Culture Collections

What Culture Collections does

Culture Collections is the biological resource center operated by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), managing four internationally recognized collections of authenticated biological reference materials: ECACC (European Collection of Authenticated Cell Cultures), NCTC (National Collection of Type Cultures, established 1920 and the longest-established collection of its type globally), NCPV (National Collection of Pathogenic Viruses, including SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern), and NCPF (National Collection of Pathogenic Fungi, established 1946 and the UK's only specialized pathogenic fungi collection). The organization holds over 5,500 NCTC bacterial strains, over 4,500 NCPF fungal strains, authenticated human and animal cell lines, and pathogenic viruses, and serves academic, clinical, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology customers in the UK, EU, and Rest of World. Its proprietary technology stack includes LENTICULE® disc technology (International Patent Application WO 01/05941, manufactured under license by Merck/Sigma-Aldrich), AuthentiCell STR profiling with a public STR Profile database for human cell line authentication, and standard preservation methods (freeze-drying/lyophilisation, cryopreservation) backed by ISO/IEC 17025:2017 and ISO 9001:2015 accreditation and Human Tissue Act Licence 12646.

The organization monetizes through four channels: (1) one-time product sales of biological reference materials (cell lines, bacterial, viral, fungal strains, nucleic acids, LENTICULE® discs) via direct e-commerce at culturecollections.org.uk; (2) fee-for-service laboratory testing including mycoplasma testing, sterility testing, AuthentiCell cell line authentication, DNA extraction, lymphoblastoid cell line generation, and antimicrobial susceptibility testing; (3) recurring annual safe deposit/secure off-site storage subscriptions at temperature-controlled facilities (LN2, -80°C, -20°C, refrigerated); and (4) Budapest Treaty patent deposit services. Customer acquisition is supported through scientific conferences (Microbiology Society, ECCMID, BSMM), collection-specific email newsletters, YouTube tutorials, and active Twitter/X accounts for each collection. As a UK government state entity under UKHSA (transitioned from Public Health England in 2021), Culture Collections is not privately owned, venture-backed, or publicly traded, and its operations are operationally distinct but financially consolidated within UKHSA.

Name

Culture Collections

Legal name

Culture Collections (UK Health Security Agency)

Website

https://culturecollections.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1920

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Culture Collections, a UK Health Security Agency department, operates four internationally recognized biological reference collections (ECACC, NCTC, NCPV, NCPF) providing authenticated cell lines and bacterial, viral, and fungal strains plus testing and storage services to global research, clinical, and pharmaceutical customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Biological Resource Centre

NAICS

Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414), Medical Laboratories (621511)

SIC

Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836)

akta.pro primary industry

Sample Logistics, Biorepository & IVD Kit Management (Trial Support) (HLAGAEAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Microbiology & Infectious Disease Diagnostics (Culture/ID/AST) (HLAHAAAC), Microbiological Reference Cultures, Strains & Controls (Food Micro) (AFALAKAF), Diagnostic & Laboratory Packaging (Specimen Containers, Transport Tubes) (IMALAIAF)

Keywords

• Biological reference materials
• Authenticated cell lines
• Microbial culture collections
• Cell line authentication
• Biological resource center

Headquarters

HQ city

Salisbury

HQ country

United Kingdom

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. Biological Material Sales: Sale of biological reference materials including cell lines, bacteria strains, viruses, and fungi from the four collections (ECACC, NCTC, NCPV, NCPF). Products are supplied as freeze-dried cultures, growing cultures on agar slopes, or in other preservation formats. Revenue generated through one-time product sales with repeat purchases for consumable research materials.
2. Testing and Authentication Services: Fee-for-service laboratory testing including mycoplasma testing, sterility testing, cell line authentication (AuthentiCell), DNA extraction, lymphoblastoid cell line generation, and antimicrobial susceptibility testing.
3. Safe Deposit Services: Off-site secure storage solutions for biological materials (cell lines, viruses, bacteria) as a second site repository. Annual rental fees charged for storage space with temperature-controlled facilities (liquid nitrogen, -80°C, -20°C, or refrigerated storage).
4. Patent Deposit Services: Services for depositing biological materials under the Budapest Treaty for patent purposes, enabling depositors to meet patent filing requirements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Culture Collections supplies authenticated biological reference materials — cell lines, bacterial strains, viruses, and pathogenic fungi — through four specialized collections (ECACC, NCTC, NCPV, NCPF) operated as part of UK Health Security Agency. The portfolio includes nucleic acid products, LENTICULE® disc reference materials, and iPSC/hybridoma/HLA-typed cell line collections, complemented by laboratory services such as cell line authentication (AuthentiCell STR profiling), mycoplasma and sterility testing, DNA extraction, freeze-drying, secure off-site storage, and Budapest Treaty patent deposit services.

