About us
A trusted platform for cancer research tools, part of Cancer Research UK.
Who we are
CancerTools is a unique non-profit organisation, dedicated to accelerating cancer research, by connecting scientists worldwide with peer-validated cancer research materials and reagents. For over 40 years, scientists from leading academic institutions and cancer centres have entrusted us with their innovations, building one of the most cancer-focused portfolios in the world.
As part of Cancer Research UK, we are committed to accelerating cancer discoveries supporting researchers worldwide with high-quality, translationally relevant cancer research tools.
What we do
We home cutting-edge cancer research products and make them globally accessible – turning individual innovations into collective breakthroughs.
Through our expertly curated catalogue, scientists worldwide can access peer-validated antibodies, cell lines, organoids, patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models, and more – supporting everything from early discovery to translational research.
Scientists can also choose to deposit their unique research products with us, where it becomes professionally housed and made available to others who can build on its promise, continuing the legacy of the scientists behind them.
Whether you’re sourcing research products or depositing them, we provide the infrastructure, expertise, and global reach to ensure your science moves forward and leaves a lasting impact beyond your lab.
Behind the scenes, our purpose-built facilities and specialist teams enable:
In-house production, maintenance, and scale up of research materials
Quality management and inventory systems
Global supply chain and shipping support
Expert guidance from dedicated internal scientists and subject specialists
Every research product in our catalogue tells a story of innovation, collaboration, and impact. With over 3,500 citations linked to our portfolio, we help scientists worldwide accelerate cancer research with confidence.
Our mission
To accelerate cancer innovation and discovery by enabling global access to trusted cancer research products, fostering an inclusive community of researchers that supports open science and reinvests in future cancer breakthroughs.
Values
Scientific progress through collaboration:
We provide trusted, peer-reviewed cancer research products that deliver reliable results – because science moves faster when researchers build on each other’s work. By depositing and sourcing tools from us, researchers contribute to a global ecosystem that fuels cancer innovation and discovery.
Legacy and impact beyond the lab:
We honour the work of researchers by ensuring their tools live on – used by others to make new breakthroughs. Depositing tools creates a legacy that continues to shape cancer research.
Accessibility and simplicity:
We make it easy to source tools through reliable access, streamlined licensing, and global distribution, removing barriers to progress and enabling researchers to focus on what matters most.
Funding the future of cancer research:
As a not-for-profit, every tool accessed helps reinvest in future discoveries. Our revenue sharing model supports both inventing institutions and Cancer Research UK, turning today’s science into tomorrow's breakthroughs.
Part of Cancer Research UK
CancerTools is proud to be part of Cancer Research UK, the world’s leading cancer charity dedicated to beating cancer. Together, we share a mission to prevent, control and cure cancer through ground-breaking research.
Every product accessed through CancerTools contributes to this mission – with proceeds reinvested into future research through a global revenue share to the inventing institute and Cancer Research UK. By connecting researchers with peer-reviewed research products and reinvesting in innovation, we help accelerate discoveries that benefit patients worldwide.
“We’re calling on research institutions and funders around the world to work with CancerTools.org to ensure that cutting edge technologies are shared effectively and efficiently. What’s more, proceeds from the distribution of these tools will be ploughed back into research, helping to further accelerate.”
Iain Foulkes, Executive Director, Research & Innovation CRUK
CancerTools sits within Cancer Research Horizons, the translational arm of Cancer Research UK.
Cancer Research Horizons takes cutting-edge innovations from the lab bench to the bedside, translating them into effective tools, treatments and diagnostics for people with cancer. To date, over 6 million courses of treatment have reached cancer patients globally through drugs Cancer Research Horizons has helped bring to market.
Their work is powered by Cancer Research UK’s extraordinary investment in research. In 2024/2025 alone, Cancer Research UK committed over £400 million to cancer research and grants for investigator-led programmes, projects, and training fellowships. During the course of their work, Cancer Research UK-funded scientists create countless research tools that enable discovery. We ensure these tools are not lost or built again, creating a global network that allows researchers to access and share resources. By reducing wasted effort and fostering collaboration, we help scientists move faster to the next breakthrough – amplifying the impact of Cancer Research UK’s funding and accelerating progress against cancer.
Our reach extends across the entire Cancer Research UK community, including its funded institutes, researchers, and global initiatives such as Cancer Grand Challenges. Co-founded by Cancer Research UK and the National Cancer Institute in 2020, Cancer Grand Challenges brings together interdisciplinary teams to tackle the toughest problems in cancer research. To date, it has invested $400m into 16 teams across 16 countries, driving high-impact science and translating discoveries for patient benefit.
With unparalleled access to this world-class cancer research, CancerTools ensures that the tools developed by leading researchers are not only preserved but actively used to drive progress – helping accelerate cancer research at a global scale.
Meet the teams
External Innovation
The External Innovation team identifies promising research tools that have the potential to accelerate cancer research. Using their extensive scientific and technology transfer knowledge, they work with researchers and institutions to carefully evaluate tools for their scientific and commercial potential. This ensures that your valuable tools are made accessible to the global research community, and continue driving progress long after the original study, building a lasting scientific legacy.
Licensing
Our Licensing team makes access fast and simple. They work closely with biotech, pharmaceuticals, contract research organisations (CROs), and commercially sponsored academic researchers to create clear, flexible agreements that remove barriers and accelerate research. With deep expertise in tech transfer and IP law, they help you get the tools you need – without the red tape.
Operations
Our purpose-built facilities and dedicated specialist teams keep CancerTools running smoothly. From receiving and storing research materials to scaling up production and managing global shipments, they make sure every tool reaches researchers with care and reliability. Their expertise in production, quality management, and supply chain support means scientists everywhere can focus on discoveries – knowing the tools they need are in safe hands.
Product and Marketing
Our Product and Marketing team helps turn innovation into impact – and into the hands of researchers who need it most. They don’t just promote inventor-led research products; they actively connect scientists with the tools that accelerate discovery. From showcasing innovations to driving adoption and forward-funding, this team ensures researchers worldwide can access the resources they need, building collaboration and real-world results.
“We have created CancerTools to be the home of cancer research tools. A single, accessible place where cancer scientists worldwide can easily deposit and access cancer antibodies, cell lines and other research tools.
We partner with cancer researchers, institutions and societies to help them save both time and resources, whilst making tools widely and easily available. By unifying the cancer research tool community in this way, we hope to accelerate cancer research and innovation discoveries.”
Bob Bondaryk, Global Head, CancerTools
Our history
CancerTools has a history spanning over 40 years, with roots in the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, one of Cancer Research UK’s founding bodies. Discover how we have evolved over the past 20+ years:
1982 – DaRT:
The Diagnostic and Research Tools (DaRT) team is formed to manage the research tools developed within Cancer Research Technology (CRT) over the past 25 years
2014 – Ximbio:
CRT rebrands and relaunches DaRT as Ximbio, to widen access to the research tools from CRT and other institutions worldwide
2020 – Global collaboration:
Ximbio builds partnerships with more than 150 universities, over 2000 researchers and more than 200 life science companies worldwide.
2022 – CancerTools:
CancerTools.org launches as a sister brand to Ximbio, to focus more exclusively on accelerating cancer research through cancer research tools. Cancer Research Technology rebrands as Cancer Research Horizons.
