Single Cell Discoveries (SCD), the first spin-off from Oncode Institute, has acquired Swedish company TATAA Biocenter, expanding its capabilities from early discovery through to clinical development.
Single Cell Discoveries (SCD), the first spin-off from Oncode Institute, has acquired Swedish company TATAA Biocenter. The acquisition allows SCD to support research across a larger part of the drug development process, from early discovery through to validation and clinical development.
In practice, this means that a finding made during early research can now be further tested and validated within the same organisation. This can make the transition between research and the next stages of drug development more efficient, with fewer handovers between different providers.
SCD was founded in 2018 by Mauro Muraro and Judith Vivié, following research in the lab of Oncode Investigator Alexander van Oudenaarden at the Hubrecht Institute. With support from the Oncode Institute Valorization team, they took the step from academic research to building an independent company focused on making single-cell technologies available to academic researchers and companies.
Jeroen Blokhuis, Head of Valorization at Oncode Institute.
Jeroen Blokhuis, Head of Valorization at Oncode Institute.
“Single Cell Discoveries is our first spin-off, so we follow its development closely. This expansion shows that excellent Dutch research, backed with the right support when the risk is highest, can grow into a company that competes internationally. That's the case we keep making,” says Jeroen Blokhuis, Head of Valorization at Oncode Institute.
Since then, SCD has grown significantly. With the acquisition of TATAA, the combined organisation brings together around 50 scientists across Utrecht and Gothenburg.
The two companies also bring different expertise together. SCD specialises in technologies that allow researchers to study individual cells and understand differences that can otherwise remain hidden when looking at a larger group of cells. TATAA adds expertise in molecular analysis and in validating findings according to the quality standards needed as research moves closer to clinical development.
For SCD, this addresses a practical gap. Customers working with the company during the discovery stage often had to go elsewhere to validate their findings for a clinical programme.
“This is a natural fit. Customers kept telling us the same thing: they loved working with us on discovery but had to go elsewhere to validate targets for a clinical program. TATAA closes that gap,” says Mauro Muraro, CEO of Single Cell Discoveries.
Mauro Muraro, CEO of Single Cell Discoveries.
Mauro Muraro, CEO of Single Cell Discoveries.
For Oncode Institute, SCD’s growth is also part of a longer story. The company started from research within the Oncode community and was supported by our Valorization team in its early stages. Eight years later, SCD has grown into an international company that can take scientific discoveries further towards clinical development.
SCD’s development shows what can happen when promising research gets the support to move beyond the lab. What started as research has grown into a company that makes these technologies available to researchers and companies working on new diagnostics and treatments.
TATAA will continue to operate from Gothenburg with its current team. Mauro Muraro and Judith Vivié will lead the combined organisation.
