What Roukenbio does

RoukenBio is a preclinical contract research organisation (CRO) specialising in immunology, founded in 2015 in Scotland (formerly as Antibody Analytics). The company provides fee-for-service drug development support to global biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies from early discovery through pre-IND testing, covering small molecule, large molecule, and advanced therapeutics including antibodies, cell therapies, and biosimilars. Its service portfolio spans immune cell assays (dendritic cells, T cells, NK cells, B cells, neutrophils, macrophages, tumour cells, granulocytes, and whole blood), biosimilar characterisation, immunotoxicology, and therapeutic-area-focused programmes in allergy and autoimmunity.

The company's technical differentiation rests on two proprietary cell-engineering platforms: IndEx-2, a dual inducible cell line system that enables independent titratable expression of target antigens for evaluating antigen density activation thresholds in CAR-T, bispecific antibodies, ADCs, and immune cell engagers; and LocIn, a Recombinase Mediated Cassette Exchange-based targeted integration system that generates isogenic mammalian cell lines and reduces cell line development timelines by approximately six weeks. A separate sub-brand, RoukenCells, distributes off-the-shelf IndEx-2 cell lines, reporter cell lines, and immune cell banks. Multiple patents are filed in cell line engineering and CAR-T cell therapy (co-inventor Dr Timothy London, ex-MedImmune and ex-TC BioPharm).

RoukenBio operates from a 2,000 m² Discovery Centre in Motherwell, Scotland, with 484 m² of laboratory space. It employs 100+ staff, serves customers in 25 countries, and reports an NPS of 79 with customer satisfaction scores above 9/10 across knowledge, timelines, communication, and overall satisfaction. Revenue is generated through bespoke, quote-based project contracts, with a consultative enterprise sales motion routed through HubSpot meeting scheduling. The company received growth investment from NorthEdge in 2023 and announced a strategic partnership with AVS Bio in February 2026 to integrate antibody discovery with mechanism-driven functional characterisation.

Name

Roukenbio

Legal name

RoukenBio Ltd

Website

https://rouken.bio

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

RoukenBio is a preclinical immunology CRO providing cell-based assay services, custom cell line engineering, and biosimilar characterisation to global biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies from early discovery through pre-IND testing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Preclinical Immunology Contract Research Services

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Medical Laboratories (621511), Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories (6215)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Medical Laboratories (8071)

akta.pro primary industry

Preclinical CROs (Discovery/Pharmacology/DMPK) (HLAGAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Bioanalytical & Biomarker CROs (PK/PD/Immunogenicity) (HLAGAAAD), Specialty Therapeutic-Area CROs (e.g., oncology/rare disease) (HLAGAAAL), DMPK / ADME & Bioanalysis (HLAGAFAC)

Keywords

• Preclinical immunology CRO
• Immune cell assays
• Custom cell line engineering
• Biosimilar characterisation services
• Drug discovery CRO

Headquarters

HQ city

Motherwell

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Contract Research Services: RoukenBio operates as a preclinical Contract Research Organisation (CRO) providing immunology-focused drug development services. Services span from early discovery through pre-IND testing, supporting small molecule, large molecule, and advanced therapy development. Revenue is generated through fee-for-service research contracts with biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

RoukenBio is a preclinical immunology Contract Research Organisation (CRO) providing bespoke drug discovery and development services from early discovery through pre-IND testing. Its core offering covers immune cell-based assays, custom cell line engineering, biosimilar characterisation, immunotoxicology, and therapeutic area expertise in allergy and autoimmunity, supported by proprietary IndEx-2 and LocIn platforms. The RoukenCells sub-brand additionally supplies off-the-shelf engineered cell lines, reporter cells, and immune cell banks for client in-house workflows.

