Cellular Dynamics International

What Cellular Dynamics International does

Cellular Dynamics International (CDI), now operating as FUJIFILM Cellular Dynamics following its 2015 acquisition by FUJIFILM Holdings, is a Madison, Wisconsin-based biotechnology company that develops and manufactures human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cell products and services for life sciences research and therapeutic development. Founded in 2004, the company commercializes a catalog of standardized human cell types under the iCell brand spanning cardiovascular, neural, immune, hepatic, and other lineages, including disease-relevant models used by academic and pharmaceutical researchers for drug discovery and safety assessment. Its core technology platform rests on proprietary iPSC differentiation protocols that enable lot-consistent, scalable production of human cell products, plus GMP-compliant manufacturing capability that supports licensable GMP iPSC lines and contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) services for cell therapy developers.

The company operates a B2B direct sales model with quote-based pricing, reflecting the specialized nature of its life sciences tools and the custom contracting typical of CDMO engagements. Revenue mechanics span per-vial catalog cell product sales for research use, licensing fees for GMP iPSC lines and proprietary differentiation protocols, and CDMO service contracts for therapeutic developers. Customer segments include academic and government research institutions, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies conducting drug discovery and preclinical safety work, and cell therapy developers requiring GMP-grade cellular materials and manufacturing capacity. The FUJIFILM parent provides capital, manufacturing scale, and global distribution leverage, particularly for expansion into Asian markets.

Recent strategic activity has emphasized catalog expansion — including iCell Intestinal Epithelial Cells, iCell GFP Microglia, and the iCell CardioSpheres family — alongside entry into an adjacent Extracellular Vesicles (EV) Solutions product category. The company has also deepened its CDMO and GMP iPSC licensing footprint, targeting cell therapy developers as a higher-revenue-per-customer segment beyond research tools. Headcount is estimated at 51–100 employees; FUJIFILM does not break out subsidiary financials, so revenue is not publicly disclosed.

Name

Cellular Dynamics International

Legal name

Fujifilm Cellular Dynamics

Website

https://cellulardynamics.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Cellular Dynamics International (now FUJIFILM Cellular Dynamics) is a Madison, Wisconsin-based biotechnology company that develops and manufactures iPSC-derived human cell products and CDMO services for academic, pharmaceutical, and cell therapy customers, operating as a subsidiary of FUJIFILM Holdings since 2015.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Stem Cell Research Products

NAICS

Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414)

SIC

Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836)

akta.pro primary industry

Small-Molecule API & Intermediates CDMO (HLAGABAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Cell Therapy Manufacturing Services (GMP, autologous/allogeneic) (HLAAAKAC)

Keywords

• Human iPSC cells
• Stem cell products
• Drug discovery tools
• CDMO services
• Cardiac safety testing

Headquarters

HQ city

Madison

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. iCell Products (Cells, Kits, Media): Sale of human iPSC-derived cells, specialized kits, and cell culture media/supplements for research applications in cardiovascular, neural, hepatic, and immune cell types.
2. CDMO Services: Contract development and cGMP manufacturing services for clinical-grade human cells, including process development and manufacturing support.
3. GMP iPSC Line Licensing: Licensing of GMP-grade iPSC lines for use in clinical and commercial cell therapy manufacturing.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Cellular Dynamics International manufactures and sells human iPSC-derived cells, kits, media, and disease models under the iCell brand for life sciences and pharmaceutical research. It also provides contract development and cGMP manufacturing (CDMO) services, licenses GMP-grade iPSC lines for clinical and commercial cell therapy production, and offers custom cell services and extracellular vesicle (EV) solutions from its Madison, Wisconsin headquarters and i-FACT GMP production facility.

Product overview

Fujifilm Cellular Dynamics International operates as a life science products company offering a comprehensive portfolio of human iPSC (induced pluripotent stem cell)-derived cells and services. The product portfolio centers on the iCell brand product family organized across three main cell type categories: Cardiovascular Cells (including iCell Cardiomyocytes, Cardiomyocytes2, CardioSpheres, CardioSpheres2, Cardiac Progenitor Cells, Cardiac Fibroblasts, Endothelial Cells, and Pericytes), Neural Cells (including iCell Astrocytes, Astrocytes 2.0, DopaNeurons, GABANeurons, GlutaNeurons, Microglia, GFP Microglia, Motor Neurons, Sensory Neurons, and Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells, plus blood-brain barrier and brain microvascular endothelial cell kits), and Immune & Hepatic Cells (including iCell Hepatocytes 2.0, Hepatic Stellate Cells, Hematopoietic Progenitor Cells, Intestinal Epithelial Cells, and Macrophages 2.0). The company also provides disease-specific models for cardiac conditions (Brugada Syndrome, Dilated Cardiomyopathy, Catecholaminergic Polymorphic Ventricular Tachycardia), neurological conditions (Alzheimer's Disease, Epilepsy, Parkinson's Disease, ALS/FTD), and associated Media & Supplements. Beyond standard research products, the company offers GMP iPSC Lines for clinical manufacturing, CDMO Services for contract manufacturing, Custom Services for tailored development, and EV Solutions for extracellular vesicle applications. The portfolio serves disease modeling, drug discovery, toxicology/safety pharmacology, and stem cell banking applications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• iCell: Product line of human iPSC-derived cells including iCell Cardiomyocytes, iCell Astrocytes, iCell Neurons, iCell Hepatocytes, and various other specialized cell types for research and drug discovery applications.

