OncoLead
OncoLead is a German CRO providing standardized in vitro cell panel screening for anticancer drug discovery, profiling compounds across 80+ cancer cell lines (17 indications) in 4 weeks for biotech, pharma, and academic clients at fixed per-tier pricing.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersKarlsfeld, Germany
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What OncoLead does
OncoLead GmbH & Co. KG is a privately held German contract research organization headquartered in Karlsfeld, Bavaria, that provides in vitro cell panel screening services to support anticancer drug discovery. The company's core platform, branded "Oncolead Agile Screening," profiles customer compounds across 80+ human cancer cell lines spanning 17 therapeutic indications using a modified NCI-60 protocol (72-hour treatment vs the standard 48 hours) with Sulforhodamin B (SRB) protein staining as the readout. STR-based cell line authentication and automated liquid handling are used to ensure reproducibility, and panels can be expanded to 200-300 cell lines for specialized indication-specific engagements.
The business is structured around standardized screening tiers priced at €950 (10 cell lines), €1,950 (20), €3,950 (50), and €4,950 (full 82-cell-line standard panel), delivered with a 4-week turnaround. Specialized offerings — quarterly large panels (lung, breast), combination in vitro studies, drug schedule/tolerance studies, and reference compound quality checks — are quote-based. Distribution combines a self-serve website ordering flow (with PayPal) for standardized tiers and direct phone/email contact for custom work, serving small biotech/pharma companies, academic research groups, and (historically) large international pharmaceutical clients. The company is managed by Dr. Igor Ivanov (Geschäftsführer), operates without disclosed external funding, and reports cumulative throughput of 75+ projects and 10,000+ compounds tested across its history.
OncoLead firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- OncoLead
- Legal name
- OncoLead GmbH & Co. KG
- Website
- https://oncolead.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- OncoLead is a German CRO providing standardized in vitro cell panel screening for anticancer drug discovery, profiling compounds across 80+ cancer cell lines (17 indications) in 4 weeks for biotech, pharma, and academic clients at fixed per-tier pricing.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
OncoLead industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Preclinical Contract Research Services
- NAICS
- Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)
- SIC
- Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Medical Oncology (HLAKAFAB)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Cell Therapy Enabling Technologies (gene editing, cell engineering, delivery methods) (HLAAABAL)
Keywords
Where OncoLead is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Karlsfeld
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Markets served
OncoLead business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Cell line screening service fees: One-time, project-based fees charged per screening campaign, priced by panel size (€950 for 10 cell lines up to €4,950 for 82 cell lines; quote-based for 200+ cell line panels). Includes 4-week delivery turnaround as standard.
- Specialized/add-on CRO services: Custom CRO services beyond standard panels, including combination in vitro studies, drug schedule/tolerance testing, and specialized cell line panels (e.g., lung and breast quarterly panels); pricing on request.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | 10 cell line screening tier |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | 20 cell line screening tier |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | 50 cell line screening tier |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | 82 cell line screening tier |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | 200+ cell line specialized panel |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels3 records
OncoLead product offering
Product offeringCore offering
OncoLead provides in vitro cancer cell-line proliferation and cytotoxicity screening services for translational oncology research, profiling customer compounds across standardized panels of 10, 20, 50, or 82 human cancer cell lines (with specialized panels up to 200–300 lines) on a fixed-price, 4-week-turnaround basis. The service is built on a modified NCI-60 protocol with Sulforhodamin B readout and STR-authenticated cell lines, and is delivered as decision-ready dose-response data with IC50/GI50/TGI calculations and similarity-to-reference analyses for biotech, pharma, and academic customers.
Product overview
OncoLead (Oncolead GmbH & Co. KG) offers a single unified in vitro cell-panel screening service — branded as "Oncolead Agile Screening" — built on a tiered architecture of standard panels (10, 20, 50, and the full 82 cell-line standard panel) plus specialized add-on studies including Combination In Vitro Studies, Drug Schedule and Tolerance Development Studies, and quarterly Large Panel Screening (up to 300 cell lines). The core product spans the 80+ cell-line proliferation/cytotoxicity screen with resting PBMC control, while all named tiers and add-on modules feed into the same end-to-end workflow (Contact → Design → Screen → Deliver), producing dose-response curves, calculated activity parameters (IC50, GI50, TGI, etc.), raw data, and similarity-to-reference-agent analyses within 4 weeks.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Oncolead Agile Screening: Oncolead's flagship cell panel screening service profiling compounds over 80+ human cell lines in 4 weeks.
Products and services
- Oncolead Agile Screening Flagship in vitro proliferation/cytotoxicity cell panel screening service profiling customer compounds over 80+ human cancer cell lines (plus resting PBMC) with results delivered in 4 weeks. Output includes dose-response curves, IC50/GI50/TGI parameters, raw data, and similarity-to-reference analyses.
- Large / Quarterly Panel Screening (up to 300 cell lines) Specialized quarterly screening campaigns of up to 200–300 cancer cell lines for specific indications such as lung or breast, available through direct contact with OncoLead for custom scoping and pricing.
- Combination In Vitro Studies Tests a customer's agent of interest against five other agents across the full 80+ cell-line panel, with comprehensive data analysis of combination effects to support combination screening decisions.
- Drug Schedule and Tolerance Development Study 3–4 week compound treatment with medium exchange across the full 80+ cell-line panel to evaluate long-term effects, drug schedules, and the development of tolerance.
