Human BioMolecular Research Institute

What Human BioMolecular Research Institute does

Human BioMolecular Research Institute (HBRI) is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt non-profit research institute founded in December 1997 by Dr. John R. Cashman and headquartered in San Diego's Biotech Beach cluster. The institute conducts basic biomedical research focused on unlocking biological and chemical principles underlying cardiovascular disease, neurological diseases (Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, ALS, depression), cancer (pancreatic, prostate, breast, colorectal), bone diseases, drug and alcohol abuse, chronic pain, and smoking cessation. HBRI employs a multidisciplinary approach spanning bioanalytical chemistry, medicinal chemistry, combinatorial chemistry, molecular biology, cell biology, biochemistry, and genomics, supported by high-throughput DNA/RNA sequencing, SNP analysis, HPLC, GC, LCMS, NMR, and proprietary stem cell differentiation technology including patient-derived hiPSC-cardiomyocyte platforms for drug evaluation.

HBRI's portfolio includes drug candidates PAWI-2 (pancreatic cancer stem cell inhibitor with p53 activator and Wnt inhibitor activity), reengineered mexiletine analogs for ventricular cardiac arrhythmia, HBRI-1 (pancreatic cancer), RIN1 (hematologic cancer), and Novel Tertiary Sulfonamides (breast cancer), plus enabling technology platforms for stem cell differentiation into cardiomyocytes and bone cells. The institute has participated in six Investigational New Drug (IND) applications, resulting in five approved drugs currently available in the US and internationally, with one candidate pending FDA approval.

HBRI operates a hybrid revenue model combining federal research grants (NIH), state agency grants (CIRM), foundation grants (Conrad Prebys, San Diego Foundation, American Cancer Society, Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation, Stanley Research Foundation, Copley Foundation), corporate-sponsored research (Pfizer, ChemRegen, Pain Therapeutics/Cassava Sciences), fee-for-service contract research in analytical chemistry, medicinal chemistry, and drug safety evaluation, and IP licensing royalties on therapeutics, diagnostics, and research tools. Distribution occurs through the Office of Business Development via exclusive licensing for therapeutics and diagnostics and non-exclusive licensing for research tools, targeting pharmaceutical companies, biotech firms, and academic collaborators including Stanford, Columbia, UCSD, Salk, Scripps, and Sanford Burnham Prebys.

Name

Human BioMolecular Research Institute

Legal name

Human BioMolecular Research Institute

Website

https://hbri.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Human BioMolecular Research Institute is a 501(c)3 non-profit research institute in San Diego conducting multidisciplinary drug discovery across cancer, cardiovascular, neurological, and bone diseases, with five approved drugs and an IP licensing and contract research business model serving pharma and biotech clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Drug Discovery Research

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Preclinical, Toxicology & Translational Science Staffing FSP (HLAGAOAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cardiometabolic Pharmaceuticals (Cardiovascular/Diabetes/Obesity) (HLAIAAAE), High-Throughput Screening & Assay Platforms (HTS/HCS, phenotypic screening) (HLAAAIAA)

Keywords

• Drug discovery research
• Medicinal chemistry services
• Stem cell technology
• Contract research services
• Intellectual property licensing

Headquarters

HQ city

San Diego

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Federal Research Grants: Research grants primarily from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) supporting fundamental research programs.
2. State Agency Grants: Funding from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) for stem cell research.
3. Foundation Grants: Grants from non-profit foundations including The Conrad Prebys Foundation, The San Diego Foundation, and others.
4. Contract Research Services: Fee-for-service contract research in analytical chemistry, synthetic medicinal chemistry, bioorganic chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology, cell biology, and drug safety evaluation.
5. Licensing Royalties: Licensing of intellectual property including medications, diagnostics, and research tools to for-profit entities. Technologies are licensed exclusively for therapeutics and diagnostics, non-exclusively for research tools.
6. Corporate Sponsored Research: Industry-Sponsored Research Agreements supporting specific research projects with options to license jointly developed technology.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

HBRI conducts basic biomedical research focused on developing drug candidates and therapeutic technologies for human diseases including cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurological disorders, and bone diseases. The institute delivers multidisciplinary contract research services in analytical chemistry, medicinal chemistry, molecular biology, cell biology, and drug safety evaluation, and licenses its intellectual property portfolio (drug candidates, diagnostics, stem cell technologies, research tools) to industry partners through exclusive and non-exclusive agreements.

