Pharmaceutical companies are an important pillar of the healthcare industry. Their work drives development of new therapies and can help to increase access to medications and vaccines for patients all over the world. Vancouver is one of the metropolitan areas at the center of the Canadian pharmaceutical industry, and the companies below are some of the city’s top players in healthcare transformation.
Top Vancouver Pharmaceutical Companies
- Abdera Therapeutics
- WEX Pharmaceuticals
- NanoVation Therapeutics
- Genevant
- Aequus Pharmaceuticals
Pharmaceutical Companies in Vancouver
WEX Pharmaceuticals focuses on developing non-opioid pain medications. The biopharmaceutical company’s product Halneuron is meant to treat neuropathic pain caused by chemotherapy without the risk of addiction. The drug is undergoing late-stage clinical trials to evaluate safety and effectiveness.
Variational AI doesn’t just develop drugs — it discovers them. The company searches in a cluster of 1,060 molecules, called chemical space, to discover remedies that work, that are safe, and that can be synthesized. It does this with an AI platform that it calls Enki. Variational AI is based in Vancouver.
Genevant specializes in technology that supports efficient development and delivery of nucleic acid drugs. The company’s technology portfolio includes an LNP platform along with a ligand conjugate delivery platform to advance therapeutic products through partnerships across the pharmaceutical and biotechnology spaces.
Bold Therapeutics researches and develops metallotherapeutic drugs — drugs that contain metals such as selenium and boron — to treat colon, gastric, biliary tract and pancreatic cancers. Bold was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in Vancouver.
Abdera Therapeutics works to advance cancer treatment through its ROVEr platform, which relies on antibody engineering to develop precision radiotherapeutics. The company says its team includes experts with backgrounds in oncology, radiopharmaceuticals and biologics who are committed to developing therapies that target tumors and have limited impact on healthy cells.
Brains Bioceutical makes pharmaceutical-grade cannabinoid, a chemical compound found in cannabis. The company sells the cannabinoid to wellness stores and to makers of health and wellness products that contain cannabinoid. Brains says it is working on its own line of cannabinoid-enhanced products. Brains is based in Vancouver.
Aequus Pharmaceuticals engages in strategic partnerships to build a pipeline that targets medical conditions such as glaucoma. Its team members have the expertise to navigate the clinical development, regulatory approval and marketing processes necessary to commercialize pharmaceutical products.
NanoVation Therapeutics builds technology to innovate development of lipid nanoparticles, or LNPs, for effective delivery of genetic medicines. The company boasts a diverse team of science and technology experts who represent more than two dozen disciplines and work to “push the boundaries of science to make a healthier world.”
Amgen, which stands for Applied Molecular Genetics, researches and develops therapies based on mRNA, or messenger RNA. The therapies, called biologics, are used in treatment of a number of ailments, including cancer, anemia, osteoporosis and arthritis. Amgen is based in Thousand Oaks, California, and has an office in suburban Vancouver.
Betterlife Pharma focuses on treating mental illnesses and neurological disorders, including depression, neuropathic pain and some addictions, with a non-hallucinogenic variety of LSD. Betterlife is based in Vancouver.
