What Ugo Basile does

Ugo Basile SRL società unipersonale is an Italian, privately held manufacturer of scientific instruments for preclinical behavioral neuroscience and pharmacology research, headquartered and producing in Gemonio (Varese), Italy, and operating under that name since 1963. The company designs and builds a catalog of approximately 107 instruments spanning ten application categories: pain and inflammation assessment (Hargreaves Plantar Test, Hot/Cold Plate, Tail Flick, Dynamic Plantar Aesthesiometer, Von Frey, Thermal Gradient Ring), behavior, conditioning and reward (Fear Conditioning, Porsolt, Tail Suspension, Operon, Startle PPI, Passive/Active Avoidance), motor coordination (RotaRod, Grip Strength, Treadmill, Running Wheels, GA.I.T), mazes and video tracking (Morris Water Maze, Elevated Plus Maze, Multi-Maze), infrared-transparent mazes for dark-experiment tracking, blood pressure and pulse oximetry, metabolism, organ baths and transducers, and ventilators/anesthesia. Instruments are sold as one-time hardware purchases at quote-based pricing, bundled with proprietary software (XPad, ORO-Software, DataCapsule-Evo) and complemented by optional UB Care extended warranty programs (1-2 years).

The go-to-market is direct and sales-led: customers reach the company through a website-enabled quote and quick-request workflow, supported by regional representatives and localized sites for China, Brazil, and French-speaking markets. Primary customers are academic and university research laboratories and pharmaceutical/biotech firms running preclinical drug-discovery and mechanistic neuroscience work, with contract research organizations as a secondary segment. Revenue is generated almost entirely through hardware sales, with extended warranty as a small recurring layer. The company's instruments are cited in more than 50,000 peer-reviewed papers, including over 2,600 publications using the Hargreaves Plantar Test, establishing it as a standard reference brand in pain and behavioral neuroscience research.

Name

Ugo Basile

Legal name

Ugo Basile SRL società unipersonale

Website

https://ugobasile.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1963

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Ugo Basile is an Italian, privately held manufacturer of preclinical behavioral neuroscience and pain-research instruments, selling approximately 107 specialized hardware products direct to academic and pharmaceutical research labs worldwide under a quote-based B2B model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Gemonio

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Scientific Instrumentation Hardware Sales: Sale of scientific research instruments for neuroscience, pain research, behavioral studies, and preclinical research. Products include pain assessment devices, motor coordination testers, mazes, blood pressure monitors, ventilators, and organ bath systems. Revenue generated through one-time hardware purchases with optional extended warranty programs (UB Care12/UB Care24).

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Ugo Basile designs, manufactures and sells more than 107 standalone scientific instruments for preclinical research using rodent (mouse and rat) models. The portfolio spans pain assessment devices, motor coordination and gait analysis systems, behavioral neuroscience cages and mazes, physiological recorders, anesthesia/surgical platforms and metabolic cages, sold under its own brand to research laboratories worldwide.

