KanPro Research
KanPro Research is a Lawrence, Kansas-based contract research organization specializing in recombinant protein expression and purification across bacterial, yeast, insect, mammalian, and cell-free systems. Founded in 2014 as a University of Kansas spin-off, it serves academic and pharmaceutical clients needing challenging protein production.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersLawrence, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What KanPro Research does
KanPro Research, Inc. is a contract research organization (CRO) headquartered at the Bioscience & Technology Business Center on the University of Kansas campus in Lawrence, Kansas. Founded in July 2014 by Dr. Philip Gao as the 25th startup spun out of the University of Kansas, the company commercializes the protein production capabilities developed through the KU Enzyme Lab, the KU Biochemical Research Services Lab, and the KU COBRE Protein Production Group. Its core offering is recombinant protein expression and purification across five host systems (E. coli, yeast, baculovirus/insect, mammalian, and cell-free), with explicit positioning around difficult-to-express proteins — including membrane proteins and constructs that have failed at other vendors — supported by proprietary cell-free expression and protein refolding methods and a reported 95% project success rate inherited from the predecessor academic core.
The business operates on a professional services model with an outcome-based pricing anchor: standard E. coli protein projects are priced at $3,000 per deliverable (minimum 1 mg/L yield, 85% purity by SDS-PAGE), with the fee waived if the yield target is not met. Adjacent service lines include molecular biology (cloning, mutagenesis, plasmid construction, genomic DNA prep), consultation, and training. A complementary product catalog — DNA ladders, protein markers, precast polyacrylamide gels, custom peptides, E. coli competent cells, recombinant proteases, and E. coli cell-free lysate — is sold through a Wix-based website storefront. Customers are predominantly academic research groups and pharmaceutical/biotechnology companies in the United States, with additional reach into other CROs. Marketing is founder-network-driven, with no disclosed external funding, no patents, and headcount in the 1-10 range, including active hiring for lab personnel as of the most recent reporting.
KanPro Research firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- KanPro Research
- Legal name
- KanPro Research, Inc.
- Website
- https://kanpro-research.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- KanPro Research is a Lawrence, Kansas-based contract research organization specializing in recombinant protein expression and purification across bacterial, yeast, insect, mammalian, and cell-free systems. Founded in 2014 as a University of Kansas spin-off, it serves academic and pharmaceutical clients needing challenging protein production.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
KanPro Research industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Contract Research Organization (CRO) — Recombinant Protein Production Services
- NAICS
- Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171)
- SIC
- Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Preclinical CROs (Discovery/Pharmacology/DMPK) (HLAGAAAB)
Keywords
Where KanPro Research is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Lawrence
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
KanPro Research business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Contract Research Services: Recombinant protein expression and purification services for academic and industrial clients. Pricing for challenging proteins at $3,000 per project with 95% success rate. Revenue projection of $150,000 in first year with 45% gross margin.
- Molecular Biology Services: Cloning, mutagenesis, plasmid construction, genomic DNA preparation, and large-scale plasmid production services.
- Products: Custom peptides, protein and DNA markers, cloning kits, protein production and purification kits, E. coli competent cells, recombinant proteases, and E. coli cell-free lysate.
- Consultation Services: Professional advice and consultation on protein production, from primer design to final protein characterization.
- Training Services: Training in molecular biology and protein production techniques, including access to equipment and custom services.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Outcome Based/ Performance | Pay-as-you-go | E. coli Protein Challenge - Challenging protein expression |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Spring Promotion - DNA Ladders and Protein Markers |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels4 records
KanPro Research product offering
Product offeringCore offering
KanPro Research is a contract research organization (CRO) that performs recombinant protein expression and purification as a fee-for-service offering, spanning bacterial (E. coli), yeast, insect, mammalian, and cell-free systems, with specialization in challenging proteins that fail at other vendors. The company complements these CRO services with a small catalog of biochemical reagent products (DNA ladders, protein markers, precast gels, custom peptides, E. coli competent cells, recombinant proteases, E. coli cell-free lysate) and offers professional consultation and training in molecular biology and protein production techniques.
Product overview
KanPro Research is a contract research organization (CRO) specializing in recombinant protein expression and purification. Their portfolio includes molecular biology services (DNA preparation, cloning, mutagenesis, plasmid construction), protein production services from multiple systems (E. coli, yeast, insect cells, mammalian cells, and cell-free systems), contract and translational research services (protein refolding, stabilization, characterization), and consultation and training services. Their product offerings include biochemical reagents such as DNA Ladders, Protein Markers, and Precast Gels (10-well and 15-well), along with custom peptides, E. coli competent cells, recombinant proteases, and E. coli cell-free lysate. The company is headquartered in Lawrence, KS at the University of Kansas Bioscience & Technology Business Center, operating as the 25th KU startup company founded by Philip Gao, Ph.D.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Protein Production Services Recombinant protein expression and purification from E. coli, yeast, insect cells, mammalian cells, and cell-free systems, with specialization in challenging proteins that fail with other vendors; serves academic and industrial clients in drug discovery, therapeutic protein development, and structural biology.
- Molecular Biology Services Genomic DNA preparation, primer design, PCR optimization, cloning, mutagenesis, plasmid construction, and large-scale plasmid production for academic and industrial researchers.
- Contract Research Services Translational research on protein refolding, stabilization, evolution, characterization, and modification delivered as fee-for-service contract projects to academic and industrial clients.
