History
Founded in 1925 as a nonprofit to centralize microorganism collections for scientific research; key milestones include adopting freeze-drying in 1938, becoming the National Cancer Institute’s cell line repository in 1959, accepting patent deposits under the Budapest Treaty since 1981, earning ANSI accreditation for standards in 2007, publishing cell authentication guidelines in 2012, and supporting COVID-19 research with RNA constructs and viral isolates since 2019.

Expertise
Specializes in authenticating and distributing cell lines, microorganisms, molecular tools, and nucleic acids, serving life science research, diagnostics, drug discovery, and toxicology.

Accomplishments
Manages the world’s largest and most diverse biological collections, supports global health through collaborations with governments, industry, and academia, and advances research in fields like HIV/AIDS via reagent programs since 2021.

Size
Employs 500–1,000 staff, generates ~$177 million in annual revenue, with 75% U.S. customers and 25% international (6% government entities).

Influence in Exosome Field
Pioneers isolation of pure, sterile exosomes from cancer cell lines (prostate, colorectal, lung) and mesenchymal stem cells, providing standardized products for diagnostics, early cancer detection, non-invasive drug delivery, and functional studies in exosome biology and cell communication.