NCI at Frederick

What NCI at Frederick does

NCI at Frederick is a federal biomedical research campus operated by the National Cancer Institute within the National Institutes of Health, located on a 68-acre site in Frederick, Maryland, approximately 40 miles from the main NIH campus in Bethesda. Its anchor is the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (FNLCR), the only Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) in the United States devoted exclusively to biomedical research, designated in 1975. FNLCR operates under a government-owned, contractor-operated (GOCO) model currently managed by Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc., which employs roughly two-thirds of the campus's approximately 2,700 scientific and technical staff. Research spans cancer (about 70% of effort) and infectious diseases including HIV/AIDS, Zika, Ebola, and COVID-19 (about 30%), with major assets including the Advanced Technology Research Facility (ATRF), Vaccine Pilot Plant, Central Repository, Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory, and National Cryo-Electron Microscopy Facility.

The campus hosts numerous NCI intramural research programs (AIDS and Cancer Virus; Basic Science; Bioinformatics and Computational Science; Cancer Research Technology; Laboratory Animal Sciences; Vaccine, Immunity, and Cancer), clinical trial support services, technology licensing through the Partnership Development Office, scientific library, and an annual Technology Showcase Conference for industry partnering. Documented outputs include development of the 1980s HIV blood supply test, HPV vaccine Phase III trials, COVID-19 research, and granted patents such as human monoclonal antibodies for Hendra and Nipah viruses.

NCI at Frederick is funded by federal appropriations from NCI and other NIH/HHS agencies. It does not sell products or services commercially; events are free and no payment collection occurs. Customers are federal agencies (NCI Center for Cancer Research, NCI Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis, NCI Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, NIAID), with industry partners engaged through technology licensing and at-cost technical service arrangements rather than direct sales. Technology transfer to biotech, pharma, and academic collaborators and an annual showcase serve as the primary outward-facing channels.

Name

NCI at Frederick

Legal name

National Cancer Institute at Frederick

Website

https://ncifrederick.cancer.gov

Company type

Private

Founded year

1971

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

NCI at Frederick is a federal biomedical research campus in Frederick, Maryland, operating the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (FNLCR) - the only U.S. FFRDC devoted exclusively to biomedical research. It employs approximately 2,700 researchers across cancer and infectious disease programs, funded entirely by NCI and other NIH/HHS agencies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Government Biomedical Research Services

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

Services-Testing Laboratories (8734), Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836)

akta.pro primary industry

Clinical Research & Trial Central Laboratories (HLAFAMAL)

Keywords

• Biomedical research
• Cancer research
• Infectious disease research
• Vaccine development
• Clinical trial support

Headquarters

HQ city

Frederick

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Federal Government Research Funding: NCI at Frederick is a government research facility funded by the National Cancer Institute and other NIH/Department of Health and Human Services agencies. The Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (FNLCR) operates as a government-owned, contractor-operated (GOCO) research and development center managed by Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

NCI at Frederick is a 68-acre U.S. federal government research campus that houses the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (FNLCR), the only Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) devoted exclusively to biomedical research. Operated by Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc. under a government-owned, contractor-operated (GOCO) model, the facility conducts long-term intramural research on cancer (approximately 70% of effort) and infectious diseases (approximately 30%, including HIV/AIDS, Zika, Ebola, and COVID-19), and provides rapid response to emerging national and global health threats.

Product overview

NCI at Frederick is a 68-acre research campus housing the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (FNLCR), a government-owned contractor-operated FFRDC devoted exclusively to biomedical research. The institution operates the Advanced Technology Research Facility (ATRF) and numerous NCI cancer research labs, technology facilities, and resource centers. Research programs span AIDS and Cancer Virus, Basic Science, Bioinformatics and Computational Science, Cancer Research Technology, Laboratory Animal Sciences, and Vaccine/Immunity/Cancer. The campus also features national user facilities including the Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory and National Cryo-Electron Microscopy Facility. Supporting services include a Scientific Library, Conference Services, and the Partnership Development Office for external collaboration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (FNLCR) A government-owned, contractor-operated research and development center (FFRDC) that provides rapid response to emerging national and global health problems and conducts long-term research on cancer, as well as infectious and other diseases on behalf of the federal government.
• AIDS and Cancer Virus Program Research program focused on HIV/SIV research including Retroviral Evolution, Retroviral Pathogenesis, Retrovirus-Cell Interaction, Viral Oncology, and Viral Persistence sections.
• Basic Science Program Program covering experimental structural biology, biophysics and computational biology, epigenetics, HLA immunogenetics, and molecular immunology.
• Bioinformatics and Computational Science Program including Advanced Biomedical Computational Science and Center for Technical Operations Support, providing computational infrastructure for biomedical research.
• Cancer Research Technology Program Program featuring Advanced Cryo-Electron Microscopy Technology Group, Antibody Characterization Laboratory, CLIA Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory, Imaging Mass Cytometry Laboratory, Molecular Pharmacology Program, and Protein Expression Laboratory.
• Laboratory Animal Sciences Program Program including Animal Diagnostics Laboratory, Animal Research Technical Support, Genome Modification Core, Gnotobiotics Facility, Laboratory Animal Medicine, Molecular Histopathology Laboratory, Mouse Modeling and Cryopreservation, and Small Animal Imaging Program.
• Vaccine, Immunity, and Cancer Directorate Directorate including Cancer Immunoprevention Laboratory and HPV Serology Laboratory, focused on vaccine and immunity research related to cancer.
• Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory National scientific user facility providing preclinical characterization of nanoparticles to facilitate regulatory review of nanotechnology concepts intended as cancer therapies and diagnostics.
• National Cryo-Electron Microscopy Facility National scientific user facility providing cryo-EM services for structural biology research.
• Clinical Trial Support Services Comprehensive clinical trial support including Applied and Developmental Research Directorate, Biopharmaceutical Development Program, Clinical Monitoring Research Program, and Clinical Research Directorate.
• RAS Initiative Innovation initiative focused on RAS research with multiple research teams including Biochemistry & Biophysics, Bioinformatics, Chemistry, Computational Chemistry, Drug Screening, Imaging, Mass Spectrometry, Reagents, and Structural Biology.
• Partnership Development Office Office facilitating collaboration and technology transfer with external partners, making technical services and capabilities available to the external research community through licensing and collaborative research agreements.

