What Omicron Biochemicals does

Omicron Biochemicals is a privately held U.S. specialty chemicals manufacturer founded in 1982 and headquartered at 115 South Hill Street, South Bend, Indiana. The company produces stable isotope-labeled carbohydrates, nucleosides, and derivatives incorporating 13C, 2H, 15N, and 18O isotopes, serving academic, government, and pharmaceutical researchers who require high-purity, structurally defined labeled compounds for NMR spectroscopy, metabolic tracer studies, enzyme mechanism work, and glycobiology research. Its catalog spans rare monosaccharides (allose, altrose, gulose, idose), common sugars (glucose, mannose, galactose, ribose, xylose), phosphorylated saccharides, alditols, oligosaccharides, and over 100 high-mannose N-glycans produced via a proprietary 'bottom-up' chemical synthesis approach developed in 2014-2015.

The company combines catalog sales with custom synthesis services that support selective, multiple, and uniform isotope labeling patterns, plus cGMP-grade manufacturing for pharmaceutical and diagnostic customers requiring regulatory-grade materials. Pricing is quote-based with quantity discounts, and orders are processed manually via phone, fax, or email with no e-commerce checkout. The 2026 product catalog (downloadable as PDF) lists more than 1,000 isotope-labeled SKUs, and the company markets through its website catalog with A-Z, class, and CAS number indexes. A continuous stream of recent additions includes N-acetyl-neuraminic acid oligosaccharides, fucosyl-lactoses, GDP-fucose, and N-acetyl-hexosamine variants, indicating ongoing catalog expansion into biopharma-relevant glycobiology.

Omicron operates as an independent, founder-led small business (11-50 employees, President Anthony Serianni) with no disclosed institutional investors, no subsidiaries, no acquisitions, and no public listing. Its primary customer segment is research institutions and academia conducting glycobiology, enzyme binding, and enzymatic activity studies, with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies serving as a secondary segment for drug discovery and diagnostic research applications.

Name

Omicron Biochemicals

Legal name

Omicron Biochemicals, Inc.

Website

https://omicronbio.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Omicron Biochemicals is a privately held U.S. specialty chemical manufacturer, founded in 1982 in South Bend, Indiana, producing stable isotope-labeled (13C, 2H, 15N, 18O) carbohydrates, nucleosides, and high-mannose N-glycans for academic, pharmaceutical, and diagnostic research customers worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Stable Isotope Labeled Biochemicals

NAICS

Cyclic Crude, Intermediate, and Gum and Wood Chemical Manufacturing (325194)

SIC

Industrial Organic Chemicals (2860)

akta.pro primary industry

Impurity / Reference Standard Synthesis & Characterization (HLAGAHAG)

Keywords

• Stable isotope labeling
• Labeled carbohydrates
• Isotope labeled nucleosides
• Custom isotope synthesis
• CGMP biochemicals

Headquarters

HQ city

South Bend

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Omicron Biochemicals develops, manufactures, and distributes stable isotope labeled carbohydrates, nucleosides, and derivatives incorporating 13C, 2H, 15N, and 18O isotopes for research applications. The company offers a comprehensive catalog of labeled saccharides (mono-, di-, and oligosaccharides including high-mannose N-glycans), alditols, sugar lactones, phosphorylated saccharides, and related biochemicals, and provides custom synthesis and cGMP synthesis services for tailored research and pharmaceutical applications.

