The 2024/2025 fiscal year marked another exciting chapter for innovation and entrepreneurship at the University of British Columbia. This year, the Inventions and Licensing team at Innovation UBC helped launch 15 new spin-offs, taking the total number of UBC spin-offs from 260 to 275. Each of these companies is grounded in UBC research and represents an important step forward in translating knowledge into impact.
What is a spin-off?
UBC spin-offs are companies created to commercialize innovations developed at UBC, support university research by funding further development, or deliver services that originated within a UBC department or unit. These spin-offs are a key part of our innovation ecosystem. They push researchers to take their breakthroughs from lab to market, supported by the Inventions & Licensing team, who work behind the scenes to evaluate inventions, secure IP rights, and build commercialization pathways. Many of these companies received support from Innovation UBC’s venture building programs, including Venture Founder and HATCH Venture Builder.
Meet UBC’s 2024/2025 spin-offs
Amphoraxe (Venture Founder)
Rapid development of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) as alternatives to conventional small molecule antibiotics. Targeting urgent global risks including antimicrobial resistance.
UBC affiliation: Faculty of Medicine
Founding team: Dr. Inanc Birol
Cyanoworks
UBC affiliation: Faculty of Science - Department of Microbiology and Immunology
Founding team: Dr. Stevan Hallam
Narval Energy Inc. (Venture Founder)
Reliable batteries for extreme-temperature environments, making renewable energy affordable.
UBC affiliation: Faculty of Applied Science
Founding team: Dr. Ivan Stosevski, Dr. Arman Bonakdarpour and Dr. David Wilkinson
Aquafer Technologies (Venture Founder)
Water treatment technology targeting the issue of forever chemicals.
UBC affiliation: Faculty of Chemical and Biological Engineering
Founding team: Dr. Madjid Mohseni
SmartParent Mobile Health (HATCH)
Canadian prenatal and parenting support program that provides trustworthy information via text messaging to help guide parents through pregnancy and their baby’s first year of life.
UBC affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, School of Population and Public Health
Founding team: Dr. Patricia Janssen
CereCura Nanotherapeutics (HATCH)
Leveraging the precision of LNP-RNA therapeutics to develop targeted therapies to address the complex mechanisms of neurological diseases.
UBC affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Michael Smith Laboratories, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health
Founding team: Dr. Louis-Philippe Bernier, Dr. Nicholas Weilinger, Dr. Richard Howlett, Dr. Brian MacVicar and Dr. Pieter Cullis
nPhyla Technologies (formerly M-MAP Technologies Inc)
nPhyla is advancing AI-enabled DNA technology in the resource extraction industry by collaborating with a network of strategic partners, investors, and research institutions
An online sample analysis platform that accelerates the creation and deployment of microbial solutions for mining.
UBC affiliation: Faculty of Applied Science, Bradshaw Research Institute for Mining and Minerals (BRIMM)
Founding team: Consortium of founding members and their CEO is Dr. Mike Kennedy
Sinedore
A needle-free platform that makes advanced therapies easier to take without pain, refrigeration, or injections.
UBC affiliation: Pharmaceutical Sciences
Founding team: Dr. Shyh-Dar Li
Lunar Therapeutics Inc.
Revolutionizing the field of cell therapy from its foundations. As a preclinical-stage cell therapy organization, Lunar Therapeutics is initiating groundbreaking projects to develop cellular treatments focused on addressing some of the most critical diseases globally.
UBC affiliation: Faculty of Medicine
Founding team: Dr. Timothy Kieffer
Melius Microbiomics
Using GEMM, an intricate and novel approach to microbiome-based therapy that uses the natural healing properties of beneficial bacteria, with the addition of genetic materials that enhances their ability to survive & improve gut health.
UBC affiliation: Faculty of Science
Founding team: Robert Emlyn, Dr. Deanna L. Gibson
NanoVation Therapeutics (2021)
Making a future by enabling the safe and efficient delivery of genetic medicines to target tissues in the body. NanoVation Therapeutics has recently announced a multi-year, multi-target partnership with Novo Nordisk to develop genetic medicines for cardiometabolic and rare disease.
UBC affiliation: Faculty of Medicine
Founding team: Dr. Pieter Cullis, Dr. Dominik Witzigmann and Dr. Jayesh Kulkarni
Arrowsmith Genetics Inc.
A preclinical stage precision oncology company exploiting genetics to broaden the therapeutic target repertoire of anti-cancer drugs.
UBC affiliation: Faculty of Medicine
Founding team: Dr. Peter Stirling, Dr. Nigel O’Neil, Dr. Philip Hieter and Dr. Nicolas Coutin
Sustainable Bioproducts Innovations Inc. (HATCH)
Driven by a mission to revolutionize the future of food, Sustainable Bioproduct Innovations (SBI) is commercializing a next-generation fat replacement technology (ZroFatTM) - empowering manufacturers to achieve both superior nutrition and functional performance without compromise. ZroFatTM is our solution for healthier food and environment.
UBC affiliation: Faculty of Land and Food Systems
Founding team: Dr. Anubhav Pratap-Singh, Dr. Anika Singh and Mr. Dave Eto
Insu Therapeutics
Developing oral drug delivery technologies for diabetes care.
UBC affiliation: Land and Food Systems
Founding team: Dr. Anubhav Pratap-Singh, Dr. Tom Elliott, Dr. Yigong Guo and Mr. Ammad Shorbaji
Sora Fuel Corp
We make jet fuel from just air, water, and renewable energy and combine carbon capture and utilization into a single process, dramatically reducing the amount of energy required to produce SAF, enabling a truly affordable, carbon-negative drop-in solution.
UBC affiliation: The Curtis P. Berlinguette Research Group, Faculties of Applied Science and Science
Founding team: Gareth Ross, Dr. Patrick Sarver and Dr. Curtis Berlinguette
The continued growth of UBC spin-offs demonstrates our commitment to fostering innovation with real world impact. We’re proud to celebrate these new ventures and the people who make them possible. Congratulations to all the founders and teams behind this year’s spin-offs!
Contact our Inventions and Licensing team to learn how your research could become the next big idea.