Quantifiable outcome

• Rapid development and deployment of diagnostics and research during COVID-19 pandemic
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1995Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc. is the private sector company contracted to operate the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (FNLCR) for the National Cancer Institute. About two-thirds of scientists at NCI Frederick are employees of Leidos. The company has operated the facility since 1995 under a government-owned, contractor-operated (GOCO) arrangement.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Jackson Laboratory: The Jackson Laboratory is an independent nonprofit biomedical research institute with a major focus on cancer genetics, a Central Repository distributing biological samples, and large-scale mouse modeling capabilities. It is comparable to FNLCR's Cancer Research Technology, Central Repository, and Laboratory Animal Sciences programs.
• NIAID Rocky Mountain Laboratories: NIAID's Rocky Mountain Labs in Hamilton, Montana is an NIH-operated high-containment biomedical research facility focused on infectious diseases including Ebola, Zika, and tick-borne pathogens. It mirrors NCI at Frederick's structure as an NIH intramural facility with BSL-3/4 labs, advanced imaging, and rapid-response capabilities for emerging pathogens.
• National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH is the parent organization of NCI at Frederick and operates the Bethesda, Maryland intramural research program covering cancer, infectious disease, and basic biomedical sciences. NCI at Frederick is functionally a distributed campus of NIH with comparable intramural research structure, government funding model, and biomedical mission focus.
• Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory: Lawrence Livermore is another DOE FFRDC operated by Lawrence Livermore National Security LLC. It is a structural peer as another government-owned, contractor-operated national laboratory with comparable scale, single-campus concentration, and long-term federal contract operation model analogous to FNLCR.
• Los Alamos National Laboratory: Los Alamos is one of the original Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) operated by Triad National Security under DOE/NNSA. As a peer FFRDC operated under a government-owned, contractor-operated model, Los Alamos shares NCI at Frederick's institutional structure, long-term federal contract relationships, and single-site concentrated infrastructure model.
• NIH Clinical Center: The NIH Clinical Center is the largest hospital in the world dedicated entirely to clinical research, located on the Bethesda NIH campus. It is directly comparable as a government-owned intramural clinical research facility supporting translational and clinical trial work that complements NCI at Frederick's preclinical and laboratory research mission.

Broad incumbents

• Dana-Farber Cancer Institute: Dana-Farber is a Harvard-affiliated NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center with leading research programs in oncology, chemical biology, and immunotherapies. As a broad incumbent in cancer research, it parallels FNLCR's intramural cancer research mission while operating within an academic medical center framework.
• St. Jude Children's Research Hospital: St. Jude is a leading pediatric cancer research hospital with intramural research programs covering structural biology, genetics, and experimental therapeutics. Its research-focused hospital model and federally-aligned mission to address intractable cancers parallels FNLCR's focus on cancers the private sector cannot profitably pursue.
• Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center: Memorial Sloan Kettering is another leading NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center with major intramural research programs in cancer biology, immunology, and structural biology. Its research intensity and specialization in oncology make it a broad incumbent peer to NCI at Frederick's cancer-focused mission.
• MD Anderson Cancer Center: MD Anderson is one of the original NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers and the world's largest cancer treatment and research institution. While it offers broader clinical care services, its research portfolio in cancer biology, immunotherapy, and translational oncology directly overlaps with FNLCR's 70% cancer research mission.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/thenci
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@fredericknationallaboratory
• Facebookfacebook.com/national-cancer-institute-at-frederick-153635784684280
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nationalcancerinstitute
• Instagraminstagram.com/frednatlab

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about NCI at Frederick