Fundación Ciencia & Vida

What Fundación Ciencia & Vida does

Fundación Ciencia & Vida is a Chilean nonprofit scientific foundation founded in 1996 that operates Centro Ciencia & Vida (CCV), one of Chile's National Centers of Excellence in Scientific and Technological Research under ANID's BASAL grant FB210008 (active from November 2021). Headquartered in Huechuraba, Santiago, the foundation runs a multi-disciplinary life-sciences research platform organized into five interdisciplinary clusters spanning molecular virology, neuroimmunology, computational biology, microbial ecology, epigenetics, and cancer immunotherapy. Its core product is the Science 360° strategy, an integrated framework combining research, advanced training, global science, entrepreneurship, and outreach, supported by shared core facilities (Flow Cytometry and Cell Sorting, Preclinical Pharmacology Laboratory, Advanced Microscopy Unit) and a Business Unit & IP/Technology Transfer service.

Its underlying technology includes a proprietary Andes hantavirus virus-like-particle (VLP) vaccine platform currently in preclinical stage, software tools MOBHunter (microbial-genome mobile-element classifier, published in Nucleic Acids Research) and scExplorer (single-cell RNA-seq web server, published in Bioinformatics Advances), and the ACCLIP AI model — a retinal-inspired neural-network system for predicting object trajectories in video up to 40 frames ahead. Research outputs include 182+ peer-reviewed publications, 100+ theses, and 25+ granted and submitted patents; one spin-off, CONECTOMICA SpA, has been created around connexin-channel therapies.

The foundation does not sell commercial products. Revenue is grant-funded: primary funding flows from Chilean government agencies (ANID through FONDECYT, FONDEF, BASAL FB210008) supplemented by international grants from Volkswagen Stiftung, ANR-France, and the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research, with marginal technology-transfer and IP-licensing income. Its served audiences are academic researchers and graduate students (primary), industry and clinical partners for collaborative R&D and technology transfer, and the general public reached through the long-running television program Exploradores: del átomo al cosmos (3.6M+ viewers). It maintains strategic alliances with Universidad San Sebastián (its principal academic partner), Universidad de Chile, and a network of European and U.S. collaborators including UCL, Karolinska Institutet, Institut Curie, Oxford, HP Labs, and the IMMUPARKNET and ECLIPSE consortia.

Name

Fundación Ciencia & Vida

Legal name

Fundación Ciencia & Vida

Website

https://cienciavida.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Fundación Ciencia & Vida is a Chilean nonprofit operating Centro Ciencia & Vida, an ANID-funded National Center of Excellence conducting multi-disciplinary life-sciences research, training graduate students, and translating discoveries into biotech and public-health applications.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Life Sciences Research

NAICS

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

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Bioinformatics, Multi-Omics Data Analysis & Interpretation Services (HLAGANAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Scientific Data Management & Data Platforms (SDMS/Data Lakehouse for R&D) (HLAGAJAC), Microbiome & Metagenomics Services (HLAGANAH)

Keywords

• Biotechnology research
• Life sciences
• Scientific research services
• Vaccine development
• Academic training

Headquarters

HQ city

Santiago

HQ country

Chile

HQ region

Latin America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Government Research Grants: Primary funding from Chilean government agencies including ANID (FONDECYT, FONDEF, BASAL FB210008) supporting research projects, advanced training, and scientific infrastructure.
2. International Research Funding: Grants from international sources including Volkswagen Stiftung (Germany), ANR-France, and Air Force Office of Scientific Research (USA).
3. Technology Transfer & IP: Revenue from intellectual property licensing, technology transfer from research discoveries, and bioentrepreneurship ventures.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Fundación Ciencia & Vida is a nonprofit research foundation operating Centro Ciencia & Vida (CCV), one of Chile's National Centers of Excellence in Scientific and Technological Research. It conducts multi-disciplinary life sciences research across five clusters (molecular virology, neuroimmunology, computational biology, microbial ecology, epigenetics, and cancer immunotherapy), delivers advanced academic training (PhD, MSc, and professional degree programs), provides core research facility services (Flow Cytometry, Preclinical Pharmacology, Advanced Microscopy), develops proprietary scientific software (MOBHunter, scExplorer) and AI models (ACCLIP), and runs a preclinical Andes hantavirus VLP-based vaccine development program alongside technology transfer and bioentrepreneurship initiatives.

Product overview

Fundación Ciencia & Vida (Centro Ciencia & Vida, CCV) operates as a National Center of Excellence in Scientific and Technological Research in Chile, organized around a Science 360° strategy with five interdisciplinary research clusters in the life sciences. The organization functions as a research platform rather than a single product company. Its product and service portfolio comprises: (1) core shared research infrastructure services — Flow Cytometry and Cell Sorting, Preclinical Pharmacology Laboratory, Advanced Microscopy Unit, and Business Unit/IP & Technology Transfer — which support both internal research and external collaborators; (2) software tools developed by its labs — MOBHunter (microbial genome analysis) and scExplorer (single-cell RNA sequencing analysis); (3) a vaccine development pipeline — an Andes hantavirus VLP-based vaccine candidate in preclinical stage; and (4) the Science 360° interdisciplinary research strategy itself as the overarching framework connecting research, advanced training, global science, entrepreneurship, and outreach.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Flow Cytometry and Cell Sorting Service Core research facility providing flow cytometry analysis and cell sorting services to support life sciences research across the center's five clusters, available to internal researchers and external collaborators.
• Preclinical Pharmacology Laboratory Core research facility supporting preclinical drug development and pharmacological studies, contributing to the center's translational research capabilities for internal and external users.
• Advanced Microscopy Unit Core research facility providing advanced microscopy imaging services to support high-resolution visualization of biological samples across the center's research programs.
• MOBHunter Data integration software platform developed by the Microbial Ecophysiology Lab for identification and classification of mobile genetic elements in microbial genomes, published in Nucleic Acids Research.
• scExplorer Comprehensive web server developed by the Network Biology Lab for single-cell RNA sequencing data analysis, published in Bioinformatics Advances.
• Andes Hantavirus Vaccine Candidate (VLP-based) Preclinical virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine candidate against Andes hantavirus, developed by the Molecular Virology Laboratory with stabilized spike proteins as immunogens, aimed at pandemic preparedness.
• Business Unit & IP/Technology Transfer Service Business development, intellectual property, and technology transfer services supporting the translation of research outputs into commercial applications, bioentrepreneurship ventures, and industry collaborations.