Product overview

Culture Collections is a biological resource center operated by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) that provides biological reference materials and related services through four distinct collections: ECACC (cell cultures), NCTC (bacteria), NCPV (viruses), and NCPF (fungi). The portfolio includes authenticated cell lines, bacterial strains, viruses, pathogenic fungi, nucleic acids, and specialized products like LENTICULE® Discs for quality control. Supporting services include cell line authentication (AuthentiCell), mycoplasma and sterility testing, DNA extraction, freeze drying, off-site storage, and patent deposit services. The organization operates under a unified operational structure but maintains separate collections with specialized expertise and catalogs for each biological type.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ECACC (European Collection of Authenticated Cell Cultures)

Quantifiable outcome

• NCTC celebrated 100 years of operation in 2020, establishing it as the longest-established collection of its type in the world
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• University of ManchestercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018COFUN is a Wellcome Trust funded project undertaken by the University of Manchester that aims to generate knockout mutants for all coding genes in Aspergillus fumigatus (approximately 10,000 strains). Culture Collections serves as the sole distributor for these strains.
• Merck (previously Sigma-Aldrich)coreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerMerck manufactures LENTICULE® discs for UKHSA under license. The LENTICULE® disc technology was developed from a small business initiative to a globally recognized product. The method of preparation and the discs themselves are subject to International Patent Application WO 01/05941.
• UK Biological Resource Centre Network (UKBRCN)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNCPF is one of the biological resource centres that make up the the UKBRCN. The group aims to support culture collections and their users and meets annually, fostering collaborative links within the biological resource community.
• European Bank for induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (EBiSC)minorOthersEBiSC is a not-for-profit hiPSC repository which collects, banks and distributes quality-assured and ethically sourced, disease relevant, research-grade hiPSC lines and data to academic and commercial researchers worldwide. Culture Collections offers Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease cell lines available through EBiSC.
• ID HubminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with ID Hub to create online resources including an eBook about the NCTC bacteriophage collection containing over 100 Staphylococcus, Streptococcus and Campylobacter bacteriophages.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• ATCC (American Type Culture Collection): ATCC is the largest and most established global biological resource center, providing authenticated cell lines, microorganisms, and biological reference materials. It is the most direct competitor to Culture Collections, operating in the same product category with global distribution.
• JCRB Cell Bank (National Institutes of Biomedical Innovation, Japan): JCRB is the primary Japanese cell line and microbial culture repository, providing similar authenticated reference materials for research and clinical use. It serves as a national equivalent to ECACC in Japan with parallel product categories and quality standards.
• Coriell Institute for Medical Research: Coriell operates one of the world's most diverse cell line and DNA repositories, including the NIGMS Human Genetic Cell Repository. It directly competes with ECACC's authenticated cell lines and offers similar biobanking and cell line authentication services.
• DSMZ (Leibniz Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures): DSMZ is Europe's largest biological resource center, comparable to Culture Collections in scope — offering bacterial strains, cell lines, viruses, and fungi with international distribution. Like Culture Collections, it serves as a patent deposit authority under the Budapest Treaty.
• BEI Resources (NIAID): BEI Resources is a US-funded repository for biological reference materials focused on infectious disease research, including bacterial and viral strains. It parallels NCTC and NCPV with international distribution to registered researchers.

Regional players

• NCIMB (National Collection of Industrial, Food and Marine Bacteria): NCIMB is the UK national culture collection for industrial, food, and marine bacteria, providing strain supply and patent deposit services. It overlaps with NCTC for industrial microbiology and serves as a complementary rather than competing national resource.
• CCUG (Culture Collection University of Gothenburg): CCUG is a Swedish-based culture collection providing bacterial and fungal strains for research and clinical use. It is a regional peer serving European customers with comparable authenticated reference materials.

Emerging players

• Microbiologics: Microbiologics specializes in ready-to-use quality control microorganisms and reference materials, including lyophilized pellets and discs. It overlaps with Culture Collections' LENTICULE® and bacterial QC offerings, with a more commercial orientation.

Broad incumbents

• ATCC (Government and Public Health Division equivalent: CDC): CDC operates broader public health laboratory and reference capabilities that complement Culture Collections' role within UKHSA. As a US broadly incumbent agency, it operates in similar public health reference material space but on a much larger institutional scale.
• bioMérieux: bioMérieux is a global leader in microbiology diagnostics and provides microbial identification, AST, and laboratory QC products. It represents a broader incumbent in the same end customer base (clinical and food microbiology labs) that Culture Collections serves with reference materials.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/NCTC_3000
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCCU2OmRy44TATAW22cW0x9g/videos
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/culture-collections

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries4 records

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 Collections