DrugBank
Location: Edmonton, Alberta VC Investor: Accelerate Fund, Amplitude Ventures Company URL: drugbank.com
Strategic Importance: Advanced education, healthcare and medicine, pharmaceutical research
Alberta’s private and post-secondary researchers and patients often lament the time it takes for lifesaving and life-changing medications to become publicly available.
An Edmonton-based company named DrugBank is empowering scientists to bring better medicines to market, faster. This is helping to reduce the cost and risk of drug development, which can translate to more cost-effective therapies.
21 Million
users globally
58,000
citations
“Early-stage capital gave us runway to build out our platform, hire scientific and engineering talent, and scale our infrastructure.”
Alberta a Conduit to Medical Advancement
DrugBank has evolved from a world-class open-access database into a global intelligence platform trusted by scientists, analysts and innovators across pharma, biotech and academia.
They are helping to put Alberta on the world stage for pharmaceutical research. Their global reach – over 21 million users and 58,000 citations – has strengthened Alberta’s reputation as a leader in life sciences and digital health. This technology can support teams at research-oriented universities, such as the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary, to advance their efforts to develop life-altering medications for patients.
By combining richly structured biomedical data with advanced software and AI tools, DrugBank helps users navigate complex biological and clinical information—accelerating everything from target identification and trial landscaping to safety monitoring and market analysis.
DrugBank creates homegrown impact by anchoring world-class biomedical innovation in Alberta.
Lisa Downey, CEO of DrugBank, says Alberta provides the ideal environment for companies like DrugBank.
“The Edmonton region has become a gateway for drug research and development. It is home to world-class research institutes, including Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii) and the University of Alberta, which provides a deep talent pool.”
This tool is helping Alberta scientists and universities discover and repurpose medicines faster, ultimately lowering R&D costs and accelerating access to new therapies that improve patient outcomes.
Funding Innovation and Innovators
Provincial efforts to attract Venture Capital firms with strategically aligned funds, through Alberta Enterprise Corporation (AEC), have helped propel the DrugBank to where it is today.
“Early-stage capital gave us runway to build out our platform, hire scientific and engineering talent, and scale our infrastructure,” Downey reveals.
“As we became more established, the backing of our VC partners and AEC has enhanced our ability to scale globally from Alberta and to deliver on our vision.”
