What Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals does

Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals is a non-profit translational drug development organization founded in 2012 and headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, operating as part of the University Hospitals Health System. It advances academic scientific discoveries into clinical medicines by selecting physician-scientists through competitive award programs (Scholar-Innovator Award, US and UK Rare Disease Scholar Awards, Harrington Fellows Award, ADDF-Harrington program) and pairing each awardee with a Therapeutics Development Center team consisting of project managers and pharma and business development advisors. Guaranteed grant funding ranges from $75,000 to $150,000 per award, with opportunities to qualify for additional acceleration and investment funding up to $1 million-$2 million. HDI also runs the Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre, a transatlantic partnership with the University of Oxford (established 2019) that operates the Therapeutics Accelerator backed by up to £200 million from Oxford Science Enterprises, University Hospitals, and Oxford, with a stated goal of advancing 40 rare disease therapies into clinical trials by 2034. HDI does not sell products or services in the traditional sense; it deploys philanthropic and co-investor capital to de-risk early-stage therapeutic candidates and position them for further investment and pharma licensing. The institute reports cumulative outcomes of 238 medicines in development, 25 medicines in the clinic, 15 pharma licenses, 48 spin-out companies, and 78 supported academic institutions. HDI is led by President and co-Founder Jonathan Stamler, MD (NAI Fellow, 2023) and is governed within University Hospitals alongside UK entity Fund for Cures UK, Ltd.

Name

Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals

Legal name

Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals

Website

https://www.harringtondiscovery.org/

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Harrington Discovery Institute is a Cleveland-based non-profit that funds and advises physician-scientists at academic medical centers, pairing grants with a Therapeutics Development Center team to advance early-stage discoveries into medicines for unmet and rare disease needs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Drug Discovery and Therapeutic Development Funding Services

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Health & Medical Research Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI), Genetic & Genomic Rare Disease Therapeutics (HLAIAIAA), Drug Discovery (Target ID/Validation & Hit Discovery) (HLAIALAA), Clinical Development (Phase I–III Trial Design & Execution) (HLAIALAE)

Keywords

• Drug discovery funding
• Rare disease research
• Physician-scientist grants
• Therapeutic development services
• Academic drug translation

Headquarters

HQ city

Cleveland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Funding and Grant Programs: Harrington Discovery Institute operates as a non-profit research institute funded primarily through philanthropy. The institute deploys charitable funds to support academic physician-scientists in advancing early-stage discoveries into medicines, targeting rare diseases and unmet medical needs. The model is designed to de-risk therapeutic candidates and position them for further investment and commercialization.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Harrington Discovery Institute provides competitive grant funding and pharmaceutical drug development expertise to physician-scientists at academic medical centers in the US, UK, and Canada to advance early-stage therapeutic discoveries into medicines. Each award recipient receives a guaranteed grant plus dedicated support from the Therapeutics Development Center, including project managers, pharma business development advisors, regulatory assistance, and IP review. The model targets rare diseases and unmet medical needs by de-risking candidates for further investment, licensing, or company formation.

Product overview

Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals is a drug discovery and development organization that operates a platform of funding programs and drug development support services. The core offerings include the Harrington Scholar-Innovator Award, Harrington Rare Disease Scholar Award (US and UK variants), Harrington Fellows Award, and the Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre partnership. All award programs are paired with the Therapeutics Development Center, which provides physician-scientists with project management, pharma expertise, and business development advisory services. The institute also operates the Oxford-Harrington Therapeutics Accelerator backed by £200 million. The model focuses on de-risking therapeutic candidates during high-risk development stages to position them for further investment and commercialization.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre: UK-focused rare disease funding and research partnership between University of Oxford and Harrington Discovery Institute

Products and services

• Harrington Scholar-Innovator Award Annual award recognizing outstanding physician-scientists in the US and Canada whose work has potential to advance standard of care; includes $100,000 guaranteed grant with opportunity for acceleration funds up to $300,000 and investment funds up to $2,000,000, plus expert business, commercialization, and clinical development advice, and access to the Therapeutics Development Center.
• Harrington Rare Disease Scholar Award (US) US-based program sponsored by Takeda Pharmaceutical Company for academic researchers working on rare disease therapeutics, providing $150,000 guaranteed with opportunity to qualify for up to $1,000,000 in additional funding, plus facilitated access to Takeda R&D experts and a dedicated pharma team.
• Harrington UK Rare Disease Scholar Award UK-specific funding program modeled after the US rare disease award, providing £100,000 guaranteed with opportunity for additional funding up to £400,000, plus a personalized team of drug developers and a dedicated project manager; administered through Fund for Cures UK, Ltd.
• Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre Transatlantic partnership between University of Oxford and Harrington Discovery Institute embedding industry expertise directly into academic rare disease programs, with a stated goal of advancing 40 therapies into clinical trials by 2034 and $250 million committed.
• Harrington Fellows Award Scholarship recognizing early to mid-career physician-scientist faculty within the Cleveland academic community, providing $100,000 over two years to support research, with up to three fellows chosen annually.
• Therapeutics Development Center Core drug development support service that pairs every scholar with a results-oriented team from the Therapeutics Development Center, consisting of project managers and experienced pharma and business development advisors with a track record of bringing new drugs to market.
• Oxford-Harrington Therapeutics Accelerator Initiative backed by up to £200 million in funding operating under a unique non-profit/for-profit model through partnership between Harrington Discovery Institute, University Hospitals of Cleveland, University of Oxford, and Oxford Science Enterprises.
• Harrington Prize for Innovation in Medicine International recognition prize for pioneering work in medicine, awarded jointly with The American Society for Clinical Investigation.
• ADDF-Harrington Award Program Collaboration with the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation to accelerate translation of innovative Alzheimer's and dementia research through a jointly administered award program.

