# Catena Biosciences

**Source:** https://geo.sig.ai/brands/catena-biosciences  
**Vertical:** Healthcare  
**Subcategory:** General  
**Tier:** Emerging  
**Website:** catenabio.com  
**Last Updated:** 2026-04-14

## Summary

US YC W21 protein conjugation technology for homogeneous ADCs and biologics at $9.1M total ($2.35M seed May 2024 LongeVC/Caffeinated) and $750K revenue Jun 2025; MPC platform competing with Ajinomoto and Abzena for precise ADC conjugation services.

## Company Overview

Catena Biosciences is a United States-based biotechnology company — backed by Y Combinator (W21) with $9.1 million in total funding including a $2.35 million seed round in May 2024 from LongeVC, CA Innovation Fund, Civilization Ventures, Pioneer Fund, Freeflow Ventures, Caffeinated Capital, and BrightEdge Capital, plus NIH SBIR grants — developing next-generation protein conjugation technology that enables the rapid, selective attachment of functional payloads (drugs, labels, polymers, other proteins) to therapeutic proteins using natural amino acids as conjugation handles, generating $750,000 in annual revenue as of June 2025 and serving pharmaceutical companies and researchers developing antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), bispecific antibodies, vaccine adjuvants, and next-generation protein therapeutics for autoimmune disorders, oncology, and infectious disease.

Catena Biosciences' Multi Payload Conjugate (MPC) platform addresses a fundamental limitation in antibody-drug conjugate development: conventional protein conjugation methods (NHS ester chemistry, maleimide chemistry) attach drug payloads to antibodies at non-specific sites (random lysine or cysteine residues throughout the antibody) — creating heterogeneous conjugates with variable drug-to-antibody ratios (DAR) that affect pharmacokinetics, efficacy, and safety. The FDA-approved ADC Kadcyla (ado-trastuzumab emtansine) exemplifies the heterogeneity problem: different antibody molecules in the same batch carry 0, 2, 4, or 8 drug molecules, creating a mixture with variable potency and off-target toxicity. Catena's site-specific conjugation chemistry (using engineered unnatural amino acid handles or novel selective chemistry at specific natural amino acid sites) enables pharmaceutical researchers to produce homogeneous conjugates with defined, controlled conjugation sites and stoichiometries — improving the ADC therapeutic window and manufacturing consistency critical for clinical development.

In 2025, Catena Biosciences competes in the protein conjugation technology, ADC development tools, and biologics manufacturing services market with Ajinomoto (ADC site-specific conjugation services), Innate Pharma (site-specific conjugation technology platform, acquired by AstraZeneca), and Abzena (ADC CDMO with conjugation services, $150M raised) for pharmaceutical company ADC and protein therapeutic conjugation service adoption. The ADC market has become one of oncology's hottest drug development categories — 14 FDA-approved ADCs by 2025 and 100+ in clinical development — creating growing demand for conjugation services and technology licenses that improve ADC development efficiency. NIH SBIR grant funding validates Catena's scientific approach and provides non-dilutive capital for platform development. Caffeinated Capital's biotech investment focus and Amgen's participation reflect therapeutic protein development industry validation. The 2025 strategy focuses on growing the ADC development service revenue from oncology biotech clients, licensing the MPC platform to large pharmaceutical companies for internal ADC programs, and building the GMP-compatible conjugation manufacturing for clinical-stage ADC customers.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### What is Catena Biosciences?
Catena Biosciences (CatenaBio) is a Berkeley, California-based biotechnology company founded in 2020 that develops next-generation protein conjugation technology. The company creates novel therapeutics in autoimmune disorders, oncology, and vaccine development through its Multi Payload Conjugates (MPC) platform.

### What products and services does Catena Biosciences offer?
Catena Biosciences provides protein conjugation platforms, Multi Payload Conjugates, antibody-drug conjugates, therapeutic development services, vaccine development, conjugate development, and therapeutic research tools. These solutions serve pharmaceutical companies and researchers seeking more selective and efficient protein conjugation methods for drug development.

### Who are Catena Biosciences' target customers?
Catena Biosciences serves pharmaceutical companies and researchers who need more selective and efficient protein conjugation methods for drug development. Their solutions are designed for organizations working in autoimmune disorders, oncology, and vaccine development.

### When was Catena Biosciences founded?
Catena Biosciences was founded in 2020. The company participated in Y Combinator's Winter 2021 (W21) cohort.

### Where is Catena Biosciences located?
Catena Biosciences is based in Berkeley, California.

### How much funding has Catena Biosciences raised?
Catena Biosciences has raised $9.1M in total funding, including a $2.35M seed round in May 2024. Investors include LongeVC, California Innovation Fund, Civilization Ventures, Pioneer Fund, freeflow, Caffeinated Capital, BrightEdge, Amgen, Social Impact Capital, American Cancer Society, Gaingels, NYBC Ventures, MBX Capital, and Reinforced Ventures.

### What are Catena Biosciences' key achievements and metrics?
As of June 2025, Catena Biosciences achieved $750K in annual revenue. The company is a recipient of NIH SBIR grants and has backing from major organizations including Amgen and the American Cancer Society.

### What technology does Catena Biosciences use?
Catena Biosciences' technology enables the attachment of any two proteins together quickly and selectively using natural amino acids tyrosine and cysteine. This approach powers their Multi Payload Conjugates (MPC) platform for creating novel therapeutics.

### Is Catena Biosciences part of Y Combinator?
Yes, Catena Biosciences participated in Y Combinator's Winter 2021 (W21) cohort.

### What are the recent developments at Catena Biosciences?
Recent developments include completing a $2.35M seed round in May 2024 and achieving $750K in annual revenue by June 2025. The company also presented at JPM 2024 and received NIH SBIR grant funding.

## Tags

healthtech, north-america, b2b

---
*Data from geo.sig.ai Brand Intelligence Database. Updated 2026-04-14.*