Clean Cells Acquires Mass Spectrometry CRO Anaquant to Deliver End-to-End Protein Characterization From Early Development Through GMP Release

• Clean Cells, a leading European biopharmaceutical quality control CRO and member of the Clean Biologics Group backed by ARCHIMED, has acquired Anaquant, a Lyon, France-based CRO specializing in mass spectrometry-based protein quantification and identification — adding advanced protein characterization, host cell protein profiling, and the proprietary ReadyBeads™ technology to its biologics GMP testing platform.

• The acquisition creates a continuous analytical service model spanning early-phase protein characterization method development and validation through GMP-grade lot release testing under a single CRO partner, directly addressing evolving FDA and EMA expectations for more rigorous, mass spectrometry-supported host cell protein analysis across biologics, gene therapy, and viral vector programs.

Clean Cells, a leading European biopharmaceutical quality control CRO headquartered near Nantes, France and a member of the Clean Biologics Group, announced on July 30, 2026, the acquisition of Anaquant, a Lyon-based CRO specializing in mass spectrometry-based protein quantification and identification. The transaction gives Clean Cells full ownership of Anaquant’s brand, intellectual property, proprietary mass spectrometry analytics platform, equipment, and existing client relationships — with Anaquant founder Tanguy Fortin continuing to lead the protein analytics activity within the enlarged organization. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The acquisition addresses a capability gap at the upstream end of Clean Cells’ quality control service offering. Anaquant has spent more than 15 years building standardized, accessible mass spectrometry methods for protein characterization — covering identity testing, impurity quantification, and host cell protein profiling — validated across monoclonal antibodies, recombinant proteins, phages, and viral vectors including AAV, lentivirus, and baculovirus. These capabilities are directly complementary to Clean Cells’ downstream GMP-grade biosafety testing, lot release testing, cell and virus banking, and biologics storage services. The result is an end-to-end analytical continuum: Anaquant anchors early-stage method development and validation, while Clean Cells assumes responsibility for GMP testing as biopharma programs advance toward regulatory submission.

A key commercial asset transferred through the acquisition is the ReadyBeads™ technology, a patented reference standard product line for host cell protein profiling and targeted HCP quantification across a broad range of biopharmaceutical applications. HCPs are residual manufacturing process impurities that require increasingly sophisticated analytical methods to detect and quantify — a regulatory requirement that is intensifying as agencies move beyond conventional ELISA-based HCP testing toward mass spectrometry-supported approaches that generate more comprehensive and reproducible characterization data. ReadyBeads™ is a commercially proven, globally used technology that will enable Clean Cells to support clients in generating more robust HCP datasets from early development, building regulatory-ready evidence from the outset of their programs.

For biopharmaceutical CRO sponsors, the integrated Clean Cells and Anaquant platform eliminates a common structural gap: the disconnect between early-phase analytical method development — typically conducted at research-grade CROs — and the GMP-compliant quality control testing required for regulatory submissions. By combining both functions under a single CRO partner with consistent data, continuous client relationships, and coordinated method transfer, the model reduces risk at the preclinical-to-clinical and development-to-manufacturing transition points that have historically required sponsors to re-establish analytical relationships and revalidate methods across vendors.

“Protein characterization is a critical but often underestimated layer of biopharmaceutical quality control. Anaquant has developed standardized mass spectrometry methods that are accessible to early-phase developers and generate valuable data from the earliest stages, laying the foundation for future regulatory submissions. Transferring this expertise to Clean Cells strengthens our analytical platform and gives our clients access to a level of protein characterization previously out of their reach.”

Laurent Claisse, Chief Executive Officer, Clean Cells