Product overview

RoukenBio is a preclinical immunology CRO providing discovery to IND-enabling research services as a unified offering across the drug development lifecycle. The core portfolio spans immune cell assays (covering dendritic cells, T cells, NK cells, B cells, neutrophils, macrophages, tumour cells, granulocytes, and whole blood), custom cell line engineering (built on proprietary IndEx-2 and LocIn platforms), biosimilars testing, immunotoxicology, and therapeutic focus areas in allergy and autoimmunity. RoukenCells operates as a separate sub-brand providing off-the-shelf cell products including IndEx-2 cell lines, reporter cells, and immune cell banks.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Preclinical Immunology CRO Services Preclinical contract research organisation services covering the full spectrum of discovery to pre-IND testing, supporting small molecule, large molecule, and advanced therapeutics development from early discovery through clinical phases for biotechnology and pharmaceutical clients globally.
• Immune Cell Assays In vitro immunology assay services covering dendritic cell assays, T cell assays, NK cell assays, B cell assays, neutrophil assays, macrophage assays, tumour cell assays, granulocyte assays, and whole blood assays for drug discovery and preclinical development.
• IndEx-2 Dual Inducible Cell Line Platform Proprietary dual inducible cell line platform that independently modulates expression of one or two target antigens across biologically relevant densities, enabling determination of antigen density activation thresholds for targeted immunotherapies including CAR-T cells, bispecific antibodies, ADCs, and immune cell engagers.
• LocIn Targeted Integration System Advanced targeted integration system for efficient generation of genetically identical isogenic mammalian cell lines using Recombinase Mediated Cassette Exchange (RMCE), removing the need for subcloning and reducing cell line generation timeline by approximately 6 weeks.
• Custom Cell Line Engineering Bespoke cell line development services including gene editing, reporter cell lines, target-expressing cell lines, defined expression levels, and CAR-T cells engineered to meet specific therapeutic modality requirements.
• Biosimilar Characterisation and Testing Services Comprehensive biosimilar characterisation services including analytical similarity strategy, MOA-reflective binding and functional assays, Fab/Fc binding assessments, ADCC/CDC assays, and regulatory-compliant comparative data generation for biosimilar developers.
• Immunotoxicology Assays In vitro immunotoxicology services including PBMC cytokine release assays, on-target off-tumour side effect prediction using IndEx-2, and immunogenicity assessments (DC maturation, T cell activation, ADA assay development) for early immune safety assessment.
• Allergy Therapeutic Development Services Advanced human in vitro allergy assay platforms modelling core type 2 inflammatory pathways including IgE/FcεRI signalling, mast cell and basophil activation, eosinophil function, Th2 cytokine biology, and B-cell class switching for biologics and small molecule therapeutics.
• Autoimmune Assays and Drug Discovery Services Human-relevant in vitro autoimmune assays including mixed lymphocyte reactions, T cell activation/suppression/polarisation assays, Treg suppression assays, macrophage polarisation assays, B cell depletion assays, and T cell depletion assays for immunotherapy evaluation.
• RoukenCells Cell Product Line Cell product arm of RoukenBio providing off-the-shelf engineered cell lines including IndEx-2 cell lines, reporter cell lines, and standardised/bespoke primary human immune cell banks for seamless integration into customers' internal assay workflows.

Quantifiable outcome

• Net Promoter Score of 79, indicating exceptionally high customer satisfaction and loyalty
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• AVS BiocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 February 2026Strategic partnership to integrate antibody discovery and development services with mechanism-driven functional characterisation. Combines AVS Bio's design-focused discovery platforms with RoukenBio's cell-based and primary immune cell assay systems. Creates an end-to-end antibody engine to improve lead candidate prioritisation and reduce translational uncertainty before IND-enabling studies. AVS Bio has supported over 100 life sciences companies since 2018, with 10 antibodies entering clinical trials.
• HistologiXminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGLP & GCP compliant CRO specialising in advanced tissue-based biomarker analysis including histology, immunohistochemistry (IHC), immunofluorescence (IF), in situ hybridisation (ISH), and digital image analysis services for therapeutic and medical device development.
• ScendeaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeading product development and regulatory consulting practice serving pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. Offers strategic and operational support in quality/CMC, non-clinical/toxicology, clinical/medical and regulatory affairs. Team members based in UK, Ireland, Netherlands and US.
• EvitriaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEstablished global antibody expression service provider located in Zurich, Switzerland. Specialised in CHO-based transient expression of antibodies including bispecific and fusion antibodies. Track record of more than 125,000 transfections performed and more than 20,000 antibodies expressed and purified.
• ScreenIn3DminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeveloper of best-in-class lab-on-chip screening platforms for 3D disease models. Offers patented technology providing higher throughput investigation of candidate molecules on translational live tissue samples and complex 3D models. Delivers over 20 times more data than existing methods.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Inotiv: Discovery and preclinical CRO providing immunology, cell-based assay and biosimilar services; competes in adjacent preclinical spaces with mid-tier scale similar to RoukenBio.
• Eurofins Discovery: Large global CRO network with immunology and cell-based assay capabilities as part of a broad discovery services portfolio; competes with RoukenBio on immunology projects but as one of many service lines.
• Labcorp Drug Development (Fortrea): Large CRO offering immunology, cell-based assay and biosimilar characterization services across the full drug development lifecycle - significant overlap with RoukenBio's preclinical offerings, especially in biosimilars.
• Pharmaron: Global CRO/CDMO with cell biology, immunology and biosimilar capabilities; competes with RoukenBio on preclinical immunology projects, with broader integrated discovery-to-manufacturing offering.
• Charles River Laboratories: Major global CRO offering immunology, cell-based assays and biosimilar services as part of an end-to-end discovery and development portfolio - broader scope and scale but overlapping capabilities.

Emerging players

• iQ Biosciences: Smaller specialty CRO offering primary immune cell isolation, cell-based assays and immunology services to biopharma - emerging niche player with similar but more limited offering than RoukenBio.

Direct peers

• ProImmune: Specialty immunology services CRO offering cell-based assays, MHC-peptide binding, and immune monitoring services to biopharma - directly comparable niche specialization and customer base to RoukenBio.
• Caprion Biosciences (CellCarta): Immunology and biomarker CRO with strong flow cytometry, immunophenotyping and cell-based assay capabilities serving biopharma; operates at a slightly larger scale but with similar specialty positioning.
• ReachBio Research Labs: Specialty CRO focused on hematology and immunology cell-based assays, including primary human cell assays - direct niche competitor in similar cell-based immunology services.
• ImmunXperts: Immunology-focused CRO specializing in immune cell assays, antibody characterization and immunogenicity testing using primary human immune cells - closely overlaps RoukenBio's core preclinical immunology service offering.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights1 record

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCe8rsU0LwBcEv6YtvBXiAUQ
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/roukenbio

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Roukenbio