LyoWave
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2023
- HeadquartersWest Lafayette, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What LyoWave does
LyoWave Inc. is a West Lafayette, Indiana-based spin-off from Purdue University, founded in 2023 to commercialize high-frequency microwave/RF heating technology for pharmaceutical freeze-drying (lyophilization) and thawing. The company operates a tunable RF platform that operates at 12-18 GHz — compared with the 2.45 GHz used in conventional microwave systems — specifically targeting the dielectric properties of water ice to deliver more uniform and faster heating. Its proprietary electromagnetic mixing via metasurface scattering reportedly achieves more than 5x greater electric field uniformity than traditional systems, and closed-loop optical and infrared temperature sensing enable precise product temperature control during drying and thawing. Core technology is exclusively licensed from Purdue Innovates Office of Technology Commercialization, originating from research that began in 2016 by founders Alina Alexeenko and Dimitrios Peroulis.
LyoWave sells three branded products: TurboDry™ (the core freeze-drying heating platform), TurboThaw™ (controlled-rate microwave thawing for bulk frozen API), and LyoVision™ (a real-time infrared thermal imaging system). All three are modular and retrofittable onto existing laboratory, pilot, and production-scale freeze-dryers, including Millrock Technology's REVO platform under a 2024 channel and integration agreement. The company also offers testing services (RF-assisted lyophilization, RF-assisted thawing, and dielectric property characterization) with fees credited toward subsequent hardware purchases, functioning as a customer acquisition funnel. Customers are pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical manufacturers processing injectables, vaccines, biologics, mAbs, cell therapies, and diagnostic reagents, with co-development relationships with Merck and IMA Life extending reach into commercial sterile fill-finish and vaccine supply chains.
The business model combines direct enterprise hardware sales with a Millrock Technology OEM/reseller channel and grant-funded R&D (NSF SBIR Phase I of $304,436 plus $50,000 Indiana EDC matching, a $25,000 Trask Innovation Fund award, and a nearly $1 million NIIMBL/Gates Foundation award to Purdue researchers advancing the underlying lyophilization science). The company is privately held and pre-commercial, having received an undisclosed seed round from Handshake Ventures and operating with 1-10 employees.
LyoWave firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- LyoWave
- Legal name
- LyoWave Inc.
- Website
- https://lyowave.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2023
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
LyoWave industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Pharmaceutical Freeze-Drying Equipment
- NAICS
- Heating Equipment (except Warm Air Furnaces) Manufacturing (333414), Ventilation, Heating, Air-Conditioning, and Commercial Refrigeration Equipment Manufacturing (3334)
- SIC
- Air-Cond & Warm Air Heatg Equip & Comm & Indl Refrig Equip (3585), Services-Testing Laboratories (8734)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Aseptic Processing, Fill-Finish & Sterile Manufacturing Tech (isolators, lyophilization interfaces) (HLAAAJAG)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- General Lab Equipment (Centrifuges, Incubators, Shakers, Ovens) (HLAGAIAC), Analytical Development & QC Testing (Release/Stability/Potency) (HLAGAGAF)
Keywords
Where LyoWave is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- West Lafayette
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
LyoWave business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Hardware Product Sales: Sale of proprietary microwave heating hardware platforms including TurboDry (freeze-drying), TurboThaw (thawing), and LyoVision (thermal imaging) systems. Products are sold as capital equipment to pharmaceutical manufacturers with pricing quoted based on configuration and scale.
- Testing Services: LyoWave offers testing services where customers ship frozen API or bulk drug substance to their facility. The company runs the freeze-drying or thawing process and returns full cycle data alongside the processed material. Testing fees are credited toward subsequent product purchases.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Testing Services |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels3 records
LyoWave product offering
Product offeringCore offering
LyoWave designs, develops, and sells capital equipment and testing services that use patented high-frequency microwave/RF heating (operating at 12–18 GHz) to accelerate pharmaceutical freeze-drying (lyophilization) and bulk-API thawing. Its flagship hardware platforms — TurboDry™ for lyophilization, TurboThaw™ for controlled thawing, and LyoVision™ for real-time IR thermal imaging — are sold to pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical manufacturers and are retrofittable onto existing freeze-drying systems. The company also offers fee-for-service RF-assisted lyophilization, thawing, and dielectric property characterization testing that converts into product sales.
