Who we are

Univercells raised € 44 million through the first close of its Series D financing round. The investment was led by Belgian and international investors. In addition to the support of existing public institutional funds, other historical investors joined the round and consolidated their participation in Univercells. The financing round also sees participation of new Belgian and international investors.

Partnership with Institut Pasteur de Dakar (IPD) and Batavia Biosciences for the development of affordable measles & rubella vaccine, through grant by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Ntensify, Quantoom Biosciences' RNA production system, at the heart of the company's RNA production technology. The Ntensify system was installed in mobile labs in the Belgian facilities in the summer of 2022 for the first time.

Acquisition of RLM Consulting as a fifth Univercells affiliate, providing regulatory guidance and assistance to SME.

A biotechnology company that aims to debottleneck biotherapeutics development through an unprecedented robust, scalable and automated DNA synthesis technology.

A partnership between Unizima, Intact and KeyPlants to collaborate with the Senegalese government and international funders to establish a vaccine manufacturing facility under the ownership of the Institut Pasteur de Dakar.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) Univercells have signed a €30 million loan agreement to enable the production of large volumes of COVID-19 vaccines.

Exothera is a uniquely positioned viral vector CDMO (contract manufacturing and development organization) leveraging standard and innovative bioproduction platforms to deliver affordable cell and gene therapies.

ReiThera, LEUKOCARE and Univercells, announced a strategic collaboration for the development and large-scale manufacturing of a novel adenoviral vector-based vaccine against COVID-19. The vaccine candidate is expected to enter clinical trials during summer 2020 with large-scale vaccine production planned to start soon after.

Univercells launches Exothera, a Univercells company, to support cell & gene therapy developers with process development and production of viral vectors. The CDMO will help to alleviate the two most critical challenges manufacturers face: a structural lack of capacity and scarcity of bioprocessing expertise.

This newly created subsidiary focuses on the commercialization of the product portfolio - the scale-X™ bioreactor portfolio and the NevoLine™ platform - and will explore new technology developments to expand its position in the cell and gene therapy market.

€ 50M financing from Gamma Biosciences, a new investment platform supported by leading global investment firm KKR. The investment will be deployed on accelerating the industrialization and commercialization of the NevoLine™ biomanufacturing platform and the scale-X™ bioreactor portfolio.

EIB Financing will support the development of four essential and undersupplied vaccines to be produced at affordable prices, high quality and large volumes. The portfolio – including polio, measles and rubella, and rabies vaccines – requires significant investment in process development through clinical and regulatory validation.

Univercells has been awarded a new grant of $14.3 million by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to increase the availability of measles and rubella (M&R) vaccines in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Univercells will adapt the process design of its proprietary NevoLine™ platform to deliver affordable M&R vaccines.

Univercells launches its proprietary NevoLine™ bioproduction system for vaccines that was initially developed as part of a $12M grant awarded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to deliver affordable inactivated polio vaccine (sIPV). The consortium also received a $4M grant extension to scale-up the manufacturing system and process in preparation for clinical and commercial application.

Series B financing round of €16M led by Global Health Investment Fund, joined by Korea Investment Partners, Inventures Investment Partners, impact Venture Capital, The Innovation Fund, and private investors federated by TheClubDeal SA. This support will enable the commercialization of diversified biomanufacturing technologies.

Univercells expands its activities and starts operations at its new Equipment Design & Production Center in Nivelles, Belgium. This new facility fosters the broader development of its successful manufacturing platform and lets visitors experience firsthand its micro-facility proof of concept to learn more about the groundbreaking impact of its innovative technology.

The Walloon government grants Univercells €2.4M to launch its “Universimilar” program that focuses on the design of next-generation production technologies to reduce manufacturing costs, deliver large quantities and answer the growing market demand for antibodies. The resulting production units will be easily deployable worldwide, providing access to high-quality biologics to all.

Capital increase led by US & EU-based equipment development and vaccine industry executives, and Belgian entrepreneurs. This capital accelerates development and commercialization of the company’s platforms and solutions, aiding its viral platforms’ commercial roll-out and its recombinant platform completion.

Univercells’ continued and fruitful advancement allows it to grow, facilitated and accompanied by the expansion of its facility space in Gosselies’ Biopark. The extended labs, now encompassing three times the initial space in the Biopark, boosting its overall capabilities, hosts the development of its recombinant protein technology.

With the viral platform now under commercial development, Univercells focuses on the second pillar/application of its technology – its recombinant proteins platform

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation granted $12M to establish a micro facility for inactivated polio vaccine (sIPV) that can deliver 40 million doses of trivalent vaccine per year at a manufacturing cost of less than $0.15 per dose. The development is to be performed by a consortium which also includes Batavia Biosciences and Natrix Separations.

Univercells rings in the holiday as it toasts to the inauguration of its first laboratory established to pursue commercial development of its technologies in the i-Tech incubator in Gosselies.

After receiving its first substantial injection of capital by closing a €3M investment with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, Limited, through its strategic venture arm Takeda Ventures, Inc., Univercells will work towards the expansion and evolution of its efforts and products to further revolutionize the biologics industry.

Experienced entrepreneurs Hughes Bultot and José Castillo establish Univercells in 2013. After several successes in the biotechnology and life sciences sectors, they seek the development of technologies to have a direct and meaningful impact on the way biologics are manufactured worldwide.