Culture Collection of Switzerland

What Culture Collection of Switzerland does

Culture Collection of Switzerland AG (CCOS) is the national public culture collection for microorganisms in Switzerland, founded in 2010 as an independent public limited company headquartered in Wädenswil. The company maintains a catalog of authenticated biological resources — including cell lines, type strains, plasmids, and over 100 documented special property strains (actinomycetes, Bifidobacteria, antibiotic-resistant strains) — and provides secure cryostorage at temperatures from +4°C to −196°C (liquid nitrogen), with continuous temperature monitoring and alarm systems. CCOS holds International Depositary Authority (IDA) status under the Budapest Treaty, awarded by WIPO in January 2017, granting it the exclusive right within Switzerland to receive and store biological material for patent procedures for minimum 30-year terms.

CCOS operates three core service lines: Bio Resources (online catalog of bacterial, fungal, cell, plasmid, and DNA/RNA products priced CHF 50-1,200 per unit), Bio Storage (subscription-based cryostorage at multiple temperatures plus lockable Sample Safe and Lock Box security solutions, plus 30-year Patent Deposit contracts), and Bio Services (lyophilisation, microorganism identification via MALDI-TOF-MS and 16S rDNA sequencing, ISO 10932 antimicrobial susceptibility testing for dairy probiotics, DNA/RNA isolation, ready-made Master/Working Cell Banks, Gut Metabolisation testing, antiviral testing, and outsourced collection management). The company is ISO 9001:2015 certified and partners with ZHAW, the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment, and international courier networks to serve customers globally through a direct e-commerce storefront and contact-driven custom sales.

Name

Culture Collection of Switzerland

Legal name

Culture Collection of Switzerland AG

Website

https://ccos.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CCOS is Switzerland's national culture collection for microorganisms, offering authenticated biological resources, multi-temperature cryostorage, and laboratory services including Budapest Treaty patent deposits. It serves academic researchers, biotech/pharma firms, and food/dairy companies globally via online shop and direct sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Microbial Culture Collection and Biological Resource Services

NAICS

Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414)

SIC

Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYAFALAKAF

Microbiological Reference Cultures, Strains & Controls (Food Micro)

Agriculture & Food Production/Food Safety, Testing & Certification/Laboratory Proficiency Testing, Method Validation & Reference Materials (Food)

Keywords

• Microbial culture collection
• Biological resource services
• Cryostorage services
• Patent deposit services
• Laboratory testing services

Headquarters

HQ city

Wadenswil

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Sale of biological materials: CCOS sells biological resources including bacteria, fungi, cell lines, plasmids, and specialized strains. Products are available as actively growing cultures, cryo cultures, or lyophilizates. Pricing varies by organism type and format.
2. Cryostorage services: CCOS provides cryostorage services at various temperatures (plus 4°C, minus 20°C, minus 80°C, minus 196°C) for customer biological materials. Services include regular boxes, lock boxes, and sample safes with annual pricing.
3. Patent deposit services: Storage of microorganisms and cell cultures for patent procedures under Budapest Treaty for 30 years. Includes attestation issuance, viability statements, and furnishing of samples.
4. Laboratory and analytical services: BioServices include lyophilisation, identification, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, gut metabolisation testing, antiviral activity testing, DNA/RNA isolation, and ready-made material production.
5. Collection management services: Outsourcing or establishing culture collections for customers, including consulting on conservation, cryostorage, temperature monitoring, and classification systems.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Culture Collection of Switzerland (CCOS) is a national culture collection that supplies authenticated microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, cell lines, plasmids, and DNA/RNA material) and provides related bio-resource services including cryogenic bio-storage, lyophilisation, microbial identification, and antimicrobial testing. The organization also serves as an International Depositary Authority (IDA) under the Budapest Treaty for the patent deposit of biological materials.