Product overview
LyoWave offers a three-product technology suite for pharmaceutical freeze-drying and thawing: TurboDry™ is the core tunable high-frequency microwave/RF heating platform for accelerating lyophilization and enabling novel dosage forms; TurboThaw™ is a controlled-rate microwave thawing system for bulk frozen API that reduces thawing time by up to 4x; and LyoVision™ is a real-time infrared thermal imaging system providing non-invasive, spatially-resolved temperature monitoring with native closed-loop integration into both TurboDry™ and TurboThaw™. The products share a common high-frequency microwave technology foundation (operating above 8 GHz), a unified closed-loop optical temperature sensing architecture, and are collectively branded as LyoWave's 'Thermal Processing Technology Suite.' All three products are retrofittable to existing freeze-drying systems, including Millrock Technology's REVO platform. LyoWave also offers fee-for-service testing — dielectric property characterization, RF-assisted lyophilization assessment, and RF-assisted thawing assessment — with testing fees credited toward product purchases.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- TurboDry™: Tunable high-frequency microwave heating platform for pharmaceutical freeze-drying. Accelerates manufacturing process for frozen and lyophilized pharmaceutical systems using solid-state RF amplifier technology.
- TurboThaw™
- LyoVision™
Products and services
- TurboDry™ Tunable high-frequency microwave/RF heating platform for pharmaceutical freeze-drying. Operates above 8 GHz to target water ice, uses proprietary electromagnetic mixing and metasurface scattering for >5x greater electric field uniformity than 2.45 GHz systems, and is retrofittable onto new and existing laboratory and pilot-scale freeze-drying systems in minutes. Achieves >1.5–2x speedup for conventional vials and >5x speedup for bulk materials and lyobeads. Sold to pharmaceutical manufacturers as capital equipment.
- TurboThaw™ Controlled-rate microwave thawing platform for bulk frozen API and biologics. Reduces thawing time by up to 4x versus conventional ambient methods while preserving critical quality attributes for biologics, mAbs, and cell therapies. Operates at ~13–15 GHz with 30W or 60W power modules, is compatible with primary packaging from 30mL to 4L, and features closed-loop optical temperature sensing with native LyoVision IR imaging compatibility.
- LyoVision™ Real-time infrared thermal imaging system for freeze-drying and thawing. Provides non-invasive, spatially-resolved product temperature measurements using a 320x256 pixel IR sensor with 30mK thermal sensitivity and ±2°C accuracy down to -40°C. Available in 34°, 52°, and 90° fields of view. Natively integrates with TurboDry and TurboThaw for closed-loop IR-guided product temperature control, is CIP/SIP compatible, and mounts to any 3" sanitary port via a single 48V PoE Ethernet cable.
- RF-Assisted Lyophilization Testing Service Fee-for-service testing in which LyoWave processes customer-supplied frozen API or bulk drug substance using its RF heating platform and returns complete cycle data alongside the processed material. Includes freeze-drying speedup assessment and dielectric property characterization. Testing fee is credited toward subsequent purchase of TurboDry, TurboThaw, or LyoVision products.
- RF-Assisted Thawing Testing Service Fee-for-service testing in which LyoWave processes customer-supplied frozen or liquid bulk API and biologics using its RF-assisted thawing platform and returns complete cycle data alongside the processed material. Includes thawing speedup assessment and temperature uniformity characterization. Testing fee is credited toward subsequent purchase of TurboDry, TurboThaw, or LyoVision products.
- Dielectric Property Characterization Service Material-level RF property testing for frozen and liquid pharmaceutical formulations, including S-parameters and complex permittivity assessment at -25°C and 50°C with loss factor sensitivity of 0.1–30. Testing fee is credited toward subsequent purchase of TurboDry, TurboThaw, or LyoVision products.
Quantifiable outcome
- 2-5x faster freeze-drying process compared to conventional methods
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use LyoWave
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
LyoWave technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
Feature5 records
LyoWave partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.
- Millrock TechnologycoreLyoWave entered into a collaboration agreement with Millrock Technology, an industry leader in innovative freeze dryers for biotech, pharmaceutical and industrial applications. Millrock will offer LyoWave's system for its already installed and new freeze dryers, starting with their popular REVO model. The LyoWave system implements microwave heating for current freeze dryers, allowing users to increase throughput with minimal changes to existing installations. LyoWave has partnered with Millrock to bring a limited number of microwave sources to REVO freeze-drying systems for development purposes.
- Purdue University / Purdue Innovates Office of Technology CommercializationcoreLyoWave was founded by researchers at Purdue University's College of Engineering. The company licenses patented and patent-pending technologies through the Purdue Innovates Office of Technology Commercialization. LyoWave's founders have been jointly leading the team of Purdue researchers who developed the innovations since 2016.
- LyoHUBcoreLyoHUB is a university-industry center at Purdue University co-founded by Alina Alexeenko in 2014, focused on advancing the science and technology of lyophilization. LyoWave works with LyoHUB for early testing by industry on real products. The center has grown to include 32 member companies and developed the first recognized consensus standard in lyophilization instrumentation issued by ASTM in 2021.
- MerckmajorMerck partnered with Purdue on the microwave lyophilization project, providing vaccine samples and leading development of benchmarks to compare conventional and microwave lyophilization processes.
