Centre for Drug Research and Development

What Centre for Drug Research and Development does

Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD), founded in 2007 and headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, is a privately held drug development and commercialization organization positioned as Canada's national engine for advancing therapeutic candidates. It operates with 101-250 employees and maintains a dual leadership structure comprising a President & CEO (Gordon McCauley) and a VP of Scientific Operations (Jason Crawford), indicating an organization that integrates commercial development with laboratory science.

CDRD's core activity is the development and commercialization of drug assets, operating as a translational platform that bridges early-stage Canadian research and market-ready pharmaceutical products. The organization's self-described mandate as a national engine implies it serves Canadian academic institutions, biotech startups, and government stakeholders by providing drug development infrastructure, expertise, and commercialization pathways. The 2019 acquisition of Neomed Institute materially expanded its development footprint, though detailed product lines and service offerings are not disclosed in the available source material, which is largely limited to a website verification page.

The business model is not explicitly described in the available data. CDRD is classified as a for-profit private entity, and its revenue mechanics are not disclosed — plausible revenue sources include milestone-based deals on out-licensed drug assets, contract research services, and government/institutional grants consistent with its national mandate. No pricing, customer, or revenue figures are available, which constrains financial diligence.

Name

Centre for Drug Research and Development

Website

https://cdrd.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD) is a Vancouver-based, privately held drug development and commercialization organization founded in 2007, serving as Canada's national engine for advancing therapeutic candidates from research to market. It employs 101-250 staff and operates through commercial and scientific leadership.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pharmaceutical R&D and Drug Development Services

NAICS

Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)

SIC

Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Drug Substance–Drug Product Integrated CDMO (HLAGABAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Clinical Trial Material (CTM) Manufacturing & Supply CDMO (HLAGABAK)

Keywords

• Drug development services
• Pharmaceutical research
• Drug commercialization
• Translational research
• Biotech incubation

Headquarters

HQ city

Vancouver

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure

Core offering

CDRD is Canada's national drug development and commercialization engine. It provides drug development infrastructure, scientific expertise, and commercialization support to translate academic and early-stage research into market-ready therapeutics. The organization also acquires and integrates complementary drug research assets, such as the Neomed Institute.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Drug Development and Commercialization Services
• Neomed Institute Integration

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• BioVectra: Canadian CDMO offering microbial fermentation, small-molecule API, and biologics capabilities. Comparable as a Canadian-headquartered integrated drug substance/drug product development partner.
• adMare Bioinnovations: Canadian national life sciences venture with a mandate to build biotech companies and advance academic discoveries. Highly comparable to CDRD as a fellow Canadian translational development engine.

Broad incumbents

• Catalent: Large CDMO providing drug substance and drug product development/manufacturing including clinical supply. Comparable to CDRD across the integrated drug substance–drug product stack.
• Lonza Group: Global CDMO leader providing APIs, biologics, and cell & gene therapy services. Comparable to CDRD as an integrated drug substance–drug product CDMO across multiple modalities.
• WuXi AppTec: Global integrated CRO/CDMO offering drug discovery, development, and manufacturing services. Comparable to CDRD as an end-to-end development platform, though operating at global scale and commercial breadth.

Emerging players

• PSI CRO: Mid-sized CRO/CDMO offering drug development and clinical trial services. Overlaps with CDRD in translational drug development and clinical enablement support.
• Domainex: Integrated drug discovery and development CRO offering medicinal chemistry, biology, and ADME/DMPK. Comparable to CDRD in early-stage small-molecule development services.

Regional players

• Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) / OICR Translate: Ontario-based translational research organization advancing cancer therapeutics toward commercialization. Comparable to CDRD in mandate and translational drug development focus, but Ontario-focused.

Others

• MaRS Discovery District: Toronto-based innovation hub supporting life sciences venture creation and commercialization. Adjacent to CDRD as part of the Canadian translational ecosystem, with overlapping mandate dimensions.
• NEOMED (now part of CDRD) / adMare-acquired entities: Pre-acquisition NEOMED operated a Montreal drug discovery and development platform; its absorption into CDRD creates direct precedent for further portfolio integration across Canadian hubs.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/C_D_R_D
• Facebookfacebook.com/the-centre-for-drug-research-and-development-cdrd-ventures-inc-465976796791713
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/centre-for-drug-research-and-development

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments4 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Centre for Drug Research and Development