Centre for Integrative Biology of Toulouse

What Centre for Integrative Biology of Toulouse does

The Centre de Biologie Intégrative de Toulouse (CBI) is a French public fundamental biology research institute established in 2016 under the joint supervision of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and the Université de Toulouse. The institute employs over 400 scientists, researchers, lecturers-researchers, engineers, technicians, students, and trainees distributed across approximately forty research teams, three research units (LMGM for Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, MCD for Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, and CRCA for Animal Cognition), and multiple technological platforms and support services. CBI's research applies multidisciplinary, multi-scale approaches spanning RNA biology, developmental biology, behavior, cellular dynamics and mechanobiology, genome dynamics, microbiology, and neurobiology, from isolated molecules to whole organisms and animal societies. The institute aims to understand the mechanisms, dynamics, and behaviors of living organisms to address societal challenges in health, environment, and fundamental biology.

CBI operates state-of-the-art technological platforms including LITC (photonic imaging), METI (electron microscopy), BigA (genomic analysis), MBC (mouse behavior), and core facilities covering cytometry, CRISPR/Cas9 mouse genome editing, single-cell genomics, histology, HPLC-mass spectrometry, proteomics, cerebral organoids, and bacterial genetic engineering. These platforms support both internal research and external academic and industrial collaborators.

CBI's revenue model is overwhelmingly public research funding from CNRS, Université de Toulouse, ERC grants (13 grants to 10 researchers since 2015 with ~60% success rate), Horizon Europe projects, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, JPND, ANR/PEPR programmes, and charitable foundations (Bettencourt Schueller, HFSP, ARC). This core funding is supplemented by industrial partnerships and service agreements with biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and cosmetics companies (Pierre Fabre, Phodé, Bicycle Therapeutics, NeoVirTech, Oxxius, Inscoper, Eurofins Calixar, Gataca Systems, Humana Biosciences, ReST Therapeutics, Enterosys, Stago), CIFRE PhD co-financed doctoral programs, and technology transfer activities managed via Toulouse Tech Transfer (TTT). CBI does not sell commercial products and has no disclosed pricing model.

Name

Centre for Integrative Biology of Toulouse

Legal name

Centre de Biologie Intégrative de Toulouse

Website

https://cbi-toulouse.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Centre de Biologie Intégrative de Toulouse (CBI) is a French public fundamental biology research institute under CNRS and Université de Toulouse, employing 400+ scientists across three research units (LMGM, MCD, CRCA) and multiple technological platforms, serving the academic community and industrial partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Life Sciences Research

NAICS

Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAHAGAI

Biomedical Sciences & Medical Research Institutes (University-Based)

Education/Higher Education (Colleges & Universities)/Medical & Health Sciences Universities

Keywords

• Fundamental biology research
• Integrative biology research
• Biological imaging platforms
• Genomic analysis services
• Industrial research partnerships

Headquarters

HQ city

Toulouse

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Public Research Funding: Core funding from CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) and University of Toulouse (UT) as a public research institution established in 2016
2. European Research Grants: ERC grants, Horizon Europe projects, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, and other European funding programs
3. Industrial Partnerships and Service Agreements: Research collaborations, service provision, and Laboratoires Communs (LabCom) with industrial partners including pharmaceutical companies, biotech firms, and cosmetics companies
4. CIFRE PhD Programs: Industrial contracts for doctoral training co-financed by companies, where students are hired by companies and conduct research in collaboration with the laboratory

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

CBI is a public fundamental biology research federation that conducts multidisciplinary, multi-scale research from isolated molecules to whole organisms and animal societies, organized into three research units (LMGM, MCD, CRCA) and supported by core technological platforms (photonic and electron microscopy, genomic analysis, mouse behavior, image analysis) and technical facilities (cytometry, CRISPR genome editing, single-cell genomics, proteomics, organoids). It offers access to these platforms and research capabilities to external academic and industrial partners through research collaborations, service provision, CIFRE doctoral training and joint laboratories (LabCom).

