and clinical lab customers.
- Coris BioConcept: Belgian specialist manufacturer of IVD kits for tropical, enteric, and respiratory pathogens (Crypto, Giardia, malaria, dengue). Closest direct competitor to Cellabs in immunology-based tropical disease diagnostics sold through worldwide distributor networks.
- Standard Diagnostics (SD Bioline, now Abbott): Originated as Korea-based SD (Standard Diagnostics) before acquisition by Alere/Abbott; built its franchise on SD Bioline rapid diagnostic kits for malaria, HIV, hepatitis, and tropical diseases. Direct competitor in malaria and tropical disease RDTs/ELISAs.
- CTK Biotech: San Diego-based diagnostic developer focused on immunochromatographic rapid tests for tropical infectious diseases (malaria, dengue, typhoid, chikungunya). Comparable niche tropical-disease RDT/ELISA portfolio with global distribution similar to Cellabs' model.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Cellabs social profiles
Digital presenceCellabs compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Cellabs financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Cellabs leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Cellabs subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Cellabs funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Cellabs M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Cellabs
What does Cellabs do?
Cellabs designs, develops, and manufactures immunodiagnostic kits for tropical and infectious diseases, supplying Direct Immunofluorescence Assays (DFA), Indirect Immunofluorescence Assays (IFA), Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays (ELISA), and Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDT) for malaria, filariasis, cryptosporidiosis, giardiasis, chlamydia, amoebiasis, trypanosomiasis, toxocariasis, and related conditions. Products are manufactured under ISO13485:2016, CE marked, listed on the TGA Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods, and exported to more than 40 countries through a worldwide distributor network.
Is Cellabs a public or private company?
Cellabs is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Cellabs founded?
Cellabs was founded in 1985. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Cellabs based?
Cellabs is headquartered in Brookvale, Australia, in the Oceania region.
How does Cellabs make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Diagnostic Kit Sales are the primary driver. The others are contract Research Services.
Who are Cellabs's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Euroimmun (PerkinElmer), Bio-Rad Laboratories and Abbott Diagnostics. Emerging players are Arista Biologicals and Mologic (Global Access Diagnostics). Direct peers are Omega Diagnostics, InBios International, Coris BioConcept, Standard Diagnostics (SD Bioline, now Abbott) and CTK Biotech.
Does Cellabs have an API?
No public API is recorded for Cellabs.
What industry is Cellabs in?
Cellabs's product category is In Vitro Diagnostics. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAAALAB, Immunoassay Diagnostics (ELISA, chemiluminescence, serology), with a secondary code of HLAGAIAI, Reagents, Chemicals & Assay Kits (Buffers, Antibodies, ELISA, Enzymes). Its NAICS code is 325413 and its SIC code is 2835.