CARTANA AB

Their core work

CARTANA AB is a Swedish biotech SME specializing in spatial transcriptomics — technology that maps gene expression directly within intact tissue sections. They provide in situ sequencing services and tools that allow researchers to see which genes are active and where, preserving the spatial context that traditional single-cell methods lose. In H2020, they contributed spatial transcriptomics and bio-imaging capabilities to three major human cell atlas initiatives covering airways, reproductive organs, and the brain.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

All three of CARTANA's H2020 projects started in 2020, so there is no meaningful temporal evolution to analyze — their participation represents a single concentrated period rather than a trajectory. However, the breadth of organ systems covered (airways, gonads, brain) within that short window suggests a company rapidly deploying its spatial transcriptomics platform across multiple biological domains. This pattern is consistent with a technology provider scaling its commercial applications across the life sciences.

CARTANA was expanding its spatial transcriptomics platform across diverse organ systems, positioning itself as a go-to service provider for any cell atlas or tissue mapping initiative.

How they like to work

CARTANA operates exclusively as a specialist participant — they joined all three projects as a technology contributor, never as coordinator. With 26 unique consortium partners across 10 countries from just three projects, they worked in large research consortia (averaging ~9 partners per project). This pattern is typical of a technology SME that provides a specific, high-value capability (spatial transcriptomics) to large academic-led initiatives.

Despite only three projects, CARTANA built a surprisingly broad network of 26 partners across 10 countries, reflecting the large consortium structure of Human Cell Atlas-type initiatives. Their connections are spread across European research hubs rather than concentrated in any single country.

What sets them apart

CARTANA's differentiator is clear: they are a dedicated spatial transcriptomics company, not a university lab that also does spatial work. This makes them a focused, commercially oriented partner who can deliver in situ sequencing as a service within consortium timelines. For anyone building a cell atlas or tissue mapping project, CARTANA brings a ready-made technology platform rather than a research group still developing methods.

Highlights from their portfolio

• BRAINTIME
  Largest funding (EUR 100,000) — mapping the molecular atlas of the human brain across the entire lifespan, combining single-cell RNA with spatial methods.
• HUGODECA
  Most keyword-rich project, building a developmental cell atlas of human gonads with an unusually comprehensive mix of imaging, genomics, and spatial transcriptomics.