What Testa Center does

Testa Center is a non-profit, non-GMP pilot-scale bioprocessing testbed located in Uppsala, Sweden, inaugurated in August 2018 as a public-private initiative between the Swedish government and Cytiva (which wholly owns the entity). The facility provides industry, academia, and startups with access to industrial-scale bioprocessing equipment up to 500 liters at biosafety level 2, supporting upstream processing (stirred-tank and rocking-motion bioreactors), midstream techniques (normal flow filtration, tangential flow filtration, centrifugation), and downstream protein purification. It also runs a dedicated Technology and Digital Innovation Services line for validating sensors, automation, and digital tools in a real bioproduction environment.

The company monetizes primarily through usage-based facility access fees (100,000 SEK per week for academic projects), training and education services, and the annual Testa Challenge program, which is a fully funded three-week open-innovation program co-financed by Region Uppsala and the EU Regional Development Fund via Tillv\u00e4xtverket. A separate Testa Center Access Grant covers the access fee for eligible academic projects. Customers are SMEs, biotech and pharmaceutical companies, academic institutions, and technology/digital startups; named users include Ilya Pharma, BioLamina, Lokon Pharma, Toleranzia, Analysis Mode, Nyctea Technologies, CEIDOS, IRUBIS, and Nanolyze, alongside Uppsala University students.

Operationally, Testa Center runs with a small core team of approximately nine specialists covering upstream, downstream, IT/digital, customer relations, and facility management, and benefits from close partnerships with Cytiva (equipment and strategic direction), Uppsala University (research and education), STUNS Life Science (ecosystem coordination), and a roster of technology and financial partners including Aldevron, Pall Biotech, RISE, Gyros Protein Technologies, Knightec, Xertified, Vinnova, and Swelife. Its go-to-market is consultative and project-based: prospective customers apply or are invited, undergo feasibility evaluation, then access the facility.

Name

Testa Center

Legal name

Testa Center

Website

https://testacenter.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Testa Center is a non-profit, non-GMP pilot-scale bioprocessing testbed in Uppsala, Sweden, wholly owned by Cytiva. It serves biotech SMEs, pharma, academic institutions, and tech startups by providing up-to-500L bioreactor access, process scale-up support, and digital innovation validation services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Uppsala

HQ country

Sweden

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Facility access fees: Testa Center charges an access fee of 100,000 SEK per week for academic projects to use the bioprocessing facility. Commercial projects are also charged for access. The grant program (Testa Center Access Grant) can cover the access fee for eligible academic projects.
2. Training and education services: Testa Center provides hands-on training programs, webinars, and educational activities for students and professionals in biological production, including master student projects, remote training, and specialized workshops.
3. Testa Challenge program: A fully funded three-week open innovation challenge for tech/digital/data innovators, funded by Region Uppsala and the European regional development fund (ERDF) via Tillväxtverket. Aldevron supplies production-grade plasmid DNA to participants.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Testa Center operates a non-GMP, biosafety-level-2 pilot-scale bioprocessing testbed in Uppsala, Sweden, where companies, academic institutions, and startups run upstream, midstream, and downstream biological production projects using Cytiva-supplied industrial equipment up to 500L. The facility also provides hands-on training, technological and digital innovation verification, and runs the Testa Challenge open-innovation program and the Testa Center Access Grant for academic projects.

Product overview

Testa Center is an open-access bioprocessing testbed facility in Uppsala, Sweden, operated as a public-private initiative between the Swedish government and Cytiva. The facility offers three integrated service lines: Biological Production Services (for scaling up and industrializing bioprocesses including upstream, midstream, and downstream processing), Technological and Digital Innovation Services (for verifying tech/digital innovations in real production environments), and Training & Education (for hands-on skill development). The flagship Testa Challenge program enables technology companies to validate innovations in a funded three-week biomanufacturing 'hackathon' environment. Additional offerings include the Access Grant program for academic institutions and comprehensive equipment access spanning bioreactors, purification systems, analytic instruments, and cell/gene therapy tools up to 500L scale (non-GMP, up to Biosafety Level 2).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Testa Challenge: A fully funded three-week program where tech, digital, or data innovators can test their technologies in an industry-standard bioprocess at Testa Center.

Products and services

• Biological Production Services Industrial-scale bioprocessing services enabling companies and academia to scale up biological production, secure scalability, manufacturability, and robustness while retaining intellectual property. Services include upstream processing (cell culture in stirred-tank and rocking-motion bioreactors), midstream techniques (NFF, TFF, centrifugation), and downstream processing (protein purification).
• Technological and Digital Innovation Services Support for digital transformation in bioprocessing, including verification of technological and digital products and services in a real-world production environment. Enables validation of sensors, automation solutions, digital twins, process modeling, and control systems for biopharma and life-science buyers.
• Training & Education Hands-on practical training programs for academia and industry professionals, providing experience with industrial-scale bioprocessing equipment. Includes student lab exercises, process control training, and remote training capabilities.
• Testa Challenge An open-innovation challenge program enabling tech, digital, and data companies to test and verify their technologies in a fully funded, industry-standard bioproduction workflow. Participants work side-by-side with Testa Center experts for three weeks to gain hands-on proof of concept, with Aldevron supplying production-grade plasmid DNA.
• Testa Center Access Grant A grant program for academic institutions providing up to 5 weeks of fully funded access to Testa Center (100,000 SEK/week access fee covered). Supports projects including developing or scaling production processes, testing technical innovations, and educational activities.

Quantifiable outcome

• 15 projects from Scandinavia completed in first year of operation
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CytivacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTesta Center is a public-private initiative between the Swedish government and Cytiva. Cytiva provides equipment, expertise, and operational support. Testa Center is a non-profit company owned by Cytiva. The partnership aims to secure the growth of the life science industry and its manufacturing capabilities.
• Swedish government (Regeringskansliet)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Swedish government is a co-founding partner in the Testa Center initiative, supporting the development of national infrastructure for biological production and life science industry growth.
• Uppsala UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term collaboration agreement with Uppsala University gives researchers and students access to Testa Center equipment and expertise. The university and Cytiva partnership facilitates academic education and joint research projects in bioprocessing.
• STUNS Life SciencecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSTUNS (Stiftelsen för samverkan mellan universitet, näringsliv och samhälle) Life Science collaborates with Testa Center on organizing Testa Challenge, ecosystem development, and coordinating the Access Grant evaluation board.
• AdBIOPRO (KTH, Lund University, Cytiva)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdBIOPRO is a Swedish competence centre for advanced bioproduction. KTH, Lund University, and Cytiva conducted continuous upstream and downstream bioprocessing research at Testa Center, demonstrating perfusion processes and automated purification at production scale.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/testacenter
• Xx.com/testacenter
• Facebookfacebook.com/testacenter

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

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 Testa Center