Biotech Research & Innovation Centre (BRIC), University of Copenhagen

What Biotech Research & Innovation Centre (BRIC), University of Copenhagen does

Biotech Research & Innovation Centre (BRIC) is a non-commercial biomedical research centre within the University of Copenhagen's Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, founded in 2005 and based at Ole Maaløes Vej 5, Copenhagen, with 188 employees and over 20 active research groups. Its research spans cancer biology, brain development and neurological disorders (schizophrenia, MSA, Parkinson's), hematological malignancies, genome stability, and structural biology, delivered through specialized research groups and shared Core Facilities covering flow cytometry, sequencing, high-throughput cell-based and CRISPR screening, cryo-EM, and spatial transcriptomics (10X Genomics Chromium). BRIC's operating model is academic and grant-funded rather than commercial: research is financed through University of Copenhagen institutional support and competitive grants from foundations such as the Novo Nordisk Foundation, Lundbeck Foundation, Danish Cancer Society, and European mechanisms (ERC, Marie Skłodowska-Curie), with clinical translation channelled through long-standing partnerships with Rigshospitalet (Finsen Laboratory, Bartholin Institute) and spinout companies such as Adcendo ApS and BioPhenyx. The centre also runs the iMED and MoMeD PhD programmes and the new INTERACT PhD programme with DTU, supporting training of next-generation biomedical researchers.

Name

Biotech Research & Innovation Centre (BRIC), University of Copenhagen

Legal name

Biotech Research & Innovation Centre (BRIC), University of Copenhagen

Website

https://bric.ku.dk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

BRIC is a non-commercial biomedical research centre at the University of Copenhagen, employing 188 staff across 20-plus research groups focused on cancer, brain disorders, and metabolic diseases, funded primarily by Danish foundations and EU grants and translating discoveries through Rigshospitalet partnerships and spinouts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Copenhagen

HQ country

Denmark

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

BRIC is a biomedical research centre that conducts fundamental and translational research into the mechanisms of cancer, brain and metabolic diseases, organized around 20+ specialized research groups and shared Core Facilities (Flow Cytometry, Sequencing, High-Throughput Cell-based Screens/High Content CRISPR Screening). It also delivers doctoral and postdoctoral research training (iMED, MoMeD, INTERACT programmes) and drives technology transfer through spinout companies such as Adcendo ApS.

Product overview

BRIC is a biomedical research centre organized as a platform of research groups and core facilities. The centre offers specialized research groups studying cancer biology, stem cell biology, brain development, genome stability, and structural biology, complemented by Core Facilities providing shared research services including flow cytometry, sequencing, and high-throughput screening. BRIC also provides education and research training through PhD and postdoctoral programmes, and drives innovation through technology transfer initiatives including spinout companies. The offering is a research services platform rather than a commercial product.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Core Facilities Services Shared research services open to all researchers, including Flow Cytometry, Sequencing, and High-Throughput Cell-based Screens/High Content CRISPR Screening capabilities.
• Research Groups Specialized research groups covering cancer biology, stem cell research, brain development, genome stability, and structural biology, including the Andersen, Bellodi, Brakebusch, Cvejic, Duxin, Erler, Frödin, Grønbæk, Issazadeh-Navikas, Khodosevich, Kristensen, Kummer, Lund, Ploug, Porse, Sandelin, Supek, Sørensen, Theilgaard-Mönch, Weischenfeldt, and Wennerberg Groups.
• Education and Research Training (PhD and Postdoc programmes) PhD and Postdoc programmes including iMED (International Doctoral Program in Molecular Mechanisms of Disease) and MoMeD (PhD Programme in Molecular Mechanisms of Disease), offering international doctoral training. The INTERACT PhD programme (established 2024) is an interdisciplinary training programme supported by a 6.6 million EUR Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant, in collaboration with University of Copenhagen and Technical University of Denmark.
• Innovation and Technology Transfer Innovation initiatives translating fundamental discoveries into clinical applications, including spinout companies such as Adcendo ApS (advancing uPARAP ADC therapeutics toward clinical trials) and BioPhenyx, and programs such as the Novo Nordisk Foundation Distinguished Innovator Grant.