Product overview

The Culture Collection of Switzerland (CCOS) operates as a national public biological resource collection and cryostorage service provider. The portfolio consists of three core offerings: Bio Resources (catalog of characterized cell lines, type strains, plasmids, and special property strains available through an online shop), Bio Storage (secure cryostorage at temperatures from plus 4°C to minus 196°C, including Budapest Treaty-compliant Patent Deposit services and lockable security solutions), and Bio Services (comprehensive laboratory services including lyophilisation, microorganism identification, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, DNA/RNA preparation, ready-made materials, collection management, gut metabolisation testing, and antiviral activity testing). All services are supported by ISO 9001:2015 certification, and the organization serves as an International Depositary Authority under the Budapest Treaty.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Bio Resources
• Bio Storage
• Bio Services
• Patent Deposit (IDA Service)
• Online Shop

Quantifiable outcome

• Storage capacity at multiple cryogenic temperatures including minus 196°C liquid nitrogen, minus 80°C, minus 20°C, and plus 4°C
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 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

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWIPO awarded CCOS the status of International Depositary Authority (IDA) under the Budapest Treaty on 16 January 2017, recognizing CCOS as an official repository for patent deposits of biological materials.
• Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwiss government agency responsible for Nagoya Protocol implementation. CCOS checks legal situation of genetic resources and helps users comply with Nagoya Protocol requirements for access and benefit sharing.
• Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCCOS cooperates closely with ZHAW's Department of Life Sciences & Facility Management. Joint work includes isolation and characterization of over 500 actinomycete strains, and collaboration with ZHAW's Institute of Chemistry and Biotechnology.
• SGSmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSGS provides ISO 9001 certification services. CCOS was certified according to ISO 9001 since 1 August 2012 and re-certified under ISO 9001:2015 on August 1, 2018.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• NCIMB (National Collection of Industrial, Food and Marine Bacteria): UK-based culture collection focused on industrial, food, and marine microorganisms, offering strain supply, storage, and patent deposit services. Directly comparable to CCOS as a smaller national collection serving both academic and food/pharma industrial customers with authenticated biological materials.
• ATCC (American Type Culture Collection): The global leader in biological reference materials, supplying authenticated cell lines, microorganisms, and molecular tools to academic, government, and industrial customers. Comparable to CCOS in product mix (strains, cell lines, plasmids) and IDA-equivalent patent deposit function, with materially larger scale and catalog breadth.
• Culture Collections UK (CCUK, including NCTC and NCYC): UK's national infrastructure of public culture collections (bacteria, yeasts, fungi, plant pathogens) operated by UKHSA and CABI. Directly comparable to CCOS in providing authenticated microbial strains, patent deposit services, and cryostorage to public and private sector customers.
• BCCM (Belgian Coordinated Collections of Microorganisms): A consortium of Belgian culture collections serving as an International Depositary Authority under the Budapest Treaty. Closely comparable to CCOS in being a small national IDA, selling strains, offering safe storage, and providing identification services to academic and industrial customers.
• Leibniz Institute DSMZ (German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures): Germany's national culture collection and the largest in Europe, holding over 75,000 strains and cell lines across bacteria, fungi, plasmids, and viruses. Directly comparable to CCOS as a national reference center with IDA status, biological resource sales, cryostorage, and patent deposit services.
• Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute (CBS): The Dutch national reference center for fungi and yeasts, holding one of the world's largest fungal culture collections. Comparable to CCOS in operating as a national culture collection with IDA status, providing authenticated strains, storage, and molecular identification services to researchers and industry.
• CCUG (Culture Collection University of Gothenburg): Swedish reference culture collection holding over 80,000 strains, providing authenticated bacterial strains and identification services to the life sciences community. Comparable to CCOS in mission, scale band, and customer base of academic and industrial researchers.

Broad incumbents

• CABI (Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International): An inter-governmental not-for-profit organization providing scientific expertise across agriculture and the environment, including a culture collection. Comparable in mission to CCOS as a biological resource center, though materially larger in scope and funding base.
• Thermo Fisher Scientific (Microbiology & BioProduction): Global life-sciences tools giant supplying microbiological media, controls, and biological production services to industrial and clinical customers. Overlaps with CCOS on certain laboratory services (microbial identification, antimicrobial susceptibility) and adjacent strain-related reagents, though it does not operate a culture collection or IDA.

Regional players

• VTT Culture Collection: Finland's national culture collection operated by VTT Technical Research Centre, holding thousands of microbial strains with a focus on industrial biotechnology applications. Comparable to CCOS as a Nordic/European national collection serving biotech and industrial customers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/culture-collection-of-switzerland-ag

Compliance2 records

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 Culture Collection of Switzerland