Quantifiable outcome

• 238 medicines in development across supported programs
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• University of OxfordcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 February 2019Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre partnership established February 28, 2019 to create a global center for rare diseases. The partnership brings together capabilities, resources and expertise of University of Oxford and Harrington Discovery Institute to deliver new treatments for rare diseases. The OHC operates a transatlantic model that embeds industry expertise directly into academic rare disease programs, with a goal to deliver 40 new therapies into clinical trials by 2034.
• Takeda Pharmaceutical CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 April 2017Multi-year collaboration announced April 27, 2017 to accelerate development of rare disease therapeutics. Takeda sponsors the Harrington Rare Disease Scholar Award program and provides facilitated access to Takeda research and development experts for award recipients. Takeda has also entered into licensing agreements with Harrington Scholars including AcuraStem PIKFYVE therapeutics (up to $580M) and LSU Health New Orleans DNA repeat expansion technology.
• Alzheimer's Drug Discovery FoundationmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 January 2017Expanded collaboration announced January 10, 2017 to accelerate translation of innovative research for Alzheimer's disease. The organizations jointly market and administer award programs for academic researchers focused on Alzheimer's and related dementias (ADDF-Harrington program).
• Case Western Reserve University School of MedicinecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partnership including Harrington-MSTP program for MD/PhD students to translate promising scientific discoveries into medicines. The Case Western Reserve School of Medicine launched the first MD/PhD program in the U.S. in 1956. Partnership combines resources to advance discoveries by the next generation of physician-scientists.
• AcuraStemmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBiotechnology company co-founded by Justin Ichida, PhD (Harrington Rare Disease Scholar) developing PIKFYVE targeted therapeutics for ALS and Frontotemporal Dementia. AcuraStem entered into exclusive worldwide license agreement with Takeda for PIKFYVE program (up to $580M in milestones). Harrington funding and support helped advance the research from academic discovery to licensed therapeutic program.
• University Hospitals Cleveland Medical CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity Hospitals is the parent organization of Harrington Discovery Institute. The institute is part of The Harrington Project for Discovery & Development at University Hospitals, aimed at enabling physician-scientists to turn discoveries into medicines that improve human health.
• Fund for Cures UK, Ltd.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHarrington Discovery Institute's UK entity that serves as the granting organization for the Harrington UK Rare Disease Scholar Award program. Administers £100,000 guaranteed grants and up to £400,000 additional funding for UK rare disease researchers.
• David Cameron (Former UK Prime Minister)majorOthersLord Cameron joined Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre as Chair of its Advisory Council in October 2024. He leads international efforts to drive the OHC's mission of delivering 40 new therapies for rare diseases into clinical trials over the next ten years.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• BioMotiv: A mission-aligned drug development accelerator associated with The Harrington Project; BioMotiv shares founders and infrastructure with HDI and translates academic discoveries into biotech companies — a direct operational peer.
• Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation: Co-administers the ADDF-Harrington Award Program with HDI; ADDF is a non-profit that funds and accelerates translational drug discovery for Alzheimer's, with overlapping scholar-driven funding model and pharma expertise layer.
• Cures Within Reach: Non-profit that funds and accelerates repurposing of existing drugs from academic labs to clinical use; operates a similar grant-plus-expertise model targeting underserved patient populations.
• Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics Lab: Non-profit drug development arm that funds and runs therapeutic discovery programs for a single disease area, with a model of combining philanthropic capital with pharma partnerships and licensing — the original rare-disease translational template HDI has scaled across multiple diseases.

Broad incumbents

• LifeArc: UK-based medical research charity with a translational model that advances academic discoveries toward clinical development — highly comparable to HDI's UK operations under Fund for Cures UK, Ltd.
• Wellcome Leap: Non-profit translational research program funded by Wellcome Trust that funds bold, milestone-driven programs combining philanthropy with industry-style project management — comparable scale and academic-to-clinic translation mission.
• FasterCures (Milken Institute): Non-profit action tank focused on accelerating medical R&D across diseases by removing barriers between academic discovery and patients — operates adjacent to HDI's mission of de-risking early-stage therapeutics.
• National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS): NIH center dedicated to translating scientific discoveries into new treatments; provides comparable funding, expertise, and infrastructure support to academic researchers advancing early-stage therapeutics.

Regional players

• Medicines Discovery Catapult: UK-based non-profit that partners with academic researchers and SMEs to industrialize drug discovery — comparable to HDI's UK operations and to the Oxford-Harrington model of providing drug development infrastructure to academic scientists.

Emerging players

• BridgeBio: Commercial biotech that builds companies around academic discoveries for genetic diseases and rare conditions; while for-profit, it pursues the same academic-to-clinic translation thesis and competes for the same scholar-sourced assets HDI supports.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments5 records

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Frequently asked questions about Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals