Pieter Cullis often dons dark blue suits for official events, but in his University of British Columbia lab, white takes center stage. His unruly white hair and bright white lab coat lend him a professorial air, while ideas for papers and projects are scrawled in white marker on the large fifth-floor window overlooking the atrium of the Life Sciences Centre.
Amid this setting, a small snowflake-shaped lapel pin might go unnoticed, but it serves as a subtle emblem of great distinction. Adorned with a golden maple leaf, the white pin marks Cullis as an Officer of the Order of Canada, one of the nation’s highest civilian honors.
Recognized for his pioneering work in lipid nanoparticle technology—a key component of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines—the Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology is far more than a typical academic. Cullis is a serial entrepreneur whose four decades of perseverance have supported the rise of nucleic acid-based medicines and the technologies for their precise delivery.
Preferring the term “scientific entrepreneur”, Cullis is widely regarded as the driving force behind Vancouver’s emergence as a biotech and life sciences hub, rivaling established industry centers like Boston and San Francisco.
Messenger RNA takes center stage
For years, nucleic acid-based therapeutics and the lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) that deliver them into human cells were primarily known to scientists—despite successful clinical trials, new drugs targeting rare diseases, and breakthroughs addressing adverse reactions in LNP formulations. The COVID-19 pandemic changed that, thrusting mRNA into the public spotlight as a global acronym for hope.
Messenger ribonucleic acid (RNA) carries instructions for the body to produce proteins, while LNPs—little bubbles of lipids—encapsulate and protect the genetic material. As the world learned this new scientific vocabulary in 2020, the focus has since shifted to the vast future potential of RNA therapeutics and LNPs.
Potential applications span cancer, HIV, malaria, tuberculosis, brain diseases, cardiovascular conditions, and genetic disorders. “For now, cancer applications look particularly interesting,” says Cullis, pointing to personalized cancer vaccines nearing clinical trials with the promise of much higher cure rates than chemotherapy. That has been his long-time goal. “Since the 1980s, we’ve been working on getting cancer drugs as specifically to the tumor as possible,” Cullis says.
Beyond cancer, there are many rare diseases. “Imagine a child born unable to produce a specific protein. You could save that child’s life by using medicines that instruct the liver to produce the missing protein—medicines that could be developed in just a few months. It is enormously exciting.”
An early shift to a promising technology
Evonik positioned itself early for the shift to nucleic acid-based medicines. In 2016, the company acquired Transferra Nanosciences—formerly Northern Lipids, one of Cullis’ early commercial ventures—thereby securing a foothold in Vancouver’s lipid‑delivery ecosystem and expanding its capabilities in injectable drug delivery services. The strategy was straightforward: Be where science meets entrepreneurialism, so ideas can move quickly from bench to process to clinic.
“We are on the cusp of a revolution,” says Mike Parr, Global Head, Strategic and Technical Marketing at Evonik’s Vancouver Labs, who studied under Cullis in the 1990s and later did postdoctoral work at Harvard Medical School. “The pandemic has accelerated the promise of nucleic acids delivered via LNPs.”
One active program supported by Evonik’s Vancouver Labs is ETH47, an mRNA-based antiviral designed to prevent virus-induced asthma attacks by bolstering innate defenses in the airways. Last year, the Munich-based biotech company Ethris announced a Phase 2a trial for the therapeutic which is administered as an intranasal spray. To help eliminate potential side effects to LNPs, Evonik is also developing and testing a novel type of structure for PEG lipids, one of the four main lipids in LNPs.
Ramp-up within a few months
Inside Evonik’s Vancouver Labs—two unassuming buildings a 45-minute drive from downtown—scientists combine lipids with a nucleic acid payload in high-velocity impingement jet mixers to form nanoparticles. Behind thick windows and sealed doors, fully suited operators monitor vial fill stations in the site’s clean room. “That’s the material that goes into humans,” Parr says. “At that stage, mistakes are not an option.” Phase 1 and 2 clinical production runs take place here, while larger Phase 3 and commercial manufacturing is conducted at Evonik’s site in Birmingham, Alabama.
LNPs hold the key to the future success of RNA technology. “If there is one message that captures the state of the field, it is that delivery remains both the critical step and the defining opportunity,” says Robert Langer, Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, a pioneer of modern biomaterials and drug delivery and the co-founder of the biotech firm Moderna.
Evonik partnered with Vancouver-based Acuitas Therapeutics during the pandemic. Acuitas, also co-founded by Cullis, provided the LNP delivery technology for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Within months, Evonik scaled up production to manufacture two lipids used in the vaccine—a clear reminder that delivery science and robust supply chains turn bench breakthroughs into reality.
From university labs to startup culture
At the outbreak of the pandemic, Cullis was already a seasoned expert in LNP technology. A physicist by training, he began studying lipid structures in biological membranes in the late 1970s after joining UBC as an assistant professor. Over time, he learned to manipulate these structures and envisioned their potential as drug delivery vehicles. Becoming a scientific entrepreneur seemed to happen almost by chance. He and his lab collaborators had invented a device to produce liposomes that attracted commercial interest. “I wanted to keep my team together, and the only way I could figure out how to do that was starting a company.”
