SYNLAB
SYNLAB is a European medical diagnostics laboratory services company operating regional laboratories across 13 countries, providing fee-for-service routine and specialized testing (including FH ALERT, NIPT, and cancer screening) to physicians, hospitals, corporates, and patients, owned by Mars, Incorporated.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1998
- HeadquartersAugsburg, Germany
- Headcount5,001–10,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What SYNLAB does
SYNLAB is a European medical diagnostics laboratory services company founded in 1998 and headquartered in Augsburg, Germany. It operates a network of regional laboratories across 13 European countries (including Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Belgium, the Nordics, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Croatia, and Estonia) and employs more than 10,000 staff. The company was acquired by Mars, Incorporated as part of a strategy to consolidate European clinical pathology capacity. Following the acquisition, SYNLAB divested its Spanish operations to Eurofins Scientific SE in 2025.
SYNLAB's core offering is fee-for-service diagnostic laboratory testing for physicians, practice teams, hospitals, corporate occupational health clients, and patients. The test portfolio spans general medicine, gynaecology, oncology, and human genetics, including proprietary services such as FH ALERT (an automated LDL-C threshold-based alert for familial hypercholesterinaemia, published in Scientific Reports), neoBona non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT), and immunochemical faecal occult blood testing (iFOBT) for colorectal cancer screening at a self-pay rate of €11.66 per test. Supporting infrastructure includes the SYNconnect electronic physician-laboratory portal and the SYNLAB Academy, a continuing medical education platform led by Prof. Winfried März.
The business operates on a transaction-based fee-for-service model, with statutory health insurance reimbursement in Germany covering screening services such as iFOBT for eligible individuals from age 50. Pricing is set within the German GOÄ physician fee schedule framework, with private insurers typically covering costs under individual contracts. Medicover's Diagnostic Services division, in which the SYNLAB acquisition is a key contributor, achieved a 17.3% EBITDA margin in 2025 with double-digit growth across fee-for-service markets, targeting EUR 3.25 billion in revenue and EUR 600 million in adjusted organic EBITDA by 2028. The German legal entity, SYNLAB Holding Deutschland GmbH, operates under four Managing Directors and is registered at August-Wessels-Straße 13, 86156 Augsburg.
SYNLAB firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- SYNLAB
- Legal name
- SYNLAB Holding Deutschland GmbH
- Website
- https://synlab.de
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1998
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 5,001–10,000 employees
- Short description
- SYNLAB is a European medical diagnostics laboratory services company operating regional laboratories across 13 countries, providing fee-for-service routine and specialized testing (including FH ALERT, NIPT, and cancer screening) to physicians, hospitals, corporates, and patients, owned by Mars, Incorporated.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
SYNLAB industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Medical Diagnostic Laboratory Services
- NAICS
- Medical Laboratories (621511), Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories (6215)
- SIC
- Services-Medical Laboratories (8071)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Reference & Esoteric Testing Laboratories (HLAFAMAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Genetic & Prenatal Testing Laboratories (HLAFAMAH), Toxicology & Therapeutic Drug Monitoring Laboratories (HLAFAMAF), Central Laboratory Services (Core Lab Operations) (HLAGAEAA)
Keywords
Where SYNLAB is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Augsburg
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
SYNLAB business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Diagnostic Services - Fee-for-Service Laboratory Testing: SYNLAB operates a network of regional laboratories providing fee-for-service diagnostic testing to physicians, hospitals, and patients. Revenue is generated through laboratory test orders across routine and specialized diagnostics including clinical chemistry, genetics, oncology, and infectious disease. Medicover's Diagnostic Services division (which includes SYNLAB) achieved margins of 17.3% in fee-for-service markets in 2025.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | iFOBT colorectal cancer screening - statutory health insurance covered |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | iFOBT colorectal cancer screening - self-pay |
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
SYNLAB product offering
Product offeringCore offering
SYNLAB operates an extensive network of regional laboratories across Germany and Europe, providing fee-for-service medical diagnostic testing to physicians, hospitals, practice teams, companies and patients. The portfolio covers routine and specialized diagnostics across clinical chemistry, genetics, oncology, infectious disease, gynaecology and human genetics, complemented by proprietary services such as FH ALERT for familial hypercholesterinaemia detection, neoBona non-invasive prenatal testing, and immunochemical colorectal cancer screening (iFOBT).
Product overview
SYNLAB operates as a medical diagnostics laboratory services provider offering a portfolio of diagnostic products and services. The core offering is its Human Medicine Division (Humanmedizin), providing comprehensive laboratory testing services to physicians, medical practices, hospitals, and patients. Key products include FH ALERT (an automated alert system for familial hypercholesterinaemia detection), neoBona (non-invasive prenatal testing), and SYNconnect (electronic physician-laboratory communication). Educational services are delivered through the SYNLAB Akademie. The company also provides specialized diagnostic services including occupational medicine for companies and laboratory operations support for hospitals. The product ecosystem is designed to serve the entire healthcare chain from physicians ordering tests to patients receiving results, with digital communication tools facilitating connectivity between stakeholders.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- FH ALERT: A diagnostic service that identifies patients with familial hypercholesterinemia (FH) by automatically generating an alert when LDL-C values exceed 190 mg/dl, supporting early detection and treatment of this genetic lipid disorder.
