About us

CABRU s.a.s. is a B2B distributor of reagents, kits, antibodies, proteins and culture media for research and industry laboratories. It is based in Arcore, in the province of Monza e Brianza, and represents in Italy the products of international manufacturers specialised in the life sciences.

What we do, and for whom

CABRU sits between two worlds that do not speak the same language: the manufacturer, who knows its own product but not the individual Italian laboratory, and the laboratory, which has an experimental problem and not always the time to find the right reagent — and who makes it — on its own.

The catalogue covers nine product categories — antibodies, biochemicals, ELISA kits and immunoassays, proteins, nucleic acid reagents, electrophoresis and western blot, microbiology culture media, solutions and powders and deficient and control plasmas — for more than 118,000 references, searchable in the online catalogue. Sales are B2B: the recipients are academic and public research laboratories, and industrial R&D and quality control laboratories.

How distribution under mandate works

A manufacturer appoints CABRU to represent its products on the Italian market. From that point CABRU is the counterpart for the laboratory: it takes the enquiry, checks it with the manufacturer, quotes, handles the order and follows it through to delivery. The laboratory has a single contact, a single purchasing procedure and a single supplier to qualify, even when the products come from different manufacturers.

What does not change is the product: specifications, batches, technical data sheets and certificates remain the manufacturer's, and CABRU passes them on unchanged. The quality standards declared by each represented manufacturer are listed on the Quality & certifications page.

Non-exclusive mandates, stated openly

Unless otherwise stated, CABRU does not operate on an exclusive basis: the same manufacturer may also be represented in Italy by other distributors. It is written here and in the site's frequently asked questions because it changes two concrete things for the buyer.

• The product stays comparable: a buyer can check conditions and lead times through more than one channel, and is not tied to a single supplier in order to get it.
• The reason to choose CABRU is not the absence of alternatives, but the service: product identification, availability checks, order handling and continuity of the relationship.

We prefer to state it: an exclusivity that cannot be verified sooner or later turns against whoever claims it.

How we choose a manufacturer to represent

Adding a manufacturer to the portfolio means committing to support its products over time, not just listing them. Four criteria guide the choice.

• Specialisation. We prefer manufacturers that cover one area in depth — a class of molecules, a technique, a diagnostic field — rather than generalist catalogues.
• Complementarity. A new manufacturer must complete the existing offer, not duplicate it: the goal is to cover the laboratory's workflow, not to multiply alternatives for the same item.
• Technical documentation. Product data sheets, protocols and certificates of analysis must be available and up to date: without documentation a product cannot be used in a laboratory that has to account for its own data.
• Quality system and continuity of supply. We assess the manufacturer's quality management system and its ability to guarantee batches and lead times over time, not only on the first delivery.

The represented manufacturers are 19, of which 17 have a dedicated page in the Brands section.

The technical role towards the laboratory

Much of the work happens before the order: translating an experimental question into the correct product and format, checking reactivity, storage conditions and availability at the manufacturer, retrieving the necessary documentation.

The role does not end at delivery: non-conformities and complaints are handled by CABRU with the manufacturer, so the laboratory need not deal directly with a company abroad.

The territory served

The area served is Italy. The site is bilingual because some of the people involved — international research groups, purchasing departments, represented manufacturers — work in English.

How to buy

There are no public prices on this website: every supply is quoted against the specific request, because the price depends on format, quantity and the manufacturer's conditions at the time of the order. The path is always the same.

• Find the product in the online catalogue, by code, name, application or manufacturer, or describe what is needed.
• Send the quotation request from the catalogue, from the contact form or by email to [email protected].
• CABRU checks availability and conditions with the manufacturer and sends the quotation.
• Once the order is confirmed, CABRU follows the supply through to delivery at the laboratory.