What cato research chemicals does

CATO Research Chemicals (广州佳途科技股份有限公司), founded in November 2016 and headquartered in Guangzhou, China, develops, manufactures, and sells certified reference materials (CRMs), pharmaceutical intermediates, and analytical services for pharmaceutical manufacturers, API producers, third-party testing laboratories, drug regulatory agencies, universities, and new materials companies. The company's catalog spans over 130,900 standard products across ten categories — pharmaceutical impurity reference standards (58,800+), isotope-labeled internal standards (15,000+), pesticide and veterinary drug residue standards (17,400+ combined), consumer product and environmental testing standards (12,100+ combined), natural extract and food testing standards (6,100+ combined), pharmacopoeial reference materials (3,400+), quality control samples (18,100+), and a new materials line of 3,000+ SKUs covering photoresist, polyimide, perovskite and organic solar cell, OLED, and vaccine inactivation intermediates. CATO holds dual ISO 17034 certification from CNAS (RM0030) and ANAB (AR-2832) and ISO 9001:2015 from SGS, claims to cover 95%+ of major API drug impurity categories, and sells into 13+ countries including the US, France, Russia, India, Brazil, and Mexico.

CATO's underlying technology combines proprietary chemistry platforms — SuFEx (sulfur(VI) fluoride exchange) catalysis published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition, chiral chemistry, deuteration, microchannel continuous flow, nitration, hydrogenation, and ultra-low temperature synthesis down to -200°C in 50L reactors — with an internal compound structure database of 10M+ molecules that supports RDKit-based structure search and similarity analysis for synthesis feasibility. Operations run from a 4,000 m² R&D laboratory in Guangdong, two hundred-ton-scale production bases in Zhuhai and Ganzhou, and a ~30,500 m² new global headquarters in Guangzhou that topped out in June 2026. Services include custom synthesis from milligram to kilogram scale, drug impurity preparation and structural identification (HPLC, LCMS, IR, 1H/13C-NMR, QNMR, DEPT135, 2D spectra), and customized quality control samples for regulated testing.

The business model combines catalog sales of reference standards and QC samples (one-time product revenue) with professional-services revenue from custom synthesis and drug impurity preparation/separation/identification. CATO reaches customers through a direct enterprise sales team supported by phone, email, QQ, and WeChat, an e-commerce platform with AI smart search and structure search (cato-chem.com and en.cato-chem.com), and participation in CPHI China. Pricing is quote-based rather than publicly disclosed, and named enterprise customers include Pfizer, Merck, Novartis, Roche, Lonza, Eurofins, SGS, Bureau Veritas, CSPC, Qilu, Chia Tai Tianqing, Kelun, and Yangtze River Pharmaceutical, alongside research collaborations with Peking, Sun Yat-sen, Jinan, and Shandong Universities, the Chinese Academy of Sciences Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, and the South China Institute of Environmental Sciences.

Name

cato research chemicals

Legal name

广州佳途科技股份有限公司

Website

https://cato-chem.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Short description

CATO Research Chemicals, founded in 2016 in Guangzhou, China, develops and sells over 130,900 certified reference materials, pharmaceutical intermediates, and custom synthesis services for pharmaceutical manufacturers, third-party testing labs, regulatory agencies, universities, and new materials companies, holding dual ISO 17034 certification (CNAS + ANAB) and exporting to 13+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Certified Analytical Reference Materials

NAICS

Other Basic Organic Chemical Manufacturing (32519), In-Vitro Diagnostic Substance Manufacturing (325413)

SIC

Industrial Organic Chemicals (2860), Medicinal Chemicals & Botanical Products (2833)

akta.pro primary industry

Impurity / Reference Standard Synthesis & Characterization (HLAGAHAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Electronic & High-Purity Specialty Chemicals (IMAEABAD), Chemical Standards & Calibration Solutions (Food Chemistry) (AFALAKAH), Veterinary Drug & Antibiotic Residue Testing (AFALAFAB)