Product overview

Omicron Biochemicals is a U.S.-owned and U.S.-operated small business specializing in specialty stable isotopes since 1982. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of stable isotope labeled biochemicals focused on carbohydrates, nucleosides, and derivatives. Their core products include saccharides and oligosaccharides labeled with 13C, 2H, 15N, and 18O isotopes, ranging from monosaccharides (ribose, xylose, glucose, galactose, mannose, and rarer sugars like allose, altrose, talose, idose, gulose) to complex oligosaccharides including high mannose N-glycans, phosphorylated saccharides, and mannose oligosaccharides from disaccharides through nonasaccharides. The product line also encompasses alditols (sugar alcohols), amino sugars, nucleoside products, and specialty products like phenyl glycosides. The company provides custom synthesis services for tailored isotope labeling patterns and cGMP synthesis for regulatory applications. Products are cataloged alphabetically, by class, and by CAS number, with a downloadable 2026 catalog available.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Stable Isotope Labeled Saccharides/Carbohydrates Carbohydrates (monosaccharides and disaccharides) labeled with stable isotopes including 13C, 2H, 15N, and 18O, with single, multiple, and uniform labeling patterns. Used by researchers in glycobiology, biochemistry, NMR, and metabolic studies.
• High Mannose N-Glycans Oligosaccharides derived from Man9GlcNAc2Glc3 parent compound, ranging from mannobioses to mannose nonasaccharides with one or two N-acetyl-glucosamine residues, available with stable isotope labeling. For glycobiology, glycan-binding protein studies, and related research.
• Oligosaccharides Comprehensive range of labeled oligosaccharides including N-acetylglucosamine oligomers, mannose oligosaccharides (4-mer through 9-mer), lacto-N-fucopentaoses, malto oligosaccharides, isomalto oligosaccharides, Gal-GlcNAc containing structures, glucose tetrasaccharides, and fucosyl-lactoses. For glycobiology and biochemical research.
• Phosphorylated Saccharides Sugar phosphates including fructose 1,6-bisphosphate, glucose 6-phosphate, mannose 6-phosphate, mannose disaccharide phosphates (Man4P-Man, Man6P-Man), and various phosphorylated mannose oligosaccharides, with isotope labeling options. For metabolic and enzyme research.
• Alditols (Sugar Alcohols) Sugar alcohols including mannitol, glucitol/sorbitol, galactitol/dulcitol, arabinitol, ribitol, xylitol, erythritol, and inositols, with isotope labeling options. For biochemical and metabolic research.
• Sugar Lactones Sugar lactones including D-ribono-1,4-lactone, L-ribono-1,4-lactone, and D-xylono-1,4-lactone (xylonic acid gamma-lactone), with isotope labeling options. For biochemical research.
• Oxygen-18 Labeled Products Various 18O labeled products including acetaldehyde, arabinose, fructose, galactose, glucitol, glucose, mannose, ribose, and xylose for mechanistic and tracer studies.
• Carbon-13 Depleted Saccharides 13C-depleted products including fructose, galactose, glucose, mannose, and xylose for specific experimental designs requiring low 13C background.
• Phenyl Glycoside Enzyme Substrates Phenyl glycoside substrates including 4-nitrophenyl alpha-D-mannopyranoside and 2-nitrophenyl beta-D-galactopyranoside (ONPG) for enzyme assays, with 13C labeling options. For enzyme activity studies.
• Custom Synthesis Services Custom synthesis of stable isotopically labeled carbohydrates with selective, multiple, and uniform labeling patterns to meet specific research requirements. For researchers with specialized compound needs.
• cGMP Synthesis Services Current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) synthesis services for stable isotope labeled products requiring regulatory compliance. For pharmaceutical and diagnostic applications.
• Quality Assurance and Analytical Data Product guarantee, analytical data documentation, and quality verification for all stable isotope labeled products to support customer research integrity.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Toronto Research Chemicals: Manufacturer of reference standards, impurities, and stable-isotope-labeled compounds serving pharmaceutical and analytical labs. Comparable in custom synthesis of labeled specialty organics and reference-grade chemistry.
• Carbosynth (Biosynth): Specialty manufacturer of carbohydrates, nucleosides, and rare sugars for life-science research. Highly comparable niche competitor offering custom synthesis, complex glycans, and labeled derivatives that overlap with Omicron's core catalog.
• Dextra Laboratories: UK-based specialist in carbohydrate synthesis including oligosaccharides, glycoconjugates, and isotope-labeled sugars for research. Closely comparable niche positioning focused on complex sugars and custom synthesis services.
• Cambridge Isotope Laboratories: The dominant global supplier of stable isotope-labeled compounds (13C, 2H, 15N, 17O, 18O) including labeled carbohydrates, amino acids, and biochemicals. Most directly comparable peer given overlapping product breadth, custom synthesis capabilities, and cGMP supply.
• IsoSciences: Specialty producer of stable isotope-labeled compounds for life science, metabolism, and NMR research. Direct competitive overlap on labeled small molecules including sugars and biochemicals.

Broad incumbents

• Bachem: Large-scale peptide and oligonucleotide CDMO with growing presence in custom synthesis of complex biochemicals for pharma. Adjacent competition for cGMP custom synthesis contracts even though its core focus is peptides rather than carbohydrates.
• Santa Cruz Biotechnology: Broad-line research reagent supplier offering biochemicals, antibodies, and labeled compounds. Comparable insofar as it competes on catalog research chemicals, but it is not a carbohydrate specialist.
• Sigma-Aldrich (MilliporeSigma): Largest catalog distributor of research chemicals and stable-isotope-labeled compounds through the Sigma-Aldrich and Aldrich brands. Competes with Omicron on labeled carbohydrates and nucleosides but as part of an enormous broad-line catalog rather than a specialty focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Omicron Biochemicals