Quantifiable outcome

• Multiple high-impact publications annually in leading journals including Nature, Science, Cell, and Neuron
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature10 records

Partnerships

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

• Technical University of Denmark (DTU)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 November 2024Partnership in INTERACT - new interdisciplinary PhD training programme supported by 6.6 million EUR Marie Curie grant, combining physical science and engineering with biomedical research.
• Adcendo ApScoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 April 2023BRIC/Finsen spinout company advancing uPARAP ADC therapeutics toward clinical trials. Series A extension financing of 31 million EUR secured for broad phase 1 testing.
• Rigshospitalet (Copenhagen University Hospital)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing collaboration between BRIC researchers and clinical teams at Rigshospitalet for translational cancer research, including Finsen Laboratory partnership. Multiple joint research groups and clinical trials conducted.
• Helmholtz MunichcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Computational Health Center on single-cell proteomic analysis of blood cell differentiation. Fabian Theis serves as co-senior author on research publications.
• Center for Protein Research (CPR), UCPHmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStructural biology research collaborations; Eva Kummer and Julien Duxin moved labs from CPR to BRIC, bringing cryo-EM and protein research expertise.
• Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Medicine (reNEW)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerKim Jensen moved research group to reNEW and serves as deputy director. Continued collaboration on stem cell research and PhD programmes.
• EU-LIFEminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration to develop science communication training workshop equipping researchers with tools to communicate research beyond academia.
• Danish Cancer SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on cancer research including participation in Knæk Cancer fundraising show. Lisa Frankel's affiliated group at Danish Cancer Institute focuses on autophagy and cancer.
• Program for Translational Hematology (PTH)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInterdisciplinary research program bringing together basic researchers and clinicians from DanStem, Rigshospitalet, Finsen Laboratory and BRIC to improve outcomes for hematological patients.
• Translational Control in Cancer European Network (TRANSLACORE)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean research network focused on translational control mechanisms in cancer, coordinated by Lund Group at BRIC.
• University of California, Los Angeles (Dr. Stephen G. Young)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on intravascular lipid metabolism research including GPIHBP1 and lipoprotein lipase studies. Joint publications on structural and functional aspects.
• Bartholin Institute/RigshospitaletmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerKristensen Group located at Bartholin Institute, part of Department of Pathology at Rigshospitalet, conducting glioblastoma research.
• DTU (Technical University of Denmark)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Erwin Schoof's Cell Diversity Lab at DTU's Department for Biotechnology and Biomedicine on single-cell proteomics research.
• Karolinska InstitutemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational collaboration on schizophrenia research together with University of Zurich, investigating mechanisms leading to schizophrenia development.
• University of ZurichmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational collaboration on schizophrenia research together with Karolinska Institute, investigating mechanisms leading to schizophrenia development.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL): Intergovernmental research organization for life sciences with multiple sites across Europe. EMBL shares BRIC's structural biology, genomics, and cell biology focus, as well as its European grant funding model and translational research orientation.
• The Salk Institute for Biological Studies: Independent nonprofit biological research institute in California with research groups across cancer, neuroscience, and plant biology. Comparable academic research model with emphasis on fundamental discoveries and translational potential, similar to BRIC's disease-mechanism-to-therapy pipeline.
• Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard: Flagship biomedical and genomic research institute focused on disease mechanism research, genomic medicine, and chemical biology. Comparable in research depth, technology platform investments, and translational ambition to BRIC, though at much larger scale.
• Helmholtz Munich: German research center with major focus on biomedical research, computational health, and single-cell analysis. Active collaborator with BRIC (joint publications with Fabian Theis on single-cell proteomics), making it both a peer and partner in shared research areas.
• Karolinska Institutet: Sweden's leading medical university with deep neuroscience and translational medicine programs. Active BRIC collaborator on schizophrenia research (Khodosevich Group partnership), with comparable disease focus areas and Scandinavian funding ecosystem.
• Wellcome Sanger Institute: Genomics and biodata research institute with strong focus on cancer genomics, single-cell analysis, and computational biology. Overlaps directly with BRIC's Sandelin Group (gene regulation), Supek Group (cancer genomics), and Cvejic Group (single-cell blood cell research).
• Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research: MIT-affiliated biomedical research institute with ~20 research groups focused on cancer, neuroscience, and stem cell biology. Highly comparable to BRIC in mission, group structure, and emphasis on fundamental disease research with translational potential.
• Francis Crick Institute: Large interdisciplinary biomedical research institute in London with similar disease-focused research across cancer, neuroscience, and genomics. Comparable scale (~1500+ staff), translational mission, and academic funding model make it a direct structural peer to BRIC.
• Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine: German research institute focused on molecular and cellular mechanisms of disease, stem cell biology, and developmental biology. Comparable to BRIC in fundamental disease mechanism research, group-leader organizational structure, and translational orientation.

Emerging players

• Adcendo ApS: Clinical-stage biotech spinout from BRIC/Finsen Laboratory developing uPARAP-targeted antibody-drug conjugates for cancer. As a direct translation of BRIC's ADC therapeutics research (Behrendt Group), it represents the commercial output arm of BRIC's research pipeline.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/biotech-research-and-innovation-centre-university-of-copenhagen

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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