UBC Michael Smith Laboratories

What UBC Michael Smith Laboratories does

UBC Michael Smith Laboratories (MSL) is a non-profit interdisciplinary biotechnology research unit within the University of British Columbia, established in 1987 as Canada's first interdisciplinary biotechnology unit and renamed in 2004 to honour founding Director Dr. Michael Smith, who received the 1993 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. The institution is home to more than 300 researchers drawn from five UBC faculties (Science, Medicine, Applied Science, Forestry, and Land and Food Systems) and operates five core research facilities providing shared services: the Analytical Core Facility, the Genomics Core Facility (with NextSeq and NovaSeq X platforms), the Multi-Scale Seeing-is-Believing Imaging Facility, the Proteomics and Metabolomics Core Facility, and the RNA and Formulation Core. These facilities offer fee-for-service access, training, and collaborative research arrangements to academic and industry users.

MSL's research spans genomics, proteomics, bioinformatics, molecular biology, bioengineering, plant biology, and science education, with notable proprietary platforms including Dr. Michael Smith's Nobel Prize-winning site-directed mutagenesis technique, Dr. Sabrina Leslie's CLiC single-molecule imaging platform, Dr. Anna Blakney's self-amplifying RNA vaccine technology, and the Jefferies lab's Gemini self-amplifying nucleic acid platform. The institution generates high-impact publications in journals such as Science, Cell, Nature Biotech, and PNAS, and has produced notable research outcomes including sequencing the SARS virus in six days (2003) and developing the world's first E. coli cattle vaccine.

MSL's revenue model is diversified across federal and provincial research grants (NSERC, CIHR, CFI, Genome BC, BC Cancer Agency), core institutional support from UBC, philanthropic donations and endowments (including a $2M+ endowment seeded by Dr. Smith's Nobel Prize money), and industry partnerships and licensing. The institution serves multiple customer segments: internal researchers and graduate students (through GSAT and Bioinformatics graduate programs), K-12 students and educators (through the Advanced Molecular Biology Laboratory outreach program reaching thousands annually), the broader scientific community (through publications and core facility services), and the biotechnology industry (through spin-out companies including AbCellera, Notch Therapeutics, Inimex Pharmaceuticals, Microbiome Insights, CoMotion Drug Delivery, SonoSep Technologies, and ExCellThera, and licensing agreements with Merck, Eli Lilly, and Zymeworks).

Name

UBC Michael Smith Laboratories

Legal name

Michael Smith Laboratories, The University of British Columbia

Website

https://msl.ubc.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

UBC Michael Smith Laboratories is a non-profit interdisciplinary biotechnology research unit within the University of British Columbia, home to 300+ researchers across five faculties, operating five core research facilities and producing peer-reviewed research, graduate training, and spin-out biotech companies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Biotechnology Research Services

NAICS

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

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Biomedical Sciences & Medical Research Institutes (University-Based) (EDAHAGAI)

Keywords

• Biotechnology research
• Genomics services
• Proteomics analysis
• Bio-imaging facilities
• Graduate research training

Headquarters

HQ city

Vancouver

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Federal and Provincial Research Grants: The primary funding source comes from competitive research grants from Canadian federal agencies (NSERC, CIHR, Canada Foundation for Innovation) and provincial organizations (Genome British Columbia, BC Cancer Agency)
2. University of British Columbia Support: Core operational support from UBC including faculty positions, infrastructure, and administrative services
3. Donations and Endowments: Philanthropic donations support graduate fellowships, postdoctoral positions, outreach programs, and equipment. Dr. Michael Smith's Nobel Prize money helped establish endowments exceeding $2 million
4. Industry Partnerships and Licensing: Revenue from licensing of technologies developed at MSL to biotech companies, including spin-out companies like AbCellera and Notch Therapeutics

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

UBC Michael Smith Laboratories is an interdisciplinary biotechnology research unit of the University of British Columbia that conducts fundamental biomedical, agricultural, and life-science research across five UBC faculties. The institute operates five core technology facilities that provide genomics, proteomics/metabolomics, bio-imaging, analytical chemistry, and RNA/formulation services to internal and external researchers, and delivers graduate-level scientific training and STEM outreach programming.

