Fueling a B.C. biotech boom

Explore how UBC Medicine researchers, learners and spin-off companies are propelling the growth of Vancouver’s life sciences sector.

Earlier this month, B.C.’s Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation, the Honourable Brenda Bailey, was at UBC’s Vancouver campus to celebrate a major expansion of the university’s life sciences and technology education programs.

Flanked by UBC leadership and students from fields like biomedical engineering and data science, the importance of the new student spaces was clear — they would help meet the growing demand for talent in B.C.’s booming biotech sector.

“The students who will be filling these hundreds of seats at UBC will help increase the supply of talent into the province’s rapidly expanding tech sector,” Minister Bailey said. 

The program expansion is only the latest example of how UBC is setting a new tempo for biomedical innovation.

Every day, UBC researchers are working at an accelerated pace to turn scientific discoveries into lifesaving innovations. Their work is transforming how we treat everything from cancer to diabetes and has firmly established British Columbia as one of the biotech world’s top places to watch.

“We’re seeing a rapid expansion of innovative activity,” says Dr. Dermot Kelleher, dean of the faculty of medicine and vice-president, health at UBC. “Colleagues from around the world tell me there’s something in the air here. The ecosystem is strong and collaborative. Our researchers and students are at the leading edge of their fields thinking about how they can develop their discoveries and translate them into real patient impact.”

A recent analysis in The Globe and Mail cast a spotlight on Vancouver’s emergence as a global life sciences leader and the pivotal role UBC researchers, alumni and spin-off companies are playing in driving the sector’s growth.

The article, B.C. biotech boom: Vancouver looks to join the global big leagues of modern medicine, by innovation reporter Sean Silcoff, paints a vivid picture of a sector at the global forefront, fuelled by a tightly-connected ecosystem of academics, research institutes, not-for-profits, public agencies and private sector firms — and with UBC at the centre of it all.

The story outlines how UBC’s excellence in research, education, innovation and partnerships has been central in transforming the local biotech landscape over several decades.

These contributions include early successful biotech spin-offs like QLT and Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Inc., founded by UBC researchers in the 80s and 90s respectively, to discoveries by Dr. Pieter Cullis and his team that went on to enable COVID-19 mRNA vaccines.

Now, a new group of forward-thinking UBC spin-off companies are shaping the future of medicine, including Acuitas Therapeutics, AbCellera, Gandeeva Therapeutics, Alpha-9 Oncology, Aspect Biosystems and more.

The Globe and Mail goes on to profile how a number of UBC researchers are fueling a wave of biomedical innovation that promises to catapult the sector to even greater heights, including the likes of Drs. Peter Zandstra, Sriram Subramaniam, Megan Levings, François Bénard, Poul Sorensen and others.

In an interview for the article, Dr. Kelleher spoke about UBC’s proud history of biomedical accomplishments and how the university is continuing to build upon that legacy by accelerating the research, development and testing of lifesaving drugs.

“We have an incredible foundation, but even more exciting things lay ahead. We’re continuing to break down barriers to translation, expanding research and training, and creating a culture of collaboration that will further grow the sector and amplify our impact,” said Dr. Kelleher. 

“There is an incredible opportunity in front of us to cement B.C.’s position in life sciences on the world stage, the benefits of which will be truly transformative for our bio-innovation economy and for the health of people across Canada and beyond.”

Learn more by reading the full article: B.C. biotech boom: Vancouver looks to join the global big leagues of modern medicine, published in The Globe and Mail on March 9, 2024, and featured on the front page of the print edition nationally.