- SYNLAB Akademie
- neoBona
Products and services
- SYNLAB Human Medicine (Humanmedizin) Diagnostics
- SYNLAB Veterinary Diagnostics (Tiermedizin)
- neoBona® Non-Invasive Prenatal Test (NIPT)
- iFOBT Colorectal Cancer Screening
- FH ALERT (Familial Hypercholesterinaemia Detection Service)
- Hospital Laboratory Operations Support
- Occupational Health Services for Companies
- Individual Patient Health Services
Quantifiable outcome
- FH ALERT identified FH patients at approximately 10x the rate of existing FH screening approaches in clinical practice
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use SYNLAB
Customer profileSegments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
SYNLAB technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
SYNLAB partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Eurofins Scientific SEminorEurofins acquired SYNLAB's clinical diagnostics operations in Spain, completing this transaction in FY 2025 as part of 40 business combinations Eurofins completed during the year. This represents a divestiture by SYNLAB of its Spanish operations, with SYNLAB exiting its diagnostic presence in Spain.
- Mars, IncorporatedcoreMars acquired SYNLAB as part of its strategy to consolidate presence in European clinical pathology markets. This represents a significant ownership change, with SYNLAB becoming part of Mars' broader diagnostic laboratory footprint alongside Cerba HealthCare, consolidating SYNLAB within Mars' portfolio of diagnostic services providers.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
SYNLAB competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Cerba HealthCare: Cerba HealthCare is a European reference and specialty clinical pathology laboratory group, also owned by Mars, Incorporated, making it a sister company to SYNLAB under the same parent. The two operate complementary specialty and routine testing networks across Europe.
- Unilabs: Unilabs is a major European clinical diagnostics and specialty testing provider headquartered in Switzerland, operating across 16+ countries. It directly competes with SYNLAB in routine and specialty testing, particularly in Western and Northern Europe.
- Sonic Healthcare: Sonic Healthcare is a global medical diagnostics company with a strong European laboratory footprint (including Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, the UK, and Ireland) following its acquisition of Synlab's main European competitor operations. It is one of the largest direct competitors to SYNLAB in routine and specialty clinical pathology.
- Eurofins Scientific SE: Eurofins is a global leader in bioanalytical testing and clinical diagnostics, operating one of the largest clinical laboratory networks in Europe. It directly competes with SYNLAB across routine and specialty testing, and acquired SYNLAB's Spanish operations in 2025 as part of 40 business combinations.
- ARUP Laboratories: ARUP Laboratories is a national reference laboratory owned by the University of Utah, specializing in esoteric and complex clinical testing across genetics, oncology, and infectious disease. It mirrors SYNLAB's reference and esoteric testing positioning in the U.S. market.
- Medicover AB: Medicover is a healthcare and diagnostics provider in Central and Eastern Europe with a growing Diagnostic Services division that includes the SYNLAB acquisition referenced in 2025 results. It is both a competitor and a partner in certain European markets, with overlapping clinical laboratory service offerings.
- Synlab AG (historical listed entity): Synlab AG was the historical listed parent of the broader SYNLAB Group (pre-Mars acquisition), headquartered in Munich and operating clinical laboratories across 30+ countries. The remaining listed/group activities serve as a direct historical and operational benchmark for SYNLAB Holding Deutschland GmbH.
Broad incumbents
- Quest Diagnostics: Quest Diagnostics is a leading U.S. provider of diagnostic information services, including routine clinical testing, advanced diagnostics, and anatomic pathology. As a broad incumbent, it operates a similar fee-for-service clinical laboratory model to SYNLAB, though primarily in North America.
- Laboratory Corporation of America (LabCorp): LabCorp is one of the world's largest clinical laboratory networks, offering routine and specialty diagnostics, drug development services, and point-of-care testing. While primarily U.S.-focused, it represents the global incumbent in clinical pathology and shares a comparable business model to SYNLAB.
- BioReference Laboratories (OPKO Health): BioReference Laboratories is a full-service clinical diagnostics laboratory with specialty expertise in reproductive genetics, oncology, and infectious disease. It competes with SYNLAB's specialty testing menu (e.g., neoBona NIPT, DPD-mutation testing), particularly in U.S. and international markets.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
SYNLAB social profiles
Digital presenceSYNLAB financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
SYNLAB leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
SYNLAB subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
SYNLAB funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
SYNLAB M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about SYNLAB
What does SYNLAB do?
SYNLAB operates an extensive network of regional laboratories across Germany and Europe, providing fee-for-service medical diagnostic testing to physicians, hospitals, practice teams, companies and patients. The portfolio covers routine and specialized diagnostics across clinical chemistry, genetics, oncology, infectious disease, gynaecology and human genetics, complemented by proprietary services such as FH ALERT for familial hypercholesterinaemia detection, neoBona non-invasive prenatal testing, and immunochemical colorectal cancer screening (iFOBT).
Is SYNLAB a public or private company?
SYNLAB is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was SYNLAB founded?
SYNLAB was founded in 1998. It employs 5,001 to 10,000 people.
Where is SYNLAB based?
SYNLAB is headquartered in Augsburg, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does SYNLAB make money?
One revenue line is on record: diagnostic Services - Fee-for-Service Laboratory Testing.
Who are SYNLAB's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Cerba HealthCare, Unilabs, Sonic Healthcare, Eurofins Scientific SE, ARUP Laboratories, Medicover AB and Synlab AG (historical listed entity). Broad incumbents are Quest Diagnostics, Laboratory Corporation of America (LabCorp) and BioReference Laboratories (OPKO Health).
Does SYNLAB have an API?
No public API is recorded for SYNLAB.
What industry is SYNLAB in?
SYNLAB's product category is Medical Diagnostic Laboratory Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAFAMAJ, Reference & Esoteric Testing Laboratories, with a secondary code of HLAFAMAH, Genetic & Prenatal Testing Laboratories. Its NAICS code is 621511 and its SIC code is 8071.