Product overview

UBC Michael Smith Laboratories is a research laboratory organized around five core research facilities providing analytical, genomic, imaging, proteomics/metabolomics, and RNA biomanufacturing services. The organization also operates two graduate programs (Genome Science + Technology and Bioinformatics) and two science education outreach programs (AMBL and MSL Reaches Out). The facilities offer-fee service access to academic and industry researchers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Advanced Molecular Biology Laboratory (AMBL): Scientific literacy facility specializing in STEM educational and training programs, providing molecular biology and communications training to scientists of all levels.

Products and services

• Analytical Core Facility Shared analytical chemistry instrumentation facility providing analytical services to UBC researchers and external collaborators conducting life-science and biotechnology research.
• Genomics Core Facility Core laboratory providing genomic sequencing, library preparation, and bioinformatic analysis services to academic and industry researchers.
• mSIB Imaging Core Bio-imaging core offering advanced microscopy and image-analysis services for biomedical and life-science researchers.
• Proteomics and Metabolomics Core Core facility delivering mass-spectrometry-based protein and metabolite profiling, identification, and quantification services to researchers.
• RNA and Formulation Core Core service providing small interfering RNA reagents and biomolecule/drug formulation services to support biomedical research and translational projects.
• Graduate Studies Program (GSAT) Graduate-level research training program in interdisciplinary biotechnology for doctoral and master's students at UBC.
• Bioinformatics Graduate Program Graduate training program offering advanced education in bioinformatics, computational genomics, and data analysis for life-science researchers.
• AMBL STEM Outreach Program Science outreach and education program that engages school-age students and the broader public in biotechnology and molecular life-science learning.
• MSL Reaches Out Program Community engagement and STEM outreach initiative providing science education opportunities and public-facing research communication.

Quantifiable outcome

• SARS virus sequenced in 6 days, enabling vaccine development within a year
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

