We were so pleased when Phenocell joined the Axol Bioscience family in October 2024. The Phenocell team brought a decade of expertise in dermatology and ophthalmology iPSC modeling to the team, adding to Axol’s existing interest in neuroscience, pain and touch, and cardiovascular systems.

But this integration isn’t just about combining portfolios – it’s about building something greater together, a real 1 + 1 = 3. Together, we’re investing in new R&D initiatives, expanding our production and R&D capabilities, and laying the foundation for next-generation tools that will empower drug discovery, toxicology, and medical research, for years to come.

Most importantly, we’re learning from each other, and through this, accelerating approaches to drug development and compound testing, while jointly operating to our shared values of performance, accountability, transparency, acting with integrity, diversity & inclusivity, and collaboration.

It’s been a busy few months, so we wanted to bring you up to date with some of the exciting developments since the acquisition and give you a window into what’s next!

A Seamless Transition

There was a solid 6 months of preparation ahead of the public announcement on October 21st, which included a flurry of news reports and press releases. A detailed, cross site integration program was led by Mhairi Rodgers, Head of Operations at Axol.

Emails were sent to all customers and distributors. Phenocell products and services were made available on the Axol website, and LinkedIn profiles and email signatures were updated! Now that the news was public, the collaborations could begin in earnest!

We are keenly aware that our iPSC-derived cells and programs are mission critical for many of our client’s projects. To ensure a seamless transition in terms of ordering and technical support, Phenocell’s website and ordering channels remained active, but now Axol Bioscience offers ophthalmology and dermatology services via their channels too, expanding the global availability of these great offerings. Ordering information and product details were integrated into the Axol Bioscience website, and teams were cross trained on product ranges to ensure that we could build on the synergies between the two portfolios.

Combining Forces: New Opportunities in Disease Modeling

The new, larger scientific team can now share expertise, equipment, and processes. We scheduled a series of “exchange” visits between sites for the team to get to know each other, share information on R&D pipelines and manufacturing workflows, and build on the exciting synergies between the two companies to plan for the future.

The first few months saw our newly expanded team investing time together to share their skills and experience.

Key cross-site travel between the scientific teams included:

• Dr Jamie Bhagwan, cardiovascular Group Leader from Axol spent three months in Grasse at the Phenocell site, acting as an integration bridge for processes and technologies.
• Dr Florian Regent, ophthalmology Group Lead from the Phenocell side moved to Edinburgh for a month to support with the integration into Axol’s ISO 9001:2015 accredited Quality Manufacturing system in Edinburgh, of Ophthalmology cells previously produced in Grasse.
• Célian Soula, scientist in the Dermo-Cosmetics Group moved to Edinburgh for a month to support with the integration of dermatology cells previously produced in Grasse.

As much as this is about people, processes and science, there are also new technologies to share. The acquisition brings new automation, liquid handling and high content imaging systems to the Axol family, increasing the throughput of compounds that can be screened, and adding assay capabilities to the team.

We are in the final phase of product integration, and by the end of October, cell lines previously produced in Grasse will be manufactured and QC released from the Roslin Site in Edinburgh, before being shipped all over the world. This will free up capacity at the Grasse site to expand its R&D activities.

Together, the expanded Axol family now offers a broader range of products, including melanocytes, sebocytes, and retinal pigment epithelial cells, and can also develop a wider range of disease models. We were pleased to see classical ‘neuroscience’ clients excited about ophthalmology models, and dermatology customers looking to work with our sensory models. We saw clients asking for retinal microglia to study neuroinflammation, and to co-culture sensory neurons as part of dermatology models. This cross-over was always the hope and great to see.

We’ve had great fun getting to know new colleagues and making new friends and firing up our imaginations to conceive new products and services.

Commercial integration = working together on marketing and at conferences

The Axol marketing team had new science to learn and had to get up to speed quickly! They worked together with our new colleagues to produce new materials for the ophthalmology and dermatology products and are proud to have released several marketing pieces including Dermatology and Ophthalmology eBooks, webinars, scientist interviews, and posters. Our teams have worked together preparing scientific data, talks, flyers, and brochures. It’s been great attending conferences together with our new colleagues – we’ve expanded the list of conferences we attend, meeting a wider range of key opinion leaders from different application areas, and moving into new markets.

Our combined teams particularly enjoyed attending the 4th International Scientific Congress on Cosmetic Measurement & Testing (COMET 2025), the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) Annual Meeting, MPS World Summit, and the Skin Science Days by Cosmet’in in Lyon.

Why this is great for our customers

Whether you’ve worked with Axol, Phenocell, or both, the benefits of our integration are already beginning to take shape and will continue to develop over the coming months.

The Axol family now offers:

• An expanded portfolio: A broader range of iPSC-derived cell types, for cardiovascular, neuroscience, pain and touch, ophthalmology, and dermatology application areas.
• Combined expertise: We’ve combined the strengths of both teams and are unlocking potential in new and existing product and service areas.
• Streamlined support: We can offer a single point of contact for technical support, ordering, and collaborative project discussions.
• Accelerated innovation: Joint development of advanced disease models, including multi-lineage co-cultures and patient-specific iPSC systems.
• Unified quality standards: Rigorous QC, reproducibility, and scientific validation across all product lines.

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“A key driver behind the acquisition was the desire combine the skills of two great teams, with 1 + 1 equalling much more than 2! We are delighted to be working with the Phenocell team as part of the Axol Bioscience family, and are already seeing the fruits of our collaboration, as we build an even wider range of advanced in vitro models of human disease in new and exciting areas,” Dr Duncan Borthwick, Head of Sales and Marketing