Product overview

The Centre for Integrative Biology of Toulouse (CBI) is a fundamental biology research institute, not a product company. It operates as a federation of three research units (LMGM, MCD, CRCA) providing multidisciplinary, multi-scale research from molecules to organisms and animal societies. The institute offers access to technological platforms (LITC photonic imaging, METI electron microscopy, BigA genomic analysis, MBC mouse behavior, and core facilities), research support services, and facilitates industrial partnerships. CBI does not develop or commercialize standalone software products or platforms for external use.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• LITC Photonic Imaging Platform Advanced photonic microscopy platform providing specialized imaging equipment and technical expertise for cellular and molecular visualization. Made available to external academic and industrial users as a service offering of the institute.
• METI Electron Microscopy Platform Electron microscopy platform providing high-resolution structural imaging capabilities for biological samples, used in collaborations with industrial partners such as NeoVirTech for correlative electron-fluorescence microscopy.
• BigA Genomic Analysis Platform Bioinformatics and genomic data analysis platform offering computational tools and support for large-scale biological datasets, accessible to external academic and industry users.
• MBC Mouse Behavior Platform Specialized facility for behavioral analysis and phenotyping of mouse models in controlled experimental settings, used in academic research and in industrial collaborations such as with Enterosys for stress-related behaviors in depression models.
• Image Analysis Platform Core image analysis facility supporting histology, cytometry and in situ hybridization workflows, used in industrial collaborations such as with Humana Biosciences for cilia beating frequency quantification software development.
• Technical Core Facilities (Cytometry, CRISPR Genome Editing, Single-Cell Genomics, Histology, HPLC-MS, Bacterial Genetics, Cerebral Organoids, Proteomics, Mechatronics) Bundle of specialized technical facilities covering cytometry, CRISPR/Cas9 mouse genome editing, single-cell genomics, histology and in situ hybridization, HPLC-mass spectrometry, bacterial genetic engineering, cerebral organoids and iPSC cultivation, protein purification and proteomics, and mechatronics. Made available to research teams and external partners.
• Industrial Research Collaboration and Service Agreements Research collaboration and service provision offering for industrial partners, providing access to CBI's scientific teams and technological platforms on a contract basis; developed by the CNRS Business Developer (Jérôme Castandet) at local, national and international levels.
• CIFRE Industrial Doctoral Program Industrial doctoral training program in which a company hires the PhD candidate and co-finances the research conducted jointly with a CBI team (e.g., CIFRE PhDs with Eurofins Calixar on molecular dynamics modeling and with Phodé on aromatic formulation effects).
• LabCom Trans NMDA Joint Laboratory (with ReST Therapeutics) CNRS LabCom joint laboratory established in 2024 between ReST Therapeutics and three CNRS laboratories including CBI-CRCA, IPBS and LHFA for translational research targeting the NMDA receptor family, with CBI-CRCA handling in vivo biology for PTSD treatment.
• Research Support Services Internal support infrastructure providing administration, IT, logistics, glassware management and visual production services to facilitate research activities across the institute.

Quantifiable outcome

• 13 ERC grants awarded to 10 researchers since 2015 with ~60% success rate
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