Keywords

• Analytical reference standards
• Certified reference materials
• Pharmaceutical impurity standards
• Custom chemical synthesis
• Isotope-labeled internal standards

Headquarters

HQ city

Guangzhou

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Certified Reference Materials / Standard Products: CATO sells pharmaceutical reference standards, isotopic internal standards, pesticide residue standards, veterinary drug residue standards, food testing standards, environmental testing standards, consumer product testing standards, natural extract standards, and pharmacopoeial reference materials. Products are sold individually by catalog number with COA and full spectral data provided per batch. Over 130,900 standard products are available.
2. Custom Synthesis and Intermediates: CATO provides milligram to kilogram scale custom synthesis of small molecule compounds, focusing on globally scarce products, foreign monopoly products, and products lacking new regulations. Services include SuFEx catalysis, deuteration, chiral synthesis, nitration, hydrogenation, and microchannel continuous reactions.
3. Drug Impurity Preparation, Separation, and Structural Identification Services: Full-process one-stop service from impurity localization to analytical method development, preparative separation, structural identification, and content/value assignment for pharmaceutical clients. Handles complex impurities with content as low as <=0.1%.
4. Quality Control (QC) Samples: CATO provides QC samples for pharmaceutical analysis, clinical mass spectrometry, environmental testing, food safety, veterinary drug residue, and pesticide residue monitoring. Products provide low (LQC), medium (MQC), and high (HQC) concentration gradients, with customized QC sample preparation services based on customer-specified matrices, concentrations, and volumes.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Cato Research Chemicals manufactures and sells ISO 17034-certified analytical reference materials across pharmaceutical impurities, isotope-labeled internal standards, pesticide/veterinary drug residues, food safety, environmental, and consumer product testing applications (over 130,900 catalog items). It also provides milligram-to-kilogram custom synthesis of small molecules and pharmaceutical intermediates, plus full-chain drug impurity preparation, separation, and structural identification services using proprietary SuFEx catalysis, deuteration, chiral chemistry, and ultra-low temperature reaction platforms.

Product overview

CATO Research Chemicals is a provider of analytical reference standards and related services, operating as a dual-core business model combining standard reference materials (over 130,900 products across 10 categories) with new materials development. The core product lines include pharmaceutical impurity reference standards (58,800+), isotope-labeled internal standards (15,000+), pesticide and veterinary drug residue testing standards (17,400+ combined), consumer product and environmental testing standards (12,100+ combined), natural extracts and food testing standards (6,100+ combined), pharmacopoeial reference materials (3,400+), and quality control samples (18,100+). Supporting services include intermediates custom synthesis and drug impurity preparation/structural identification services. The company also operates a new materials division covering pharmaceutical intermediates, photoresist materials, polyimide intermediates, perovskite solar cell materials, and OLED materials.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CATO®: Primary brand for analytical reference standards and related products

Products and services

• Pharmaceutical Impurity Reference Standards (药物杂质标准品)
• Isotope-Labeled Internal Standards (同位素内标物质)
• Pesticide Residue Testing Standards (农药残留标准品)
• Veterinary Drug Residue Testing Standards (兽药残留标准品)
• Consumer Product Testing Standards (消费品检测标准品)
• Natural Extract Reference Standards (天然提取物标准品)
• Food Testing Standards (食品检测标准品)
• Environmental Testing Standards (环境检测标准品)
• Pharmacopoeial Reference Materials and Reagents (药典配套标准物质与试剂)
• Quality Control Samples (质控样品)
• New Materials (新材料)
• Intermediates Custom Synthesis Services (中间体合成服务)
• Drug Impurity Preparation, Separation & Structural Identification Service (药物杂质制备分离与结构鉴定服务)

Quantifiable outcome

• Covering over 95% of major API drug impurity categories with 130,900+ catalog products
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered strategic.