Products and services

• iCell Cardiomyocytes Human iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes offered as catalog cells, serum-free kits, and CardioTox toxicology screening kits for cardiovascular research, disease modeling, and cardiac safety pharmacology.
• iCell CardioSpheres 3D human iPSC-derived cardiac microtissues (CardioSpheres and CardioSpheres2) co-cultured from cardiomyocytes, endothelial cells, and cardiac fibroblasts for advanced cardiac disease modeling and tissue engineering.
• iCell Cardiac Fibroblasts, Endothelial Cells, Pericytes, and Cardiac Progenitor Cells Supporting human iPSC-derived cardiovascular cell types used for vascular research, co-culture applications, and developmental studies.
• iCell Neural Cells Comprehensive neural cell product line including iCell Astrocytes, Astrocytes 2.0, DopaNeurons, GABANeurons, GlutaNeurons, Induced Excitatory Neurons, Microglia, GFP Microglia, Motor Neurons, Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells, and Sensory Neurons for neural research and disease modeling.
• iCell Blood-Brain Barrier Isogenic Kit Human iPSC-derived blood-brain barrier model kit with isogenic background for studying blood-brain barrier function using neural cell derivatives.
• iCell GFP Microglia Human iPSC-derived microglia expressing green fluorescent protein, designed for visualization in 2D and 3D cell culture protocols for neuroinflammation and brain disease research.
• iCell Gut, Liver, and Immune Cells Hepatic, gut, and immune cell products including iCell Hepatocytes 2.0, Hepatic Stellate Cells, Hematopoietic Progenitor Cells, Intestinal Epithelial Cells, and Macrophages 2.0 for liver disease, gut, and immunology research.
• iCell Intestinal Epithelial Cells Human iPSC-derived intestinal epithelial cells for gut disease modeling and drug absorption studies.
• Disease Model Cells Disease-specific iPSC-derived cell lines for cardiac conditions (Brugada Syndrome, Dilated Cardiomyopathy, Catecholaminergic Polymorphic Ventricular Tachycardia) and neurological conditions (Alzheimer's Disease, Epilepsy, Parkinson's Disease, ALS/FTD), used for disease research and drug discovery.
• Media & Supplements Specialized cell culture media and supplements for maintaining cardiovascular cells, neural cells, and immune and hepatic cells, sold as standalone catalog items.
• CIRM iPSC Products Human iPSC lines and products developed in partnership with the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine for research applications.
• GMP iPSC Lines GMP-grade human iPSC lines licensable for use as starting materials in clinical and commercial cell therapy manufacturing.
• CDMO Services Contract development and cGMP manufacturing services for clinical-grade human cells and cell therapies, including process development and manufacturing support delivered from the i-FACT facility.
• Custom Services Custom cell development and manufacturing services tailored to specific research and therapeutic requirements.
• EV Solutions Fujifilm Extracellular Vesicles Solutions for cell-derived vesicle products and CDMO services in cell therapy manufacturing.
• Accessory Products Supporting products including coatings, reagents, and consumables for iPSC-derived cell culture workflows, sold as standalone catalog items.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• FujifilmflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCellular Dynamics International is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fujifilm. Fujifilm provides global distribution network, capital resources, and strategic direction. Fujifilm held iCell product exchange meetings to discuss technology applications and stated commitment to deepening technological innovation with local partners.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Ncardia: Ncardia develops and manufactures iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes, neurons and hepatocytes for drug discovery and safety pharmacology — directly overlapping CDI's iCell cardiovascular and neural product lines and competing for the same pharma/biotech cardiotox and neurotox screening budgets.
• REPROCELL: REPROCELL provides iPSC-derived cells, reagents and services for drug discovery and regenerative medicine, competing directly with CDI's research-grade human cell catalog and stem cell banking offerings.
• Axol Bioscience: Axol Bioscience supplies iPSC-derived human cells and disease models for neuroscience and cardiac research, overlapping CDI's iCell neural and cardiomyocyte catalog and competing for academic and pharma research customers.

Emerging players

• Century Therapeutics: Century Therapeutics develops iPSC-derived allogeneic immune cell therapies, leveraging the same underlying iPSC platform as CDI and representing both a potential large licensor of CDI's GMP iPSC lines and an alternative for therapeutic partners evaluating cell therapy starting materials.
• DefiniGEN: DefiniGEN provides iPSC-derived hepatocytes and disease models for metabolic and liver disease drug discovery, directly competing with CDI's iCell Hepatocytes and hepatic stellate cell offerings for pharma liver-disease research programs.
• BlueRock Therapeutics: BlueRock Therapeutics (a Bayer subsidiary) develops iPSC-derived engineered cell therapies in cardiology and neurology, overlapping CDI's therapeutic focus areas and serving as both a peer in the iPSC platform race and a potential GMP iPSC licensee.
• TreeFrog Therapeutics: TreeFrog Therapeutics develops iPSC-derived cell therapies using proprietary C-Stem technology for Parkinson's disease and other indications, representing a newer alternative in the iPSC-derived therapeutic manufacturing space that CDI's CDMO services could support or compete with.

Broad incumbents

• Catalent: Catalent (now part of Novo Holdings) offers cell therapy development and biomanufacturing services, competing for CDMO contracts in the same iPSC-derived and cell-based therapeutic manufacturing space as CDI's CDMO services.
• Thermo Fisher Scientific: Thermo Fisher operates a broad life sciences portfolio including Gibco cell culture media and a cell therapy services offering (Patheon), providing competitive alternative products to CDI's media supplements and acting as a scaled counterparty in CDMO bidding.
• Lonza Group: Lonza is a leading global CDMO with established cell and gene therapy manufacturing services, competing with CDI's CDMO business and addressing the same GMP iPSC line licensing and cell therapy manufacturing needs of large therapeutic developers.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/cellulardynamics
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Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors6 records

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 Cellular Dynamics International