sanford burnham medical research institute

What sanford burnham medical research institute does

Sanford Burnham Prebys is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) biomedical research institute headquartered in La Jolla, California, founded in 1976 as the La Jolla Cancer Research Foundation and renamed through successive mergers and benefactor partnerships (T. Denny Sanford in 2010, Prebys Foundation in 2019). It operates four disease-focused research centers — NCI-Designated Cancer Center (one of only eight NCI-designated Basic Laboratory Cancer Centers in the U.S.), Center for Cardiovascular and Muscular Diseases, Center for Neurologic Diseases, and Center for Metabolic and Liver Diseases — supported by three enabling-technology centers: the Center for Therapeutics Discovery, the Conrad Prebys Center for Chemical Genomics (high-throughput screening of up to 750,000 compounds using acoustic dispensing in 1,536-well parallel arrays), and the Center for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence.

The institute runs a Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and a Postdoctoral Training Program alongside supplementary training tracks including CIRM, LEAP, internships, and international services. Research outputs are translated into health impact through technology licensing and partnering with pharmaceutical and biotech companies, federal research collaboration with NIH and international health agencies (notably a 2026 nonbinding partnership with the Abu Dhabi Department of Health), and publication in peer-reviewed journals.

Revenue is generated from four streams: federal research funding (primarily NIH/NCI grants), philanthropy and donations (with the institute claiming 90 cents of every dollar goes directly to research), licensing and royalty income from licensed intellectual property, and educational program tuition and stipends. The institute is governed by a Board of Directors with no parent company and operates as an independent private nonprofit rather than a commercial enterprise.

Name

sanford burnham medical research institute

Legal name

Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute

Website

https://sanfordburnham.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Sanford Burnham Prebys is a nonprofit biomedical research institute in La Jolla conducting fundamental and translational research across cancer, cardiovascular, neurologic, and metabolic diseases, with high-throughput drug screening, computational biology, and graduate and postdoctoral training programs funded primarily by NIH grants and philanthropy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Biomedical Research

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

Preclinical CROs (Discovery/Pharmacology/DMPK) (HLAGAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Nonclinical Study Management & Regulatory Writing (IND-enabling) (HLAGAFAN), Transcriptomics & Gene Expression Profiling Services (HLAGANAE)

Keywords

• Biomedical research
• Drug discovery
• Cancer research
• High-throughput screening
• Graduate science education

Headquarters

HQ city

La Jolla

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Federal Research Funding: Primary revenue from NIH and other federal research grants. The institute actively advocates for federal research funding and opposes policies threatening indirect cost reimbursement.
2. Philanthropy and Donations: Nine out of every 10 dollars invested at Sanford Burnham Prebys directly funds research. Major philanthropist T. Denny Sanford was a key benefactor. Multiple giving programs including one-time donations, legacy giving, and recurring support.
3. Licensing and Technology Transfer: Revenue from licensing intellectual property, technologies, and collaboration opportunities developed by researchers to pharmaceutical and biotech companies.
4. Educational Programs: Graduate school, postdoctoral training, and internship programs that provide training while generating revenue through tuition and stipends.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Sanford Burnham Prebys is an independent nonprofit biomedical research institute that conducts basic and translational research across cancer, cardiovascular, neurologic, and metabolic diseases through six specialized research centers. The institute translates scientific discoveries into drug candidates using high-throughput chemical screening, computational biology, and AI, and licenses resulting technologies to pharmaceutical and biotech partners. It also operates a Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and postdoctoral training programs to develop the next generation of scientific leaders.

Product overview

Sanford Burnham Prebys is a research institute organized around a platform of six interconnected research centers focused on disease areas and enabling technologies. Four disease-focused centers target cancer, cardiovascular/muscular, neurologic, and metabolic disease. They are supported by three enabling technologies centers: Center for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (computational biology, machine learning, AI), Center for Therapeutics Discovery (drug discovery), and the Conrad Prebys Center for Chemical Genomics (high-throughput chemical screening with robotics and acoustic dispensing). The institute also offers educational programs (Graduate School, Postdoctoral Training) and technology transfer services through licensing and partnering opportunities. Research programs include Cancer Metabolism and Microenvironment and Cancer Genome and Epigenetics, with overarching themes in Aging, Immunity/Inflammation/Microbiology, Stem Cells/Regenerative Medicine, and Children's Health.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• NCI-Designated Cancer Center
• Center for Cardiovascular and Muscular Diseases
• Center for Neurologic Diseases
• Center for Metabolic and Liver Diseases
• Center for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence
• Center for Therapeutics Discovery
• Conrad Prebys Center for Chemical Genomics
• Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
• Postdoctoral Training Program
• Licensing and Partnering Opportunities

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 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.

• Department of Health in Abu DhabicoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 August 2026Nonbinding pact between Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute and the Department of Health in Abu Dhabi. The partnership is intended to expand and accelerate biomedical research in both nations, fostering international scientific collaboration and knowledge exchange in healthcare and life sciences.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Allen Institute: Nonprofit research organization with major programs in brain science, cell science, and AI-driven biological data platforms. Comparable as a nonprofit research entity investing heavily in data science and AI infrastructure for biomedical discovery.
• Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard: Nonprofit research institute integrating genomics, chemical biology, and computational science for disease research. Comparable in combining high-throughput chemistry, multi-omics, and AI capabilities within a nonprofit research structure.
• Gladstone Institutes: UCSF-affiliated nonprofit research organization focused on disease-oriented biomedical discovery in cardiovascular, neurological, and viral/immunological areas. Direct comparable in mission, scale, and translational research positioning.
• Stowers Institute for Medical Research: Nonprofit basic biomedical research institute focused on gene regulation, regeneration, and cancer. Comparable in mission, scale, and privately funded nonprofit research model.
• The Jackson Laboratory: Nonprofit genetics and genomics research institute with significant preclinical model and disease research programs. Comparable in disease-research focus, nonprofit funding model, and translational/educational offerings.
• Scripps Research: La Jolla-based translational biomedical research institute with strong drug discovery and graduate programs. Most directly comparable peer — same geographic cluster, similar nonprofit model, and overlapping translational research mission including high-throughput screening.
• Salk Institute for Biological Studies: Adjacent La Jolla nonprofit biomedical research institute focused on cancer, neuroscience, aging, and immunology. Comparable scale, same operating model, and shares the La Jolla talent ecosystem and funding base.
• Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center: Seattle-based NCI-designated cancer center with strong basic and translational research programs. Comparable in NCI designation, scale, and integration of research with training/clinical translation in oncology.
• Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory: Nonprofit research and educational institution with strengths in cancer biology, neuroscience, and quantitative biology. Comparable scale, nonprofit status, and educational/training programs.

Broad incumbents

• Howard Hughes Medical Institute: Larger, established biomedical research organization funding hundreds of investigators across U.S. institutions. Comparable nonprofit biomedical research funder/operator but operates at significantly greater scale and primarily through an investigator-network model rather than a single campus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/sbpdiscovery
• Facebookfacebook.com/sbpdiscovery
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sbpdiscovery
• Instagraminstagram.com/sbpdiscovery

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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