• Ministry of Ecology and Environment South China Institute of Environmental Sciences (生态环境部华南环境科学研究所)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic cooperation with the South China Institute of Environmental Sciences for environmental standard material development and testing methodology research.
• Chinese Academy of Sciences Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry (中国科学院上海有机化学研究所)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry (SIOC) for synthetic technology research and development of novel reference materials and pharmaceutical intermediates.
• Sun Yat-sen University (中山大学)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration with Sun Yat-sen University focused on small molecule pharmaceutical deuteration technology, leveraging university expertise in organic chemistry and pharmaceutical sciences.
• Southern University of Science and Technology (南方科技大学)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration with Southern University of Science and Technology for small molecule synthesis technology research, supporting CATO's synthesis capability development.
• Guangdong Institute of Testing and Analysis (广东省科学院测试分析研究所)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Guangdong Institute of Testing and Analysis for agricultural pesticide residue reference material development and standardization.
• China Pharmaceutical University (中国药科大学)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration with China Pharmaceutical University for small molecule pharmaceutical compound R&D, supporting drug impurity reference material development.
• Shenyang Pharmaceutical University (沈阳药科大学)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint R&D collaboration with Shenyang Pharmaceutical University for pharmaceutical impurity reference material synthesis, combining academic research expertise with industrial synthesis capabilities.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Toronto Research Chemicals (TRC): Toronto Research Chemicals is a direct peer: a leading global manufacturer of pharmaceutical impurity reference standards and deuterated compounds used in drug R&D and QC, with the most direct overlap on CATO's core product lines and target customers (pharma analytical labs).
• TCI Chemicals: TCI is a direct peer in research chemicals and specialty reference standards, offering organic intermediates, isotope-labeled compounds, and high-purity reagents to pharmaceutical, electronics, and academic customers in overlapping verticals.
• Cambridge Isotope Laboratories (CIL): CIL is a direct peer in isotope-labeled internal standards and stable isotope-labeled compounds used in pharma PK, clinical mass spectrometry, and environmental residue analysis — directly comparable to CATO's 15,000+ isotope-labeled internal standard product line.
• Fujifilm Wako Pure Chemical Industries: Fujifilm Wako is a direct peer in analytical reagents, reference standards, and specialty chemicals for pharmaceutical, clinical, and food safety applications — closely overlapping CATO's testing-oriented reference material SKUs, particularly in Japan and Asia.
• Restek Corporation: Restek is a direct peer in chromatography reference standards and certified reference materials for food safety, environmental, clinical, and pharmaceutical testing — directly overlapping CATO's environmental and food testing reference standards.
• Aladdin (Shanghai Aladdin Biochemical Technology): Shanghai Aladdin is a direct Chinese-headquartered peer in research chemicals and reference standards, with overlapping pharmaceutical intermediate, analytical reagent, and life science research product lines targeting the same domestic and APAC customer base as CATO.
• Bide Pharmatech: Bide Pharmatech is a direct peer in pharmaceutical intermediate and impurity custom synthesis, offering milligram-to-kilogram scale small molecule synthesis for pharma R&D customers — directly competitive with CATO's intermediates synthesis service line.
• PharmaBlock Sciences: PharmaBlock is a direct peer in pharmaceutical reference standards, building blocks, and intermediates, supplying pharma R&D globally with catalog and custom synthesis capabilities highly comparable to CATO's dual product/service model.

Broad incumbents

• LGC Group: LGC Group is a broad incumbent in reference materials, proficiency testing, and genomics standards serving pharmaceutical QC, food safety, and environmental testing — overlapping with CATO's reference standard catalog but at significantly larger scale and broader geographic footprint.
• MilliporeSigma (Merck KGaA / Sigma-Aldrich): MilliporeSigma is the broad incumbent category leader in analytical reference standards (including the Cerilliant and Supelco brands) and laboratory chemicals, competing with CATO on every pharmaceutical, environmental, and food-safety reference category.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/guangzhouCATO

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 cato research chemicals