# Cellesce

Source: https://onco.cc/companies/cellesce/  
OnCo record `cellesce` (Company). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Cellesce, in Cardiff, grows patient-derived tumour organoids, tiny three-dimensional copies of a patient's tumour, in bioreactors at a scale big enough for drug companies to test large numbers of compounds on them. It was bought by Molecular Devices in December 2022.

## Summary

Cellesce is a Cardiff company providing contract development and manufacturing of large-scale patient-derived organoids for drug screening, using a bioprocess workflow and bioreactors that the Development Bank of Wales reports give 20- to 60-fold productivity gains. Companies House records it as incorporated on 12 April 2013, first named BBF Bio Limited. The Development Bank of Wales backed it from 2017, investing GBP 1 million across three rounds. In December 2022 Molecular Devices, LLC announced it had acquired Cellesce, and Companies House shows Molecular Devices (UK) Limited as the person with significant control from 5 December 2022, holding 75 per cent or more of shares and votes. Molecular Devices is not yet a company record in OnCo.

## Fields

- Kind: Company
- Last checked: 2026-11-03
- Also known as: Cellesce Limited
- HQ: Cardiff
- Type: cro-services
- Website: https://www.cellesce.com/

## Notes

- Acquirer named from the Development Bank of Wales announcement and Companies House; Molecular Devices has no OnCo record, so acquiredBy is left empty. The deal value was not disclosed in the sources read. On 3 November 2026 Companies House showed the Cellesce Limited entity with overdue accounts and an active proposal to strike off, which may mean the business has been folded into Molecular Devices; that was not confirmed. The company website did not respond when checked. Founded is the incorporation year.

## Sources

- Development Bank of Wales: Molecular Devices acquires Cellesce, December 2022: https://developmentbank.wales/news-and-events/life-science-provider-molecular-devices-announces-acquisition-cardiff-based
- Companies House: Cellesce Limited: https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/08484947
- Companies House: persons with significant control: https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/08484947/persons-with-significant-control

## Connected records

- fronts: [Drug Discovery Platforms](https://onco.cc/fronts/drug-discovery/)
- technologies: [Patient-derived organoids](https://onco.cc/technologies/organoids/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/cellesce.json