- Consultation Services Professional advice and consultation on many aspects of protein production, from primer design through final protein characterization, for researchers needing expert guidance.
- Training Services Training in molecular biology and protein production techniques, including access to equipment and custom services for researchers and lab teams.
- E. coli Protein Challenge Promotional protein expression service for challenging E. coli protein projects priced at $3,000 per protein upon delivery; no charge if yield is below 1 mg/L; includes vector construction, expression screening, induction from 1L culture, and purification, with deliverables of a full project report and purified protein of at least 1 mg/L at 85% purity.
- DNA Ladders DNA molecular weight markers for laboratory use in electrophoresis applications.
- Protein Markers Protein molecular weight markers for laboratory use in electrophoresis applications.
- Precast Gels (10-well and 15-well) High-quality polyacrylamide gels designed to separate a wide range of protein sizes by electrophoresis, compatible with most popular tanks including Invitrogen and Bio-Rad equipment.
- Custom Peptide Synthesis Custom synthesis of peptides for research applications.
- E. coli Competent Cells E. coli competent cells for molecular biology and cloning applications.
- Recombinant Proteases Recombinant proteases for protein research applications such as tag removal and sample preparation.
- E. coli Cell-Free Lysate E. coli cell-free lysate reagent for cell-free protein expression systems.
Quantifiable outcome
- 5-day turnaround for bacterial protein production
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use KanPro Research
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
KanPro Research technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
KanPro Research partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Hememics BiotechnologiescoreHememics validated its ESAP graphene-based platform at KanPro Research, demonstrating improved protein validation workflows. KanPro placed a commercial trial order for the platform following successful demonstration of faster, cheaper, and more objective antibody-antigen binding results.
- GeneBioSystemsminorListed as a partner on KanPro Research's Partners & Clients page. Nature of partnership appears to be collaborative in the biotechnology reagents space.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights4 records
KanPro Research competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- ProteoGenix: France-based protein CRO with a strong focus on difficult-to-express proteins, antibody production, and custom recombinant protein services — directly overlapping with KanPro's 'challenging proteins' positioning.
- ATUM (formerly DNA2.0): Specialist protein services and synthetic biology company providing gene-to-protein workflows, including challenging protein expression and codon optimization, competing for the same academic and biotech customers as KanPro.
- Novoprotein: Specialty CRO offering recombinant protein production and cell-free expression services with hard-to-express protein expertise, placing it in the same niche as KanPro.
- GenScript: Large-scale CRO offering recombinant protein expression and purification services across bacterial, yeast, insect, and mammalian systems, including gene synthesis and difficult-to-express protein programs — directly comparable to KanPro's core service.
Broad incumbents
- Abcam (Danaher): Large antibody and reagent provider with custom protein production services and a broad catalog of protein standards — adjacent competitor to KanPro on the protein production CRO side.
- Thermo Fisher Scientific (Protein Production Services): Diversified life-sciences leader whose extensive protein expression reagents and custom services (e.g., GeneArt, Gibco) compete with KanPro across nearly every expression system but as part of a much broader catalog.
- Bio-Rad Laboratories: Major life-science supplier with protein electrophoresis markers, precast gels, and related expression/purification products that overlap with KanPro's reagent catalog and custom protein workflow.
- Agilent Technologies (Custom Protein Services): Analytical instruments and life-science services company offering protein expression and characterization support within a much wider instrumentation and consumables portfolio.
Emerging players
- Cambridge ProteinWorks: Boutique protein production CRO focused on membrane proteins and challenging targets — a newer specialist with similar therapeutic-area and difficult-protein emphasis as KanPro.
- Swift BioSciences: Mid-sized molecular biology and protein services provider with library and reagent offerings that intersect KanPro's molecular biology / cloning services and protein reagent catalog at the SMB/academic customer level.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
KanPro Research social profiles
Digital presenceKanPro Research financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
KanPro Research leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
KanPro Research funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
KanPro Research 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 KanPro Research
What does KanPro Research do?
KanPro Research is a contract research organization (CRO) that performs recombinant protein expression and purification as a fee-for-service offering, spanning bacterial (E. coli), yeast, insect, mammalian, and cell-free systems, with specialization in challenging proteins that fail at other vendors. The company complements these CRO services with a small catalog of biochemical reagent products (DNA ladders, protein markers, precast gels, custom peptides, E. coli competent cells, recombinant proteases, E. coli cell-free lysate) and offers professional consultation and training in molecular biology and protein production techniques.
Is KanPro Research a public or private company?
KanPro Research is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was KanPro Research founded?
KanPro Research was founded in 2014. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is KanPro Research based?
KanPro Research is headquartered in Lawrence, United States, in the North America region.
How does KanPro Research make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Contract Research Services are the primary driver. The others are molecular Biology Services, products, consultation Services and training Services.
Who are KanPro Research's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are ProteoGenix, ATUM (formerly DNA2.0), Novoprotein and GenScript. Broad incumbents are Abcam (Danaher), Thermo Fisher Scientific (Protein Production Services), Bio-Rad Laboratories and Agilent Technologies (Custom Protein Services). Emerging players are Cambridge ProteinWorks and Swift BioSciences.
Does KanPro Research have an API?
No public API is recorded for KanPro Research.
What industry is KanPro Research in?
KanPro Research's product category is Contract Research Organization (CRO) — Recombinant Protein Production Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAGAAAB, Preclinical CROs (Discovery/Pharmacology/DMPK). Its NAICS code is 541714 and its SIC code is 8731.