IFOM

What IFOM does

IFOM (Istituto Fondazione di Oncologia Molecolare ETS) is a non-profit molecular oncology research institute headquartered in Milan, Italy, founded in 1997 with sustained financial backing from AIRC (Italian Association for Cancer Research), through which it operates under the trade names 'The AIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology' and 'IFOM ETS'. The institute runs more than 26 specialized research laboratories organized around cancer mechanisms — including DNA damage response, tumor cell migration and invasion, cellular senescence, genomics, and tumor microenvironment — supported by in-house technological units for advanced light and electron microscopy, flow cytometry, functional genomics screening, cancer engineering, and cellular/preclinical models. Its scientific output is anchored by discoveries on RAB5A-mediated tissue fluidification, the IRSp53 'Curvina' protein, spatial omics profiling of tumors, and antisense oligonucleotide (tASO) therapeutics for telomere biology, published in Nature, Nature Materials, Cell, and Nature Aging.

The institute's commercial-style activities are limited: it does not sell products or services at scale, and its principal revenue inflows are competitive research grants (notably a EUR 10.8 million ERC Synergy Grant awarded in 2022 to Giorgio Scita), ongoing AIRC funding including 5 per mille programs, and donations. Research translation is routed through the Experimental Therapeutics Program and clinical studies conducted in partnership with IEO Milan, Policlinico San Matteo Pavia, IOV IRCCS, and other Italian hospitals, while commercialization is channeled through its Benefit Corporation subsidiary Cogentech SRL. Education activities include PhD programs coordinated with the University of Milan and the University of Padua, alongside public-facing digital resources and science communication programs.

The institution serves a tripartite constituency: cancer patients and Italian healthcare providers who benefit from translational research and clinical trials, the broader scientific community that consumes its publications and collaborative outputs, and its funders (AIRC, ERC, EU, NIH) whose continued support sustains its research agenda. It maintains a secondary laboratory site in Padua in collaboration with the University of Padua's Department of Molecular Medicine and is governed as an ETS (Ente del Terzo Settore) under Italian third-sector law.

Name

IFOM

Legal name

IFOM Istituto Fondazione di Oncologia Molecolare ETS

Website

https://ifom.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

IFOM is a Milan-based, non-profit molecular oncology research institute affiliated with AIRC, operating 26+ specialized laboratories that study cancer mechanisms, tumor migration, DNA damage, and telomere biology, funded primarily by AIRC and ERC grants, and translating discoveries via clinical hospital partnerships and its Cogentech subsidiary.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cancer Research Services

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Medical Laboratories (621511)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Medical Oncology (HLAKAFAB)

Keywords

• Molecular oncology research
• Cancer biology research
• Translational cancer research
• Preclinical tumor models
• Cancer therapeutics development

Headquarters

HQ city

Milan

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

IFOM is a non-profit molecular oncology research institute operating 28 specialized laboratories focused on understanding cancer mechanisms (cell migration, tumor invasion, DNA damage response, cellular senescence) and developing therapeutic approaches. It runs thematic research programs, advanced technological units (spatial omics, advanced microscopy, organoid models, functional genomics), PhD training programs, clinical studies, and diagnostic services in collaboration with hospitals and universities.

Product overview

IFOM (Istituto Fondazione di Oncologia Molecolare ETS) is a non-profit cancer research institute (AIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology) in Milan, Italy. The institute offers a portfolio of research services including 28 specialized research labs, thematic research programs, advanced technological units for imaging and genomics, PhD programs in cancer biology, clinical studies, and diagnostic services. The institute also provides digital educational resources for schools including protocols, video lessons, webinars, and DIY experiments. IFOM functions as a research institution rather than a commercial product company, with its offerings centered around cancer research, education, and patient-oriented services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Research Programs Thematic research programs covering Functional Proteomics, Genomics of Cancer and Targeted Therapies, DNA Repair, Artificial Intelligence & Systems Biology, Tumor Spatial Biology, and Precision Oncology, conducted for the scientific community and clinical partners.
• Technological Units Advanced technology platforms providing services including Advanced Light Microscopy, Cancer Engineering R&D, Cellular & Preclinical Models, Electron Microscopy, Flow Cytometry, and Functional Genomics Screening, offered to internal researchers and external collaborators.
• PhD Programs Doctoral training programs in cancer biology and molecular oncology for graduate students, coordinated with the University of Milan.
• Clinical Studies Clinical trials and studies conducted in partnership with hospitals for patient care and translational research applications.
• Diagnostic Services Diagnostic services offered to patients through clinical partnerships with hospitals including IEO Milan, Policlinico San Matteo Pavia, and others.
• Digital Resources for Schools Online educational digital resources including protocols, video lessons, video clips, webinars, conferences, DIY science experiments, and ebooks designed for school students and public science engagement.

