Montaigu-Vendée, near Nantes, France, July 30, 2026 – Clean Cells, a leading provider of biopharmaceutical quality control services and member of the Clean Biologics Group, today announced the acquisition of Anaquant, a specialist in mass-spectrometry-based bioanalysis. Clean Cells will take full ownership of Anaquant’s brand, intellectual property, proprietary mass spectrometry analytics platform, equipment and existing client relationships, significantly expanding its protein characterization capabilities – a critical pillar of biopharmaceutical quality control and regulatory readiness.
“Anaquant is highly complementary to Clean Cells, bringing unique expertise that meets a fast-growing need in biopharmaceutical development,” said Laurent Claisse, CEO of Clean Cells.
“Protein characterization is a critical, and 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. Integrating this expertise into Clean Cells strengthens our analytical platform and provides our clients with a level of protein characterization that was previously out of reach. This is exactly the kind of scientific depth we aim to build within the group.”
Under the agreement, Clean Cells also acquires Anaquant’s ReadyBeads™ technology (patented in 2017), a proprietary reference standard product line for Host Cell Protein (HCP) profiling and targeted quantification of drug‑product‑specific HCPs. ReadyBeads supports a range of biopharmaceutical modalities, including monoclonal antibodies, phages, recombinant proteins and viral vectors such as AAV (Adeno-Associated Virus), lentivirus and baculovirus. HCPs are residual impurities from the manufacturing process that require increasingly sophisticated analytical methods to support product quality and regulatory approval; the addition of ReadyBeads, a commercially proven technology used worldwide, will help Clean Cells’ clients generate more robust data packages to underpin regulatory submissions.
The acquisition creates an end‑to‑end analytical offering at Clean Cells, spanning early method development through GMP‑grade release testing. Anaquant, based in Lyon, France, will anchor upstream research and development with protein characterization method development and validation, while Clean Cells will oversee GMP testing as programs advance toward regulatory submission. Anaquant’s team will join Clean Cells, with founder Tanguy Fortin continuing to lead protein analytics activities, ensuring continuous analytical support, consistent datasets and a single partner for clients during the most critical stages of development.
“Anaquant was built on the idea that mass spectrometry‑based protein characterization should be as accessible and reliable as any other standard quality control method in biopharmaceutical development,” said Tanguy Fortin, CEO and founder of Anaquant. “We have demonstrated that our technology delivers high‑value data to support our clients’ programs. By joining Clean Cells, we can extend this impact across the full development lifecycle. The GMP infrastructure and commercial reach that Clean Cells provides are exactly what we need to move beyond research-only engagements and support clients through clinical development and beyond.”
“Anaquant fits our acquisition criteria closely: differentiated technology, a recurring client base, and a strong position in a market that is being reshaped by regulatory pressure for more rigorous HCP testing,” added Ludovic Alonzi, partner at ARCHIMED, Clean Cells’ majority shareholder and a healthcare‑specialized private equity firm. “As mass spectrometry-based protein analytics move from niche application to standard expectation, integrating Anaquant with Clean Cells’ GMP platform allows us to capture that expanding opportunity while delivering a fully integrated service continuum to clients.”
The transaction comes amid growing demand for advanced protein characterization in biomanufacturing. Evolving regulatory expectations are driving broader adoption of mass spectrometry alongside conventional ELISA-based (antibody) HCP testing, with regulators and developers seeking more comprehensive analytical readouts to de‑risk development and support approval.
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
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