- IMA Life North America Inc.majorIMA Life partnered with Purdue on the microwave project, leading integration of the new technology with the entire manufacturing process for sterile pharmaceuticals and vaccines. IMA Life CEO noted the technology promises to provide uniformity and accelerate the freeze-drying process.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights5 records
LyoWave competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Labconco Corporation: U.S. manufacturer of laboratory freeze dryers (FreeZone line) widely used in pharma R&D and academic labs. Competitor for the laboratory-scale lyophilization equipment segment that LyoWave addresses with its TurboDry modular retrofit.
- Martin Christ Gefriertrocknungsanlagen GmbH: German specialist manufacturer of laboratory, pilot, and production-scale freeze dryers (Alpha, Epsilon, and Pilot lines). Directly comparable as a lyophilization equipment peer across the lab-to-production scale LyoWave targets.
- BÜCHI Labortechnik AG: Swiss lab and pilot-scale freeze dryer manufacturer with the Lyovapor and Lyovision systems. Comparable to LyoWave in lab/pilot lyophilization equipment and serves overlapping pharmaceutical R&D customers.
- Telstar (Azbil Corporation): Pharmaceutical freeze-drying, sterilisation, and aseptic processing equipment brand within Azbil Corporation. Provides integrated lyophilization solutions to pharma manufacturers and is a comparable vendor at the production scale LyoWave is targeting.
- SP Scientific (SP Industries, ATS Corporation): Long-established lyophilization equipment manufacturer (VirTis, Hull, FTS, and PennTech product lines) serving pharma and biotech. Directly competes for the same capital budget in pharmaceutical freeze-drying equipment and serves the same regulated end-market as LyoWave.
- IMA Life (IMA S.p.A.): Italian manufacturer of sterile pharmaceutical processing and packaging equipment including freeze-drying solutions. IMA Life is an active development partner with Purdue/LyoWave on integrating the microwave technology into sterile fill-finish lines, and a direct competitor for lyophilization capex.
- Millrock Technology, Inc. Industry-leading freeze dryer manufacturer with a popular REVO platform. LyoWave partners with Millrock to integrate its microwave heating sources into Millrock's installed base and new units; both serve pharmaceutical lyophilization customers with complementary hardware positions.
Broad incumbents
- GEA Group AG: Large German engineering group with a substantial pharmaceutical processing portfolio including lyophilization, aseptic, and separation equipment. A broad incumbent that includes LyoWave's competitive set among a much larger capital-equipment offering.
- Hosokawa Micron Group: Japanese-led process equipment group with powder/particle and drying technologies relevant to bulk pharmaceutical processing. A broader incumbent that overlaps with LyoWave at the bulk material and powder freeze-drying applications (e.g., spray-frozen lyobeads).
- Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. Diversified life-sciences and pharma services giant with scientific equipment and CDMO capabilities touching the lyophilization workflow (Patheon CDMO services, lab equipment). A broad incumbent with overlapping customer relationships but a much wider portfolio than LyoWave's.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
LyoWave social profiles
Digital presenceLyoWave financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
LyoWave leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
LyoWave funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
LyoWave 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 LyoWave
What does LyoWave do?
LyoWave designs, develops, and sells capital equipment and testing services that use patented high-frequency microwave/RF heating (operating at 12–18 GHz) to accelerate pharmaceutical freeze-drying (lyophilization) and bulk-API thawing. Its flagship hardware platforms — TurboDry™ for lyophilization, TurboThaw™ for controlled thawing, and LyoVision™ for real-time IR thermal imaging — are sold to pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical manufacturers and are retrofittable onto existing freeze-drying systems. The company also offers fee-for-service RF-assisted lyophilization, thawing, and dielectric property characterization testing that converts into product sales.
Is LyoWave a public or private company?
LyoWave is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was LyoWave founded?
LyoWave was founded in 2023. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is LyoWave based?
LyoWave is headquartered in West Lafayette, United States, in the North America region.
How does LyoWave make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Hardware Product Sales are the primary driver. The others are testing Services.
Who are LyoWave's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Labconco Corporation, Martin Christ Gefriertrocknungsanlagen GmbH, BÜCHI Labortechnik AG, Telstar (Azbil Corporation), SP Scientific (SP Industries, ATS Corporation), IMA Life (IMA S.p.A.) and Millrock Technology, Inc.. Broad incumbents are GEA Group AG, Hosokawa Micron Group and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc..
Does LyoWave have an API?
No public API is recorded for LyoWave.
What industry is LyoWave in?
LyoWave's product category is Pharmaceutical Freeze-Drying Equipment. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAAAJAG, Aseptic Processing, Fill-Finish & Sterile Manufacturing Tech (isolators, lyophilization interfaces), with a secondary code of HLAGAIAC, General Lab Equipment (Centrifuges, Incubators, Shakers, Ovens). Its NAICS code is 333414 and its SIC code is 3585.