Product overview

Ugo Basile is a manufacturer of scientific instruments for preclinical research, established in 1963, with products cited in over 50,000 peer-reviewed papers. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of approximately 107 products across 10 categories: Pain and Inflammation (thermal, mechanical, and drug screening tests including Hot/Cold Plate, Plantar Test, Tail Flick, Dynamic Plantar Aesthesiometer, Thermal Gradient Ring, Von Frey systems), Mazes and Tracking (Morris Water Maze, Elevated Plus Maze, Novel Object Recognition, Multi-Maze, video-tracking compatible mazes), Behaviour, Conditioning and Reward (Fear Conditioning, Operant Conditioning, Passive/Active Avoidance, Porsolt Forced Swim Test, Tail Suspension Test, Conditioned Place Preference), Motor Coordination (RotaRod, Grip Strength Meter, Treadmill, Running Wheels, Activity Cage, Balance Beam), IR-transparent Mazes for video-tracking (Light/Dark, Elevated Plus/Zero Maze, T/Y/Radial Maze, Open Fields), Organ Bath and Transducers (DataCapsule-Evo, Isolated Organ Baths, Isometric/Isotonic Transducers), Ventilators and Anesthesia (Volume Controlled Ventilators, Gas Anesthesia System), Blood Pressure (Non-Invasive Recorder, Pulse Oximeter), Metabolism and Feeding (Metabolic Cage), and Miscellaneous/ECT/LMD (ECT Unit, Lesion Making Device, Stereotaxic Instruments). Products integrate with third-party video-tracking software (ANY-maze, EthoVision) and proprietary software packages. Notable recent launches include the AI-powered GA.I.T gait analysis system, Startle PPI 3.0, TGR 2.0, Complex Wheel, and Climbing Test. The company provides in-house manufacturing and custom product development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• GA.I.T Analysis System Standalone AI-powered gait analysis system that automates quantitative gait phenotyping in rodents using DeepLabCut-based pose estimation, used by preclinical research laboratories studying motor function and neurological disease models.
• RotaRod for Mice and Rats Accelerating rotating rod instrument used to assess motor coordination, balance and fatigue in mice and rats; sold to preclinical research laboratories.
• Fear Conditioning System Standalone system for assessing associative learning and memory in rodents via Pavlovian fear conditioning protocols; used in behavioral neuroscience research.
• Thermal Gradient Ring (TGR) 2.0 Ring-shaped apparatus that establishes a continuous thermal gradient to evaluate temperature preference, thermal sensitivity and pain-related behavior in rodents.
• Dynamic Plantar Aesthesiometer Automated instrument for measuring mechanical allodynia and paw withdrawal thresholds in rodents using an electronically controlled filament; used in pain research.
• Plantar Test (Hargreaves Apparatus) Infrared heat source apparatus (Hargreaves method) for measuring thermal paw withdrawal latency in rodents; used in preclinical pain research and widely referenced in publications.
• Hot/Cold Plate Temperature-controlled plate used to assess thermal nociception (hot and cold) in rodents via standard paw-lick/jump latency protocols.
• Tail Flick Unit Focused thermal stimulus device measuring tail-flick latency as an index of spinal nociception in rodents; used in pain research.
• Electronic Von Frey Electronic von Frey instrument for automated mechanical paw withdrawal threshold measurement in rodents; used in pain and sensory research.
• Thermal Place Preference Two-temperature preference apparatus for assessing thermal place preference and conditioned temperature preference in rodents.
• Incapacitance Tester Librae Weight-bearing device measuring hindlimb weight distribution as an index of pain and inflammation in rodents.
• Porsolt Forced Swim Test Cylindrical tank apparatus used to assess behavioral despair and antidepressant efficacy in rodents via the Porsolt forced swim paradigm.
• Tail Suspension Test Suspension apparatus measuring immobility as a behavioral despair readout in rodents, used in depression and antidepressant research.
• Operon (Attentional Set-Shifting) Automated operant chamber used to assess attentional set-shifting, cognitive flexibility and executive function in rodents.
• Startle PPI 3.0 Acoustic startle and pre-pulse inhibition (PPI) system for measuring sensorimotor gating and anxiety-like behavior in rodents.
• Passive Avoidance Two-chamber apparatus for assessing passive avoidance learning and memory in rodents using foot-shock conditioning.
• Active Avoidance (Shuttle-Box) Two-compartment shuttle-box system for assessing active avoidance learning and conditioned behavior in rodents.
• Conditioned Place Preference Cages Two-chamber conditioning apparatus for assessing conditioned place preference and reward-related learning in rodents.
• Elevated Plus Maze Plus-shaped elevated maze used to assess anxiety-like behavior and exploratory activity in rodents.
• Morris Water Maze

Quantifiable outcome

• GA.I.T system achieves almost 100% accuracy in paw detection for automated gait analysis
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

AI capability2 records

Feature7 records

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• MazeEngineers: US-based startup specializing in custom and novel behavioral testing apparatuses for neuroscience research. Comparable emerging competitor addressing similar academic customers with more flexible, often custom-engineered offerings than UB's catalog.

Direct peers

• Noldus Information Technology: Dutch specialist in video tracking and behavioral analysis software/hardware (EthoVision) for animal research. Closest direct peer to Ugo Basile: shares the same rodent behavioral-research customer base and increasingly bundles its own instruments alongside competitor hardware such as UB's.
• Stoelting Co. US manufacturer of behavioral neuroscience instruments including mazes, startle/PPI systems, and operant chambers. Direct competitor on several UB core lines (Fear Conditioning, Startle PPI, Elevated Plus Maze) for academic and pharmaceutical customers.
• TSE Systems: German manufacturer of behavioral, metabolic, and physiological monitoring systems for small animals. Comparable to UB on metabolic cages, operant conditioning, and integrated multi-parameter phenotyping platforms for preclinical research.
• Panlab (Harvard Apparatus brand): Spanish-origin manufacturer of behavioral research equipment, now part of Harvard Apparatus. Competes directly with UB on mazes, motor activity, and pain-assessment instruments.
• Med Associates Inc. US vendor of behavioral-testing instruments and software (Startle, fear conditioning, operant chambers). Direct competitor on UB's behavior/conditioning/reward product lines for academic and pharmaceutical labs.
• Coulbourn Instruments: US manufacturer of behavioral research systems including operant chambers, fear conditioning, and activity monitors. Direct overlap with UB's behavior/conditioning/reward and motor-coordination portfolios for rodent studies.
• Bioseb: French specialist in behavioral and physiological instruments for small-animal research. Overlaps with UB on pain assessment (Von Frey, hot/cold plate), grip strength, and motor-coordination product categories.
• Columbus Instruments: US manufacturer of metabolic and behavioral measurement systems (CLAMS, Oxymax). Comparable to UB on metabolic cages, activity monitoring, and indirect calorimetry used in rodent preclinical studies.

Broad incumbents

• Harvard Apparatus: Long-established US scientific instrument maker with a broad catalog spanning surgical, physiological, behavioral, and cellular research. Direct overlap with UB on behavioral, surgical, and physiological instruments; broader portfolio and stronger North American sales coverage.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ugobasile.info

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 Ugo Basile