- Reference Compound Quality Check Analytics-driven service that uses OncoLead's reference compound database and similarity tools to determine whether a reference drug exhibits the expected activity profile in the screening panel.
Quantifiable outcome
- Standard project turnaround of 4 weeks
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use OncoLead
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
OncoLead technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
Feature5 records
OncoLead partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- National Cancer Institute (NCI) — Developmental Therapeutics Program (DTP)coreOncoLead's screening platform is built on the NCI-60 protocol developed by the Developmental Therapeutics Program (DTP) of the U.S. National Cancer Institute. OncoLead applies a modification of this protocol — extending the compound treatment time from the standard 48 hours to 72 hours — together with the Sulforhodamin B (SRB) protein-staining readout. The relationship is effectively Them-to-Us: NCI/DTP provides the foundational screening methodology and reference procedures, which OncoLead implements and adapts for client projects.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
OncoLead competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Charles River Laboratories: Charles River Laboratories is a global CRO with extensive preclinical oncology services, including cell-based assay and cell line screening offerings. It competes with OncoLead in oncology in vitro screening but serves a much broader customer base and offers a wider service portfolio.
- Evotec: Evotec is a Hamburg-based drug discovery CRO with in vitro biology, cell line generation, and screening capabilities. It overlaps with OncoLead's cancer cell-line screening and is comparable as a German-headquartered CRO serving biotech and pharma discovery programs.
- Eurofins Discovery: Eurofins Discovery is a large CRO offering a broad portfolio of in vitro cell-based assay services, including oncology cell line profiling panels. It is comparable to OncoLead as a competing provider of standardized cell-line screening for cancer drug discovery, though it operates at much greater scale and breadth across many therapeutic areas.
Direct peers
- Reaction Biology: Reaction Biology is a CRO that performs cell-based and biochemical assays for drug discovery, including cancer cell line proliferation and cytotoxicity profiling. It is a direct peer to OncoLead because both sell standardized in vitro oncology screening panels to pharma, biotech, and academic customers.
- Crown Bioscience: Crown Bioscience (a JSR Life Sciences company) provides preclinical oncology services including in vitro cell line screening panels and translational oncology assays. It is a direct peer to OncoLead because both target oncology drug discovery with multi-cell-line in vitro screening services for biotech and pharma customers.
Others
- Molecular Devices: Molecular Devices manufactures plate readers and automated liquid handling systems used in cell-based screening. It is an enabling peer to OncoLead because OncoLead relies on similar automated readers and robotics to run its 80+ cell line screening workflow.
Emerging players
- Horizon Discovery (Revvity): Horizon Discovery, now part of Revvity, provides engineered cancer cell lines and cell-line screening services for drug discovery. It is comparable to OncoLead because both supply authenticated, well-characterized cancer cell lines and panels used in oncology in vitro screening.
- Promega: Promega supplies cell-based assay reagents and cytotoxicity/proliferation kits widely used in cancer cell line screening workflows. It is comparable to OncoLead as a participant in the cancer cell-line screening value chain, though it sells enabling tools rather than running CRO screening campaigns.
- CytoSMART (part of Axion BioSystems): CytoSMART develops live-cell imaging and cell-based analysis tools used in screening workflows. It is an adjacent peer to OncoLead because it serves the same biotech and academic customers performing cell-based oncology experiments, though it sells instruments and consumables rather than screening services.
Regional players
- Bionova Scientific: Bionova Scientific is a US-based preclinical CRO offering cell-based and molecular biology services to biotech clients. It is a regional peer to OncoLead because both serve small-to-mid biotech customers needing outsourced in vitro cell-based assays, but Bionova is focused on the US market.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
OncoLead compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
OncoLead financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
OncoLead leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
OncoLead subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
OncoLead funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
OncoLead 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 OncoLead
What does OncoLead do?
OncoLead provides in vitro cancer cell-line proliferation and cytotoxicity screening services for translational oncology research, profiling customer compounds across standardized panels of 10, 20, 50, or 82 human cancer cell lines (with specialized panels up to 200–300 lines) on a fixed-price, 4-week-turnaround basis. The service is built on a modified NCI-60 protocol with Sulforhodamin B readout and STR-authenticated cell lines, and is delivered as decision-ready dose-response data with IC50/GI50/TGI calculations and similarity-to-reference analyses for biotech, pharma, and academic customers.
Is OncoLead a public or private company?
OncoLead is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was OncoLead founded?
OncoLead was founded in 2013. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is OncoLead based?
OncoLead is headquartered in Karlsfeld, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does OncoLead make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Cell line screening service fees are the primary driver. The others are specialized/add-on CRO services.
Who are OncoLead's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Charles River Laboratories, Evotec and Eurofins Discovery. Direct peers are Reaction Biology and Crown Bioscience. Molecular Devices is listed as an others. Emerging players are Horizon Discovery (Revvity), Promega and CytoSMART (part of Axion BioSystems). Bionova Scientific is listed as a regional player.
Does OncoLead have an API?
No public API is recorded for OncoLead.
What industry is OncoLead in?
OncoLead's product category is Preclinical Contract Research Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAKAFAB, Medical Oncology, with a secondary code of HLAAABAL, Cell Therapy Enabling Technologies (gene editing, cell engineering, delivery methods). Its NAICS code is 5417 and its SIC code is 8731.