{"entity":{"id":"cellesce","kind":"company","name":"Cellesce","aka":["Cellesce Limited"],"tldr":"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.","asOf":"2026-11-03","links":[{"label":"Development Bank of Wales: Molecular Devices acquires Cellesce, December 2022","url":"https://developmentbank.wales/news-and-events/life-science-provider-molecular-devices-announces-acquisition-cardiff-based"},{"label":"Companies House: Cellesce Limited","url":"https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/08484947"},{"label":"Companies House: persons with significant control","url":"https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/08484947/persons-with-significant-control"}],"tags":[],"related":[],"cancers":[],"sections":["drug-discovery"],"technologies":["organoids"],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"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."],"hq":"Cardiff","country":"GB","companyType":"cro-services","website":"https://www.cellesce.com/","founded":2013,"stage":"acquired","investors":[],"funding":[]},"route":"/companies/cellesce/","neighbours":{"section":[{"id":"drug-discovery","kind":"section","name":"Drug Discovery Platforms","route":"/fronts/drug-discovery/"}],"technology":[{"id":"organoids","kind":"technology","name":"Patient-derived organoids","route":"/technologies/organoids/"}]}}