Wisconsin BioProducts

What Wisconsin BioProducts does

Wisconsin BioProducts (WBP) is a privately held Contract Manufacturing Organization (CMO) founded in 2000 and headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that provides fully customized microbial fermentation and liquid processing services to companies developing bio-based products. Its customer base spans life sciences and biotechnology firms, cosmetics ingredient producers, agriculture input companies (bio-herbicides, bio-pesticides), and bio-fuel developers, served through a horizontal, project-based sales motion without disclosed pricing.

WBP operates approximately 60,000+ square feet of GMP-compliant production space with a total installed fermentation vessel capacity of around 165,000 liters (working volume ~125,000 liters), anchored by twin 38,000-liter production fermenters. The technical platform supports aerobic and anaerobic fermentation across multiple hosts — E. coli, yeast, microalgae, fungal strains, and other select microbes — under batch, fed-batch, and continuous (draw-and-fill) operating modes, with controls for dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature, and antifoam strategies. Production scales range from 10-20L bench-scale through 250-1,500L pilot to approximately 32,000L full-scale, with the ability to ferment up to four organisms simultaneously.

Downstream processing is integrated under the same roof and includes centrifugation, homogenization, precipitation, micro/ultra-filtration, chromatography, and sterilization, complemented by sanitary packaging (drums, totes, direct tanker fill) and in-house QC/release testing with Certificate of Analysis and batch summary documentation. The facility adheres to FDA, FSSC 22000, and GMP/GDP standards, enabling the company to contract-manufacture for regulated end-markets. Revenue is generated through project-based B2B contracts covering process development, pilot batches, and commercial production campaigns, supplemented by raw material sourcing and logistics coordination for clients.

Name

Wisconsin BioProducts

Legal name

Wisconsin BioProducts

Website

https://wisbio.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Wisconsin BioProducts is a Milwaukee-based Contract Manufacturing Organization providing end-to-end custom microbial fermentation and downstream processing services to life sciences, cosmetics, agriculture, and bio-fuel clients from bench to full-scale production.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Biomanufacturing Services

NAICS

Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414)

SIC

Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836)

akta.pro primary industry

Process Development & Tech Transfer Services (upstream/downstream) (HLAAAKAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Upstream Bioprocessing Systems & Equipment (cell culture/fermentation, bioreactors, feeds/media) (HLAAAJAA), Biorefinery Co-product Recovery, Purification & Separation (Downstream Processing Systems) (EUAAAIAN)

Keywords

• Microbial fermentation services
• Contract biomanufacturing
• Bioprocess engineering
• Downstream processing
• Custom fermentation CMO

Headquarters

HQ city

Milwaukee

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Contract Manufacturing Services: Wisconsin BioProducts operates as a Contract Manufacturing Organization (CMO) providing fully-customized fermentation and liquid processing services. Revenue is generated through project-based contracts that encompass the full product lifecycle from proof-of-concept through full-scale production, including process development, fermentation, product recovery, and final fill/packaging services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Wisconsin BioProducts is a contract manufacturing organization that operates microbial fermentation facilities and provides end-to-end bioprocessing services for industrial customers. Its offerings cover upstream fermentation across multiple organism classes, downstream product recovery, formulation and packaging, and QC release testing. The company is structured as a B2B service provider serving life sciences, cosmetics, agriculture, and bio-fuel customers.

Product overview

Wisconsin BioProducts (WBP) operates as a Contract Manufacturing Organization (CMO) offering a single integrated service platform focused on custom microbial fermentation manufacturing. The core offering is end-to-end fermentation services spanning process development, pilot scale-up, and full-scale commercial production (10L to 38,000L vessels, ~165,000L total capacity). This core service is supported by integrated downstream product recovery capabilities (centrifugation, filtration, homogenization, chromatography, sterilization), formulation and packaging services (sanitary packaging, cold storage, tanker fill), and QC/release testing. The two facility divisions—Production Facility and Pilot Plant—represent different production scales within the same unified service offering rather than distinct products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Microbial Fermentation Services Contract microbial fermentation across bacteria, yeast, and fungi, run at multiple scales up to a combined 165,000 liters of capacity. Offered to life sciences, cosmetics, agriculture, and bio-fuel companies that need outsourced fermentation for development and commercial production.
• Product Recovery Services Downstream recovery and purification of fermentation products, packaged with the upstream fermentation service to deliver purified intermediates to customers.
• Formulation and Packaging Services Final formulation and packaging of recovered fermentation products into formats suitable for shipment to customers, completing the contract manufacturing flow.
• QC and Release Testing Analytical QC and release testing of fermentation-derived products, performed under GMP/GDP-compliant quality systems to support regulated and non-regulated customer end-uses.

Quantifiable outcome

• Process scale-up from 10-20L bench scale to ~32,000L full production scale
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Abzena: Biologics CDMO offering process development, microbial and mammalian manufacturing, and downstream services. Closely comparable to WBP's integrated CMO model with focus on complex biologics, though Abzena is larger and more capital-backed.
• BioVectra: Mid-sized North American CDMO offering microbial fermentation and biologics manufacturing services. Directly comparable to WBP as a contract fermentation provider serving similar regulated life-sciences end-markets, though BioVectra is materially larger in headcount and revenue.
• Eurofins CDMO: Contract development and manufacturing division of Eurofins providing microbial fermentation, analytical, and formulation services. Comparable to WBP as a microbial CDMO serving biopharma, cosmetics, and industrial biotech customers.
• Biovian: European microbial CDMO offering GMP contract manufacturing for biopharmaceuticals, including process development, scale-up, and aseptic fill-finish. Comparable to WBP as a microbial-focused CMO with similar end-to-end service scope.
• Scorpius BioManufacturing: U.S.-based CDMO focused on microbial-derived biologics manufacturing with end-to-end process development, GMP production, and fill-finish services. Closely comparable to WBP in scale and target customer profile within the microbial CDMO niche.
• Richter-Helm BioLogics: Germany-based CDMO specializing in microbial fermentation for recombinant proteins and plasmid DNA. Comparable to WBP in offering E. coli and other microbial host manufacturing under GMP.
• AGC Biologics: Global CDMO with microbial and mammalian fermentation capabilities across multiple sites. Comparable to WBP in providing end-to-end contract fermentation and downstream processing, but operates at significantly greater scale and geographic breadth.

Broad incumbents

• Lonza: Global CDMO leader offering microbial and cell-culture-based biomanufacturing across multiple sites. Overlaps with WBP's microbial fermentation and downstream services as part of a much broader, diversified portfolio.
• WuXi Biologics: Large global biologics CDMO with extensive microbial and mammalian manufacturing capacity. Overlaps with WBP's microbial fermentation CMO offering but at vastly greater scale and with broader geographic footprint.

Emerging players

• Codexis: Engineering enzymes and biocatalysts using proprietary fermentation and codevolution technologies. Comparable to WBP at the intersection of microbial fermentation and customer-specific bioprocess optimization, though Codexis is product/IP-driven rather than pure CMO.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Wisconsin BioProducts