Open Medicine Foundation

What Open Medicine Foundation does

Open Medicine Foundation (OMF) is a US-based nonprofit 501(c)(3) research foundation founded in 2012 and headquartered in Agoura Hills, California, with affiliate organizations in Canada (OMF Canada) and Australia (OMF Australia). Its mission is to fund and coordinate open, collaborative research aimed at ending Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and Long COVID, two multisystem chronic complex diseases for which there are currently no FDA-approved diagnostics or treatments. OMF operates The End ME/CFS & Long COVID Project as its core research initiative, coordinating a global network of seven Collaborative Research Centers (CRCs) anchored at Stanford University, Harvard Affiliated Hospitals, Uppsala University, Université de Montréal/CHU Sainte-Justine, the University of Melbourne, the Computational Research Center for Complex Diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Medical Education Resource Center (MERC) at Bateman Horne Center. The foundation reports that over 200 researchers collaborate through these centers, with 57 peer-reviewed publications produced in 2024–2026 alone.

OMF's underlying platform is a systems biology research architecture combining multi-omics technologies (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics) to study disease mechanisms across multiple biological systems simultaneously — neuroendocrine, immune, cardiovascular, metabolism, genetics, and pathogens — rather than in isolation. Research outputs are shared through the OMF ME/CFS Data Center, a centralized web portal that distributes raw and processed data to the network in real time. Operational products include StudyME, a StudyPages-powered participant registry that connects prospective study participants with researchers, and The Life Improvement Trial (LIFT), an active double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of Pyridostigmine (Mestinon) and Low-Dose Naltrexone (LDN) in 160 participants across four arms at Brigham and Women's Hospital. MERC provides medical education for healthcare providers treating multisystem disease.

OMF has no commercial product or pricing model; it is funded entirely by donations and grants, with cumulative fundraising of approximately $60 million since 2012. Donations are accepted online via donorsupport.co and eTapestry, by mail, and internationally through Maecenata Stiftung Transnational Giving (covering Belgium, France, Germany, Spain, and the UK). The organization is led by Founder/CEO/President Linda Tannenbaum and chaired scientifically by Ronald W. Davis, PhD of Stanford. Customer segments are patients with ME/CFS and Long COVID, healthcare providers, the global ME/CFS research community, and individual and institutional donors.

Name

Open Medicine Foundation

Legal name

Open Medicine Foundation

Website

https://omf.ngo

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Open Medicine Foundation is a US 501(c)(3) nonprofit that funds and coordinates collaborative ME/CFS and Long COVID research across seven global academic centers, operating StudyME, the LIFT clinical trial, MERC medical education, and an open multi-omics Data Center.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Medical Research Foundation

NAICS

Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Health & Medical Research Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Disease-Specific Research & Support (e.g., Cancer, Diabetes, ALS) (BPAGACAA), Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI)

Keywords

• Biomedical research funding
• Chronic disease research
• Medical education programs
• Clinical trial coordination
• Multi-omics research

Headquarters

HQ city

Agoura Hills

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: OMF is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that raises funds through individual donations, corporate giving, and major gifts to fund ME/CFS and Long COVID research. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Open Medicine Foundation is a nonprofit research foundation that funds, coordinates, and conducts open collaborative research into ME/CFS and Long COVID. Its offerings include the global Collaborative Research Centers network, the StudyME participant registry, the LIFT clinical treatment trial, and the Medical Education Resource Center (MERC) for healthcare providers.

Product overview

Open Medicine Foundation operates The End ME/CFS & Long COVID Project as its core research initiative, coordinating seven global Collaborative Research Centers (Stanford, Harvard, Uppsala, Melbourne, Montréal, Computational Research Center, and MERC) that employ a systems biology approach to understand and cure ME/CFS and Long COVID. The foundation's primary offerings include StudyME, a participant registry powered by StudyPages that connects patients with researchers conducting studies, and The Life Improvement Trial (LIFT), an active clinical treatment trial. The organization does not offer a unified software product but rather serves as a research funding and coordination body, with its products being research programs, patient registries, clinical trials, and medical education resources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• StudyME: A participant registry recruitment tool to connect individuals interested in participating in research studies with researchers conducting them
• The End ME/CFS Project
• MERC (Medical Education Resource Center)
• The Life Improvement Trial (LIFT)

Products and services

• The End ME/CFS & Long COVID Project An overarching research initiative encompassing OMF-funded and facilitated research conducted at ME/CFS Collaborative Research Centers worldwide, focused on open, collaborative research to develop diagnostic tools and treatments for ME/CFS and Long COVID.
• StudyME Registry

