Clecell
Develops and commercializes 3D bioprinters (U-FAB series) and bioinks (Celluid series) for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, enabling precise layering of low-viscosity biomaterials.
- CEO / Founder
- Donghyuk Lee, Kyung-hwi Jeon
- Team Size
- 11-50
- Stage
- Active
- Total Funding
- $2.5M
- Latest Round
- Seed
- Key Investors
- Korea Development Bank; Mirae Asset Venture Investment; Shinhan Capital; KB Investment; Wonik Investment Partners; Hyundai Motor Company; KDB Capital; Korea Investment Partners; Industrial Bank of Korea; Daishin Securities
Technology & Products
Key Products
U-FAB series 3D bioprinters (e.g., U-FAB ACTIVO, U-FAB MASTER, NOVO, CLIBOT); Celluid bioink series (e.g., GelMA, ALMA); CleSKIN artificial skin models; CLE-iFTs (iPSC-derived full-thickness artificial skin)
Technical position · AMPulse analysis
Proprietary droplet-based bioprinting technology enables high-precision tissue fabrication with low-viscosity materials, validated by 13 patents and peer-reviewed publications; bioinks compatible with other printers create ecosystem lock-in.
Patent position
Clecell filed 27 patent families across all years, versus 52 for CELLINK, 5 for Allevi, and 300 for 3D Systems. Equipment’s share fell from 100% in 2019-2021 to 73% in 2022-2024. AMPulse analysis
- Filing momentum
- 11 families filed 2022–2024, 10 in 2019–2021
- Focus, 2019–2021 → 2022–2024
- Equipment 100% → 73%
- Filed in
- KR 44%WO 30%US 19%EP 4%JP 4%
- Named competitors, AM patent families
- CELLINK 52Allevi 53D Systems 300
27 AM patent families in total. Recent years are still being published, so read a filing change against the same-office figure.
Differentiation
Value Proposition
Reduces drug development time and costs by providing human-relevant 3D tissue models (e.g., artificial skin) that replace animal testing, with printers capable of handling 15 biomaterials simultaneously vs. 4-6 for competitors.
How They Differentiate
3x more biomaterial handling capacity (15 vs. 4-6) than typical bioprinters; proprietary low-viscosity material capability enables complex tissue structures; bioink compatibility across printers creates switching costs.
Market & Competition
Target Customers
Biomedical researchers, pharmaceutical companies, cosmetics companies, tissue engineering labs
Industry Verticals
Pharmaceuticals; Cosmetics; Biotechnology; Medical Research
Competitors
Organovo; CELLINK (BICO); Allevi (3D Systems)
Growth & Milestones
Growth Metrics
Reported ~580 million KRW (~$420,000) in annual revenue; commercialized world's first low-viscosity biomaterial 3D bioprinter; holds 13 patents.
Major Milestones
2017: Founded; 2023: Obtained US FCC certification for U-FAB ACTIVO market entry; 2024: Launched Celluid bioink series in South Korea; Commercialized CleSKIN artificial skin models; Developed iPSC-based full-thickness artificial skin (CLE-iFTs)
Notable Customers
Cosmax Viti I (for 3D artificial skin in cosmetics efficacy testing); AllisWell Bio (3D bioprinter supply); CancerFree BioTech (cancer organoid research)
AM patents
AM-relevant patents linked to this company.
- Patents
- 27
- Granted
- 12
- Families
- 27
Leading domains: process (27), equipment (23), application (6)
Filings by year: 2023: 2 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 2
- 바이오 3D 프린터의 생체물질 적층을 위한 하방 분사 방식 네블라이저의 누액 방지 시스템1023378140000 · KR
- PHOTOCURING PREVENTION DEVICE FOR PREVENTING PHOTOCURING OF BIOMATERIAL INSIDE SPRAYING NOZZLE AND DISPENSER, AND BIO 3D PRINTER COMPRISING SAME2021020668 · WO
- 분사영역의 지정이 가능한 3D 드롭렛 장치 및 그 지정방법1020230087265 · KR
- 바이오 프린터 및 제어방법1026237030000 · KR
- Apparatus for preventing photocuring of biomaterial in discharge nozzle and dispenser and bio 3D printer including the same11370169 · US