Dr. Nico Forraz has created Ctibiotech with Dr. McGukin, according to an image caption on the website Mesinfos.fr. The creation of Ctibiotech USA, which has been in the works since the fall of 2025, has now materialized with the establishment of a first laboratory in Philadelphia. “We have settled in an incubator developed by Biolabs, an American company that reconfigures spaces to accommodate biotech, medtech, and healtech start-ups,” said Nico Forraz, Ctibiotech’s general manager.
The company has already recruited its first collaborator, with more team members expected to join rapidly. “We are planning to create around thirty jobs within the next four years,” confirmed Forraz.
To support this initiative, Ctibiotech Lyon’s director intends to establish a second team in another Philadelphia incubator, the Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC), located in the university district. “Our choice of incubator aligns with the same logic as selecting Biolabs: we want to be immersed in Philadelphia’s biotech ecosystem,” explained Forraz.
Ctibiotech, a start-up specializing in advanced human tissue development for biomedical research and the pharmaceutical industry, has announced a $27 million investment to support the creation, establishment, and growth of its American subsidiary. This financial commitment consists of $12 million in direct funding over five years and $15 million for the transfer of expertise and technologies from Ctibiotech’s parent company to Ctibiotech USA.
Meanwhile, Nico Forraz aims to strengthen the company’s position in France by growing the team in Meyzieu from 25 employees to around forty within the next three years. “We should have about thirty employees by the end of this year,” he estimated. This expansion is expected to also reflect in Ctibiotech’s revenue, with projections of €7 million for the current year, up from €4.5 million in 2025.
The launch of the Ctioncotest platform, under development for four years, is expected to contribute significantly to achieving Ctibiotech’s goals. According to Forraz, this technology, which received a €3 million investment and €1.25 million from France 2030, involves using tumor samples from patients to create study models for cancer research. The aim is to enhance the resolution to scale up and conduct more tests, ultimately gaining market share in drug candidate development.
Dedicated teams will work together to finalize the technology in Meyzieu and implement it to support pharmaceutical and biotech industries, as well as in Philadelphia for clinical deployment.