Quantifiable outcome

• $60 million raised to fund research since 2012
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Stanford University - ME/CFS Collaborative Research CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEstablished in 2014 as part of the Stanford Genome Technology Center, directed by Ronald W. Davis, PhD. Conducts innovative, collaborative, open-data research to end ME/CFS. Focus areas include nanotechnology diagnostics, metabolomics, and immune system studies.
• Harvard Affiliated Hospitals - Ronald G. Tompkins ME/CFS CollaborationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEstablished in 2018 at Harvard affiliated hospitals including Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Co-directed by Wenzhong Xiao, PhD and David Systrom, MD. Focuses on clinical and scientific mechanistic studies.
• Uppsala University - ME/CFS Collaborative CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEstablished in 2019, directed by Jonas Bergquist, MD, PhD. Located in Sweden, searching for ME/CFS biomarkers in body and brain through state-of-the-art laboratory research. Has been researching ME/CFS for nearly a decade.
• CHU Sainte-Justine/Université de MontréalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEstablished in 2020, directed by Alain Moreau, PhD. Located in Quebec, Canada. Focuses on clinical and scientific intervention studies including microRNA diagnostic panels and therapeutic solutions.
• University of Melbourne - Melbourne ME/CFS CollaborationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEstablished in 2020, directed by Christopher W. Armstrong, PhD. Precision research program to identify unique biology of individuals and unifying biological pathways. Focus on metabolomics and precision medicine.
• Massachusetts General Hospital - Computational Research Center for Complex DiseasescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDirected by Wenzhong Xiao, PhD. Analyzes and integrates data from all OMF-funded studies. Applies computational genomics, network medicine, and deep machine learning to discover disease mechanisms and treatments.
• Bateman Horne Center - Medical Education Resource Center (MERC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMERC provides medical education to help healthcare providers understand challenges of multisystem disease. Directed by Lucinda Bateman, MD. Creates educational videos, diagnostic guidelines, and clinical care resources.
• StudyPagessupportingTechnology or IntegrationTechnology platform powering the StudyME participant registry that connects individuals interested in participating in research studies with researchers conducting them.
• Maecenata Stiftung Transnational GivingsupportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInternational donation partner enabling tax-efficient donations from Belgium, France, Germany, Spain, and United Kingdom. Donations are paid to OMF on a quarterly basis.
• Cornell UniversitysupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaborator contributing to the Harvard ME/CFS Collaboration. Maureen Hanson, PhD leads Cornell's research efforts in ME/CFS.
• Pacific Northwest National LaboratorysupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborator on Harvard ME/CFS research providing proteomics and metabolomics expertise through researchers including Richard Smith, PhD and Wei-Jun Qian, PhD.
• OMF CanadasupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAffiliate organization in Canada supporting OMF's mission and research efforts. Separate website at omfcanada.ngo.
• OMF AustraliasupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerForeign branch in Australia supporting the Melbourne ME/CFS Collaboration. Health Promotion Charity established to promote and fund research into multi-system chronic complex diseases.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Bateman Horne Center: ME/CFS and Long COVID clinical care and research center that partners with OMF through MERC. Operates in the same disease space with overlapping research and medical education mandates.
• Patient-Led Research Collaborative: Patient-driven research organization conducting studies on Long COVID and ME/CFS. Comparable in disease focus and community-led research approach.
• Solve ME/CFS Initiative: Long-standing nonprofit dedicated to advancing ME/CFS research, advocacy, and patient support. Directly comparable in mission, disease focus, and grantmaking model to OMF.
• PolyBio Research Foundation: Nonprofit funding cutting-edge ME/CFS and Long COVID research using multi-omics approaches. Closely comparable in scientific methodology and disease focus.

Others

• Chan Zuckerberg Initiative: Large philanthropic organization funding biomedical research including rare and complex disease programs. Comparable as a major science funder though much broader in disease scope.
• Howard Hughes Medical Institute: Major biomedical research organization supporting investigator-led science. Comparable as a large-scale research funder, though focused on broader biomedical discovery rather than a single disease.

Broad incumbents

• National Institutes of Health (NIH): Primary U.S. public funder of biomedical research, including ME/CFS and Long COVID. Compares as the largest incumbent source of research capital in the same disease space.

Regional players

• ME Research UK: UK-based charity funding biomedical research into ME/CFS. Comparable in mission and disease focus but operates primarily in the UK rather than OMF's global footprint.
• Mass ME/CFS & FM Association: Regional advocacy and support organization for ME/CFS patients, including research funding. Comparable in disease focus but operates at a smaller regional scale.

Emerging players

• Long COVID Alliance: Coalition of patient-advocates, researchers, and organizations focused on Long COVID. Comparable in disease overlap and community-driven research coordination, though focused primarily on advocacy.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/OpenMedF
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC0kN-Gt9WJp7pWZJn2oDUbA
• Facebookfacebook.com/OpenMedicineFoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/open-medicine-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/openmedf

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Open Medicine Foundation