21 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NSERC CREATE (MaST3 Program)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2025Mass Spectrometry Team Training and Transition (MaST3) program supported by $1.65 million funding over six years. Led by Dr. Thibault Mayor with involvement of Drs. Leonard Foster and David Ng.
• Eyam Vaccines and ImmunotherapeuticsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Dr. Wilfred Jefferies collaborates with Eyam Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics on COVID-19 vaccine pre-clinical trials.
• Notch TherapeuticscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2018Biotech company co-founded by Dr. Peter Zandstra developing stem-cell derived immunotherapies for cancer treatment. Raised $85 million Series A financing.
• Georg-August-University GöttingencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2018International training program PRoTECT (Plant Responses To Eliminate Critical Threats) jointly hosted by UBC and Georg-August-University Göttingen. Supported by $1.65 million from NSERC CREATE and DFG-IRTG over six years.
• Zymeworks Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Partnership to launch Fellowships in Advanced Protein Therapeutics. Beginning in 2021, one graduate student from MSL and Department of Microbiology and Immunology receives $20,000 one-year fellowship to support immunotherapeutic research.
• Eli Lilly and CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2012AbCellera (spun out from MSL) co-developed antibody therapies for COVID-19 treatment with Eli Lilly, contributing to bamlanivimab (LY-CoV555) authorization.
• Merck & Co.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2006Neuromed Pharmaceuticals (led by Dr. Terry Snutch) signed potentially $500 million agreement with Merck & Co. for painkiller MK-6721 - the largest agreement in Canadian biotech history.
• BC Cancer AgencycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 1999Joint project called Centre for Integrated Genomics linking gene studies, biotechnology, and cancer research. Received $9.35 million from Canada Foundation for Innovation for construction of new biotechnology research building at UBC.
• Science World British ColumbiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Michael Smith donated half of his Nobel Prize money to Science World British Columbia as part of his humanitarian contributions to science education in BC.
• Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology (SCWIST)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Michael Smith donated half of his Nobel Prize money to SCWIST to support women in science careers in Canada.
• Inimex PharmaceuticalsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpin-out from labs of Drs. Brett Finlay and Robert Hancock focused on fighting superbugs with Innate Defense Regulators (IDRs). Raised more than $28 million.
• SonoSep Technologies Inc.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpin-out company from Dr. James Piret's lab developing cell separation device using ultrasonic resonance waves.
• Microbiome InsightsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUBC spin-out co-founded by Dr. Brett Finlay and Bill Mohn created from influx of demands for microbiome research.
• CoMotion Drug Delivery SystemsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpin-off from Dr. Christian Kastrup's lab created to manage bleeding and prevent deaths through enhanced platelet technology.
• ExCellTheraminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBiotechnology company co-founded by Dr. Peter Zandstra focusing on cell therapy bioprocess engineering.
• MitacscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunding partner for postdoctoral fellowships, including Mitacs-funded collaborative research program with ScopeSys for Single-Molecule Biophysics and Nanomedicine research under Dr. Sabrina Leslie.
• ScopeSysminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVancouver-based life sciences tools company partnering on Mitacs-funded collaborative research program for RNA-based therapeutics research.
• BC Cancer AgencycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founder and director of Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at BC Cancer held by Dr. Marco Marra for over two decades.
• Genome British ColumbiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreated Michael Smith Legacy Video and continues to support MSL through funding and partnership initiatives.
• Michael Smith Foundation for Health ResearchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreated Michael Smith Legacy Video and continues to support MSL through funding and partnership initiatives.
• Networks of Centres of ExcellenceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOffice location at #345-2125 East Mall indicates operational partnership.

Scale indicators26 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard: Joint MIT/Harvard genomics and biomedical research institute with comparable scale, mission, and core facility model (genomics, proteomics, imaging). Directly comparable in interdisciplinary research focus and translational pipeline.
• Allen Institute: Philanthropically-funded large-scale research organization with a similar "research-converges-with-technology" mission and interdisciplinary project structure. Comparable in core facility investment and big-team science approach.
• Gladstone Institutes: UCSF-affiliated nonprofit research institute focused on biomedical discovery with a similar faculty structure, disease-area research breadth, and translation-focused culture. Closely comparable in scale and research taxonomy.
• Salk Institute for Biological Studies: Independent nonprofit biological research institute with Nobel-laureate heritage and similar faculty-driven research model. Comparable in research depth, talent density, and percentage of basic-to-translational research output.
• MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology: UK research council-funded molecular biology research institute with deep Nobel Prize heritage and similar researcher density. Comparable in basic-to-translational research mission and breakthrough-science output.
• Wellcome Sanger Institute: Genome-focused research institute with comparable genomics and bioinformatics capabilities, core facility infrastructure, and translational outputs. Directly comparable in genomic sequencing, single-cell biology, and partnership models.
• Francis Crick Institute: UK-based biomedical research institute with comparable interdisciplinary research model, core facility infrastructure, and a talent base of ~1,500 scientists. Directly comparable in research breadth and translational mission.
• Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research: MIT-affiliated nonprofit biomedical research institute with a similar model of principal investigator-led research, interdisciplinary collaboration, and technology translation. Directly comparable in scale (~300 researchers), talent density, and spin-out track record.
• Institute for Molecular Bioscience (University of Queensland): University-based interdisciplinary molecular biology research institute with similar faculty structure, core facility model, and translational orientation. Comparable in scale and research portfolio mix.
• Scripps Research Institute: Nonprofit biomedical research organization with similar research foci in chemistry, structural biology, and immunology. Comparable in faculty-driven research model, scale of operations, and translational pipeline.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/michael-smith-laboratories

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about UBC Michael Smith Laboratories