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AbCellera

A UBC lab spin-out that made Vancouver a home for antibody medicine

AbCellera grew out of a UBC lab into one of Canada's largest biotech employers, best known for discovering one of the first COVID-19 antibody treatments in a matter of weeks. It now develops its own medicines, backed by a Nasdaq listing and a $300 million federal-provincial bet on a Mount Pleasant biotech campus.

Website ↗TSX: ABCL ↗Vancouver boardVancouver guide

01 · Culture

How they work

Our viewAbCellera hires 'for character and intelligence, not just for CVs', and its stated values put scientific rigour and the courage to work at the unknown edge first. Every employee gets an ownership stake, and the company builds its own labs, gyms and Canada's first-of-its-kind antibody manufacturing plant at home in Vancouver. Its pandemic team was named Fast Company's Innovative Team of the Year in 2020.

Recognition

In their words

“We pursue truth and scientific rigor. We think independently, act with conviction, and have the courage to work at the edge of the unknown.”
— Company values, careers page source ↗
“We hire for character and intelligence, not just for CVs or experience. We look for people with drive and energy. People we trust.”
— Company careers page source ↗
“People are really what make this company”
— Dr. Véronique Lecault, co-founder and CTO source ↗

In practice

  • Employee ownershipEmployees receive an ownership stake in AbCellera ('Work together, win together'). (2026) source ↗
  • Time offAt least three weeks of paid vacation plus two company-wide closures each year. (2026) source ↗
  • Retirement savingsRRSP and 401(k) plans with no employee matching requirement. (2026) source ↗
  • LearningWorkshops, conferences and programs for professional development, plus an active-lifestyle allowance and on-site gyms. (2026) source ↗
  • Relocation and immigration supportPersonalized relocation and immigration assistance for international hires. (2026) source ↗

02 · Capabilities

What they do best

Our viewAbCellera pairs microfluidics, high-throughput screening and machine learning to find antibodies faster than conventional methods. In 2020 its pandemic team took LY-CoV555 (bamlanivimab, with Eli Lilly) from screening to clinical testing in 90 days. Now it is turning that engine on its own pipeline, and in August 2026 ABCL635, a non-hormonal antibody for menopausal hot flashes, posted positive Phase 2 results.

~600Employees2025 source ↗
380,000 sq ft across two Mount Pleasant facilitiesHeadquarters campus2025 source ↗
12Molecules in clinical trials (incl. partners)2026-Q2 source ↗
US$540.1M (liquidity over US$675M)Cash and marketable securities2026-06 source ↗

Speed in antibody discovery

Its team took LY-CoV555 from initial screening to the world's first human trial of a COVID-19 monoclonal antibody within 90 days. source ↗

Women's health pipeline

ABCL635, an NK3R antagonist antibody, cut moderate-to-severe hot flashes by 83% versus 33% on placebo in Phase 2 and is headed for Phase 3. source ↗

Partnered T-cell engagers

2026 collaborations with Jazz Pharmaceuticals (US$84M upfront) and Vertex (US$28M upfront) on T-cell engager programs. source ↗

Made-in-Canada manufacturing

Built Canada's first-of-its-kind clinical-grade antibody manufacturing facility on Evans Avenue in Vancouver. source ↗

03 · Capital

Who backs them, and what they back

PublicNASDAQ: ABCL · since 2020 source ↗

Our viewAbCellera went public on Nasdaq in December 2020 with US$555.5 million in gross proceeds. Governments have backed it heavily: $175.6 million in 2020 for COVID-19 antibody work and a GMP plant, then $300 million from Ottawa and B.C. in 2023 for a $701 million biotech campus. That capital now funds its own clinical pipeline.

Funding

DateRoundAmountInvestors
2020-12IPOUS$555.5M gross (27.77M shares at US$20)Joint book-runners Credit Suisse, Stifel, Berenberg, SVB Leerink, BMO Capital Markets source ↗

Public programs

  • Strategic Innovation Fund (federal) + Province of British Columbia$225M federal + $75M provincial toward a $701M project; 400+ jobs · 2023-05 source ↗
  • Strategic Innovation Fund (Plan to Mobilize Science to fight COVID-19)$175.6M · 2020-05 source ↗

Capital they deploy

  • Vancouver biotech campus and GMP manufacturingA two-facility, 380,000 sq ft Mount Pleasant headquarters plus a clinical-grade antibody manufacturing site on Evans Avenue. · 2025 source ↗
What we could not confirm (3)
  • No 2024–2026 workplace-culture award found (most recent is Fast Company, 2020)
  • Whether employee equity extends to all staff (careers page says 'an ownership stake' without scope)
  • Pre-IPO private rounds (e.g. 2020 Series A) not checked at a primary source

Checked 2026-10-05

ABCLAbCellera

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Why it matters in Vancouver

Antibody discovery platform, since 2023 focused on its own clinical pipeline (ABCL635, ABCL575); 600+ staff, HQ 150 W 4th Ave

Flagship of the Vancouver life-sciences cluster; Nasdaq-listed

Employees: 600+

Source: AbCellera About

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