Product overview

HBRI is a 501(c)3 non-profit research institute conducting basic biomedical research focused on developing new therapeutic agents for human diseases including cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurological disease, bone diseases, and stem cell applications. The institute's portfolio includes multiple drug candidates (PAWI-2, mexiletine analogs, HBRI-1, RIN1, Novel Tertiary Sulfonamides), technology platforms (stem cell differentiation, bone growth, cholinesterase reactivation), and contract research services. HBRI operates from a multidisciplinary approach using bioanalytical chemistry, medicinal chemistry, molecular biology, and genomics to translate findings into drug development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Contract Research Services
• PAWI-2 Drug Candidate

Quantifiable outcome

• Five approved drugs on the market in the US and elsewhere, with one additional drug candidate pending FDA approval
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Stanford UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research with Mark Mercola Ph.D. and Stanford Cardiovascular Institute on cardiac regeneration and anti-arrhythmic drug development using patient-derived hiPSC-cardiomyocytes.
• Columbia University Medical CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Robert S. Kass Ph.D. for cardiovascular pharmacology research and anti-arrhythmic drug development.
• University of California, San DiegocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMultiple collaborations including Moores Cancer Center (Christina and Catriona Jamieson, Andrew Lowy), Department of Psychiatry (Ronald Kuczensky, John Kelsoe), Division of Cardiovascular Medicine (Eric Adler), Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine (Gene Yeo), Department of Surgery (Koichi Masuda), and bone growth research.
• Sanford-Burnham-Prebys Medical Discovery InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Evan Snyder MD Ph.D., Fred Levine MD Ph.D., and Jose Luis Millan Ph.D. on stem cell biology and drug discovery. HBRI is co-located nearby in the Biotech Beach area.
• The Salk Institute for Biological StudiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Rusty Gage Ph.D. on neuroscience and stem cell research.
• The Scripps Research InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Julius Rebek Ph.D., Gary Siuzdak Ph.D., and John Yates Ph.D. on chemical biology and proteomics research.
• Portland Veterans Administration Research FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Aaron Janowsky Ph.D. on neuroscience and pharmacology research.
• University of California, Riverside School of MedicineminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Maurizio Pellecchia Ph.D. on drug discovery research.
• University of MontanaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Charles Thompson Ph.D. on organophosphate research. Dr. Thompson is also a Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at University of Montana and Senior Scientist at HBRI.
• Scintillon Institute for Biomedical and Bioenergy ResearchminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Stuart Lipton MD Ph.D. and Jeffrey Price MD Ph.D. on biomedical research.
• ChemRegen, Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research partner on cancer drug development including PAWI-2 for pancreatic cancer stem cells and HBRI-1 for pancreatic cancer treatment.
• Behavioral Pharma, Inc.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Marc Azar Ph.D. on behavioral pharmacology research.
• Pain Therapeutics, Inc. (now Cassava Sciences, Inc.)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research on oxycodone metabolite characterization published in Drug Metabolism and Disposition in 2019.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• The Scripps Research Institute: San Diego-based non-profit biomedical research institute with extensive medicinal chemistry and drug discovery programs. HBRI explicitly lists Scripps collaborators (Julius Rebek, Gary Siuzdak, John Yates) and is co-located in Biotech Beach, making it the most directly comparable peer in terms of research focus and geography.
• Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute: Non-profit biomedical research institute located adjacent to HBRI in San Diego, with collaborative relationships (Evan Snyder, Fred Levine, Jose Luis Millan). Comparable as a small-to-mid non-profit research institute focused on drug discovery and stem cell biology.
• Salk Institute for Biological Studies: San Diego-based non-profit research institute with active neuroscience and stem cell programs. HBRI has an active collaboration with Rusty Gage on neuroscience and stem cell research, and both organizations are non-profits funded primarily by grants and philanthropy.
• La Jolla Institute for Immunology: San Diego-based non-profit research institute focused on immunology and drug discovery. Comparable as a small non-profit research entity in the same Biotech Beach ecosystem, similarly funded by NIH grants and philanthropy.

Direct peers

• Allen Institute: Non-profit research organization with substantial government and philanthropic funding conducting large-scale biomedical research programs. Comparable as a non-profit research entity converting grant funding into published research and IP licensing outcomes.
• Jackson Laboratory: Independent non-profit biomedical research institute focused on genetics and disease models, funded largely by NIH grants with commercial research services. Comparable as a non-profit combining grant-funded basic research with fee-for-service research offerings.
• SRI International: Non-profit research institute performing contract R&D for government and commercial clients across life sciences and chemistry. Comparable in providing contract research services and licensing IP to commercial partners, though at much larger scale.
• Broad Institute: Non-profit research organization combining genomic, chemical biology, and disease research with extensive NIH funding and industry partnerships. Comparable in blending basic research, technology platforms, and translational outputs in a non-profit structure.

Broad incumbents

• Schrödinger, Inc. Computational drug discovery company that also pursues internal therapeutic programs. Less directly comparable as a for-profit, but adjacent in medicinal chemistry-driven small molecule drug discovery targeting similar therapeutic areas.
• Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPD): Large CRO providing drug development and contract research services across preclinical and clinical stages. Comparable in offering contract research services in medicinal chemistry and drug safety evaluation, though at vastly larger scale and as a commercial entity.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/human-biomolecular-research-institute

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Human BioMolecular Research Institute