Quantifiable outcome

• Published landmark studies in Nature Materials, Nature, Cell, and Nature Aging demonstrating breakthrough discoveries in tumor fluidification, metastasis architecture, and aging research

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

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, major and minor.

• University of PaduacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Stefano Piccolo's lab, where he serves as Full Professor of Molecular Biology at the School of Medicine while maintaining research at IFOM. Joint research on tissue biology and tumorigenesis, including AIRC 5 per mille programs.
• University of MilancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMultiple joint research programs including Department of Oncology and Hematology-Oncology (DIPO) with researchers like Giorgio Scita as Full Professor of General Pathology, and Massimiliano Pagani as Full Professor of Molecular Biology.
• CNRS (Centre national de la recherche scientifique)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrench research partner in the ERC Synergy Grant project SHAPINCELLFATE led by Giorgio Scita alongside Matthieu Piel and Raphaël Voituriez from CNRS Paris.
• INSERM (Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrench research partner in the ERC Synergy Grant project with Ana-Maria Lennon-Duménil participating from INSERM Paris.
• Cogentech SRLcoreOthersCogentech is listed as a Società Benefit affiliated with IFOM, representing a commercial subsidiary for technology transfer and potential biotech applications.
• National Institutes of Health (NIH)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with NIH researchers in Bethesda on breast cancer tissue viscosity study published in Nature Materials 2026.
• European Institute of Oncology (IEO)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerClinical collaboration with IEO Milan pathologists for analyzing breast cancer samples to validate tissue viscosity findings.
• Weizmann Institute of SciencemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational research collaboration on collective cell motility and metastatic mechanisms using advanced imaging and mathematical modeling.
• University of ToulouseminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational research collaboration on cell migration and metastasis studies.
• National University of SingaporeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational collaboration including A*STAR for advanced imaging and bioinformatics analysis of collective cell migration.
• Istituto Oncologico Veneto (IOV) IRCCSmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerClinical collaboration with Professor Valentina Guarneri for breast cancer metastasis research in 3D architecture study.
• CNR-IOM (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Istituto Officina dei Materiali)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with CNR-IOM Perugia and Trieste for integrated photonic microscopy platform development combining Brillouin and Raman microscopy technologies.
• Institut CuriemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCNRS UMR144 collaboration with Institut Curie Paris for advanced cancer research and microscopy technologies.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves2 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• European Institute of Oncology (IEO): Milan-based cancer research and treatment center with overlapping clinical research collaborations with IFOM (e.g., breast cancer sample validation). Both operate in oncology with translational research missions in Italy.
• Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI): Leading European cancer research institute combining basic research with clinical translation. Comparable in mission scope, lab structure, and scientific output quality.
• Institut Curie: French cancer research center with strong basic-to-translational pipeline and CNRS/INSERM partnerships, directly overlapping with IFOM's SHAPINCELLFATE collaborators and oncology research depth.
• Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori (INT): Italy's flagship public cancer research and treatment center in Milan. Competes with IFOM for Italian cancer research funding, talent, and clinical partnerships.
• The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR): UK-based cancer research institute with strong translational and drug discovery programs. Comparable in research-only mission, scientific output, and European grant competition.
• IRB Barcelona: Biomedical research institute in Spain with similar scale (~400-500 staff), interdisciplinary approach, and ERC-funded principal investigators competing in similar talent pools.

Broad incumbents

• German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ): Largest European biomedical research institute focused on cancer, with significantly greater scale and funding. Competes with IFOM for ERC grants, talent, and publication visibility.
• Francis Crick Institute: UK's flagship biomedical discovery institute with broader scope than IFOM (cancer plus other diseases). Competes for European research talent and high-impact publications.
• Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center: Global leader in cancer research and treatment with substantially larger resources. Sets the benchmark for translational oncology and competes with IFOM for top talent in cell migration and tumor biology.

Regional players

• Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine (TIGEM): Italian non-profit genetics research institute with similar organizational structure (Italian Third Sector Entity) and funding model (charitable foundation supported). Comparable in operational model if not in cancer focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ifomresearch
• YouTubeyoutube-nocookie.com/@ifomets
• Facebookfacebook.com/ifom.eu
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ifom
• Instagraminstagram.com/ifom_milan

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about IFOM