22 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ReST TherapeuticscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 February 2024CNRS LabCom Trans NMDA joint laboratory established in 2024 between ReST Therapeutics and three CNRS laboratories (CBI-CRCA, IPBS, LHFA) for translational research targeting NMDA receptor family for glutamate, with focus on PTSD treatment. CBI-CRCA handles in vivo biology.
• IRN MIRA (International Research Network)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023International Research Network established in 2023 bringing together four French partners including CBI and 14 Indian partners, with global health objective to unite French and Indian efforts in combating emerging infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance.
• Bicycle TherapeuticsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration with CBI on various projects.
• EnterosysminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMBC platform collaboration on R&D projects related to stress-related behaviors in depression model.
• Eurofins CalixarminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIFRE PhD program collaboration with Matthieu Chavent's team on molecular dynamics modeling for drug discovery.
• Gataca SystemsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on innovative technological projects in super-resolution imaging as industrial partner.
• Humana BiosciencesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerImage Analysis service collaboration for developing dedicated software tool for quantifying cilia beating frequency in human respiratory epithelial cells.
• KoppertminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration with CBI.
• LabSoftminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration with CBI.
• Mibelle Group BiochemistryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration with CBI.
• NeoVirTechminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCompany founded in 2014 based on research from K. Bystricky's team at CBI-MCD. Collaboration on correlative electron-fluorescence microscopy with METI platform.
• PhodéminorStrategic or Co-development Partner10-year collaboration on murine model studies with Bruno Guiard and Lionel Mouledous teams; CIFRE doctoral thesis co-supervision; co-published high-quality research in 2020.
• Pierre FabreminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration with CBI.
• PyloteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration with CBI.
• QIMA Life SciencesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration with CBI.
• StagominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration with CBI.
• CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent organization providing core funding and administrative support. CBI operates under CNRS and University of Toulouse tutelage.
• University of ToulousecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-supervisory institution. CBI is a Research Federation part of both University of Toulouse and CNRS.
• Horizon Europe / Horizon 2020coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean framework programs for research and innovation funding numerous CBI projects including ERC grants, MSCA projects, and collaborative consortia.
• JPND (European Joint Programme – Neurodegenerative Disease Research)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean partnership for neurodegeneration research in which CBI participates through MESEPAD project led by Laure Verret.
• EJP-RD (European Joint Programme on Rare Diseases)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCBI involved in RIBOEUROPE project coordinated by Pierre-Emanuel Gleizes, completed August 2024.
• Toulouse Tech Transfer (TTT)coreTechnology or IntegrationSociété d'Accélération du Transfert de Technologies (SATT) facilitating technology transfer, protecting innovations through patents, and supporting start-up creation.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Institut Curie: French research center combining fundamental biology, translational research and hospital care with industrial collaborations. Directly comparable to CBI in combining fundamental research, multi-disciplinary platforms and industry-funded programs.
• European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL): Intergovernmental fundamental research organization in molecular life sciences with multi-site platforms, advanced training and translational industry collaborations. Highly comparable to CBI as a publicly funded, platform-rich fundamental biology institute operating across multiple countries and disciplines.
• Wellcome Sanger Institute: Genomics-focused UK research institute with major technology platforms, large-scale data generation and industry partnerships. Comparable to CBI's BigA genomic platform and single-cell genomics capabilities.
• Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB), Mainz: Publicly funded German fundamental molecular biology research institute with advanced core facilities and international recruitment. Comparable to CBI in scale, technology platform model and fundamental research mission.
• Francis Crick Institute: Large UK biomedical discovery institute with core technology platforms, multidisciplinary teams and significant industrial/clinical collaboration. Highly comparable in scale (~1,500 scientists), structure and translational ambition.
• Institut Pasteur: Paris-based French foundational biology and infectious disease research institute with technology platforms, spin-off creation and extensive industrial partnerships. Comparable to CBI in mission, public funding model, platform-based structure and translational orientation.
• MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB): UK Research Council-funded fundamental biology institute with platform infrastructure and a strong record of Nobel-caliber discoveries and commercialization. Comparable in mission and platform-based research model.
• Max Planck Institute for Biology / Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics: Publicly funded German fundamental biology research institutes operating with shared technology platforms and international collaboration networks. Comparable in scale, platform model and focus on integrative molecular/cellular biology.

Emerging players

• Allen Institute: US non-profit research organization operating large-scale, platform-driven programs in biology with industry-style project management. Comparable to CBI in operating model (project-driven, platform-supported) though differing in private non-profit funding base.

Broad incumbents

• Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard: Larger, well-funded US biomedical and genomic research institute with extensive platforms, large-scale grants and major spin-out activity. Comparable to CBI in multi-platform biology but with significantly greater scale and commercial translation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xbsky.app/profile/cbitoulouse.bsky.social
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@CBI_Toulouse
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/centre-de-biologie-integrative

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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