Quantifiable outcome

• 182 peer-reviewed publications in life sciences research
• +3 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Universidad San Sebastián (USS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMain academic partner institution hosting Centro Ciencia & Vida, providing faculty appointments, graduate programs, and operational support. CCV is part of USS research ecosystem.
• Universidad de ChilemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research with Faculty of Sciences including Immunology Lab, hosting Principal Investigator Maria Rosa Bono and joint research programs.
• HP LabsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research projects in computational biology and AI with HP Labs technology partner.
• IMMUPARKNET ConsortiummajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean consortium studying the role of immune system in Parkinson's disease. Dr. Rodrigo Pacheco participates as member providing expertise on neuroimmune interactions.
• University College LondonmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational research collaboration with Dr. Sergio Quezada on cancer immunotherapy and T-cell biology.
• Karolinska InstitutetmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational collaboration with Dr. Eduardo Villablanca on immunology research; Dr. Lladser completed postdoctoral training there.
• Institut Curie (France)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational collaboration with Dr. Eliane Piaggio and Dr. Ana María Lennon on immunotherapy research.
• University of OxfordmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational collaboration with Dr. Felipe Galvez-Cancino on cancer immunotherapy research.
• International Society of HantavirusesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Nicole Tischler serves as President (2023-2026) of the Advisory Council, providing scientific leadership in hantavirus research globally.
• Centros de Investigación de la Universidad de la República (Uruguay)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Uruguay's public university system on animal welfare research, with Dr. Sebastián Valenzuela presenting on professional wellbeing.
• ECLIPSE Consortium / CDCmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPublic health data intelligence collaboration with CDC for tracking and analysis of epidemiological data.
• Universidad Andrés BellominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic collaboration on doctoral programs and research initiatives including PhD in Computational Biology.
• Universidad MayorminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic institution hosting Associated Researcher Alberto J. Martin as Associate Professor (2017-2022) and current collaborator on computational biology research.
• Dopamine SocietymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational society organizing the Dopamine conference series, hosting Dr. Rodrigo Pacheco for presenting Parkinson's disease research in 2026.
• CONECTOMICA SpAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBiotech startup cofounded by Dr. Tomás Pérez-Acle developing therapies targeting connexin channels in inflammatory diseases - spin-off from foundation research.
• Millennium Institute for Fundamental and Applied BiologyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerChilean Millennium Institute providing postdoctoral fellowship support and collaborative research environment for hantavirus research.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• CONICET: Argentina's national research council operating as the primary government-funded R&D organization for science and technology in the Southern Cone. Highly comparable given similar Latin American geographic context, government funding model, and multi-disciplinary life sciences focus.
• Garvan Institute of Medical Research: Australian non-profit medical research institute with genomics, immunology, and computational biology programs. Comparable for non-profit foundation structure, multi-disciplinary biomedical research focus, and technology transfer activities.
• Pasteur Institute: Non-profit foundation conducting fundamental life sciences research with multiple interdisciplinary research units, technology transfer programs, and international collaborations. Directly comparable as a similarly-structured nonprofit biomedical research foundation with both basic research and public health mission.

Emerging players

• Centogene: Biotech company focused on rare disease genomics and multi-omics data analysis with bioinformatics tools. Comparable for multi-omics data analysis focus, though operates as a commercial entity rather than non-profit.
• Chan Zuckerberg Biohub: Non-profit biomedical research organization combining basic science with engineering approaches, supporting interdisciplinary research and technology development. Comparable for its integrated research platform and translational focus.

Broad incumbents

• European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL): Intergovernmental research organization in life sciences with multiple sites across Europe, hosting advanced training courses (EMBO), and conducting computational biology and multi-omics research. Comparable given EMBO training courses hosted at CCV and shared life sciences/computational biology focus.
• Broad Institute: Joint MIT-Harvard research organization focused on genomics, computational biology, and disease research with strong technology transfer programs. Comparable for its multi-omics, bioinformatics tools, and biomedical research platform model.
• Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI): Large non-profit biomedical research organization supporting Investigator-led research across multiple US institutions with significant technology transfer and science education programs. Comparable in non-profit research foundation structure, though at substantially larger scale.
• Scripps Research: Non-profit biomedical research institute conducting basic research in immunology, molecular biology, and chemistry with significant patent output. Comparable for non-profit research model, immunology focus, and translational pipeline.

Regional players

• South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC): Government-funded medical research council leading health research in South Africa with funding model and mission similar to Chile's BASAL centers. Comparable for government-funded biomedical research mandate in an emerging market context.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/funcienciayvida
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@fundacioncienciavida
• Facebookfacebook.com/cienciavidachile
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cienciavida
• Instagraminstagram.com/fundacioncienciavida

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Fundación Ciencia & Vida