In Vancouver’s biotech scene, the names of Cullis’ original research group and early startup co-founders are revered, much like the founders of Google or Apple in Silicon Valley. “Over four decades, we started umpteen companies in the liposome and LNP space, with a revolving door of people doing graduate or undergraduate work in Pieter’s lab and then joining these companies,” says Tom Madden, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Acuitas. Madden was one of Cullis’ original collaborators and later served as CEO of Northern Lipids.
A large-scale graphic panel in an Acuitas conference room, illustrating the company’s journey since 2009, captures their vision: “mRNA is the future. THERE ARE NO LIMITS.” Another declaration reads: “We are SAVING the WORLD.”
Personal connections run deep in Vancouver’s startup world. “Pieter cultivated a group of younger entrepreneurs who absorbed his way of thinking and acting,” says Evonik’s Parr, who also ran a startup for a while. “That’s why it’s so important for Evonik to have a physical presence in Vancouver—to stay connected to the startups emerging from the university.”
Evonik’s Vancouver-Boston Connection
Vancouver’s location in Canada’s westernmost province seems to shape its entrepreneurial spirit as well. “World-class research is always the foundation, and the University of British Columbia has been a biotech engine for decades,” says Wendy Hurlburt, CEO of Life Sciences British Columbia, an industry association. She also credits the industry’s growth to a distinct West Coast mindset—a go-getter attitude shaped by immigration, collaboration, resourcefulness, and a self-reliant outpost mentality.
British Columbia now boasts the fastest-growing life sciences sector in Canada, with over 2,000 companies employing close to 20,000 people, the majority of whom are based in Greater Vancouver.
“Vancouver has always been an entrepreneurial and innovative place,” agrees Dermot Kelleher, Dean Emeritus of the Faculty of Medicine at UBC. “But it still lacks the critical mass of life sciences hubs like Boston.”
To complement what Vancouver offers, Evonik looked eastward. In 2024, Evonik established a foothold in the Greater Boston biotech cluster, tapping into its critical mass. Evonik’s Cambridge Innovation Satellite specializes in LNPs as well and features a modern life sciences lab space located on MIT’s campus in Kendall Square, often called “the most innovative square mile on the planet.”
»The community is incredibly open and supportive«
Andrea Engel Senior Director of Cell and Delivery Systems at Evonik
Like Vancouver, Evonik’s Cambridge presence fosters collaboration with a vibrant cluster of startups, academic institutes, and hospitals. “In Cambridge, we are part of an extraordinary ecosystem where science, innovation, and business drive seamlessly converge. This unique environment allows us to remain at the forefront of scientific advancements, with a strong focus on early-stage research and development,” says Andrea Engel, Senior Director of Cell and Delivery Systems at Evonik.
Cutting-edge ideas are exchanged casually in Cambridge—even at the local coffee shop. “The community is incredibly open and supportive. Researchers from neighboring organizations can easily connect, sometimes just by crossing the street, and collaborate on formulations,” Engel says.
The Massachusetts Connection
Research institutions and companies in the Greater Boston life sciences cluster
Pandemic Preparedness in Canada
In the lab, Daniel Costa, Senior Scientist for Nucleic Acid Delivery and an MIT postdoc alum, uses a nebulizer to test LNP formulations for lung diseases like asthma—administered via inhalation instead of injection, enabling the direct delivery to the mucosal surfaces of the airway.
Another focus of the Innovation Satellite is in vitro testing of formulations in cell-based systems. On a computer screen, cellular compartments appear as striking blue and red blobs, reminiscent of an impressionist painting.
Despite the focus on new medical applications, the toll of the pandemic has not been forgotten. “We must maintain our focus on pandemics,” says UBC’s Kelleher, who helps lead the University’s Immuno-Engineering and Biomanufacturing Hub (CIEBH). Established in 2023, CIEBH is one of five national research hubs created by the Canadian government to bolster biodefense. Its relevance has grown since U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the cancellation of approximately $500 million in federal funding for mRNA vaccine research last year.
Despite the focus on new medical applications, the toll of the pandemic has not been forgotten. “We must maintain our focus on pandemics,” says UBC’s Kelleher, who helps lead the University’s Immuno-Engineering and Biomanufacturing Hub (CIEBH). Established in 2023, CIEBH is one of five national research hubs created by the Canadian government to bolster biodefense. Its relevance has grown since U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the cancellation of approximately $500 million in federal funding for mRNA vaccine research last year.
“Canada has strong capabilities in RNA and lipid nanoparticles, and we aim to have the capacity to rapidly manufacture products based on these technologies during a pandemic for early stage clinical trials,” says Kelleher. “Partnering with companies like Evonik will be key to scaling up production.” Evonik’s Mike Parr serves as the industry representative on CIEBH’s governance committee.
A key initiative of the CIEBH is the Avenger program, co-led by Cullis. The program focuses on developing mRNA LNP vaccine formulations to protect against viral and bacterial pathogens, while also advancing personalized cancer vaccine research and clinical trials.
That could lead to yet more awards for Cullis, who, in addition to receiving the Order of Canada has been honored with numerous other prestigious accolades both pre- and post-pandemic. Like his American colleague Langer, Cullis is considered a candidate for a future Nobel Prize.
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At the beginning of his career, he couldn’t have envisioned that his work would lead to 400 published articles, 100 patents, and a formidable biotech ecosystem in Vancouver. Yet Cullis never doubted the potential of his research. “I just knew it was going to work out,” he says.
