European Respiratory Society

What European Respiratory Society does

The European Respiratory Society (ERS), headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, is a nonprofit professional medical society founded in 1990 that serves more than 35,000 clinicians, scientists and allied health professionals in over 160 countries. Its mission centres on alleviating suffering from respiratory disease and promoting lung health through research, education, standard-setting and policy advocacy. ERS operates the world's largest annual respiratory congress (scheduled for 5–9 September 2026 in Barcelona) and runs the European Respiratory Journal, HERMES competency examinations, a fellowship and grants programme, and a portfolio of guidelines, statements and technical standards covering airway disease, interstitial lung disease, thoracic oncology, sleep and breathing disorders, paediatric respiratory diseases and respiratory infections.

The society's technology footprint is built around the ERS Respiratory Channel (a video, podcast and webinar platform), the myERS member portal, an online course management system, and an AI-powered translation layer on webinars supporting up to 60 languages. ERS generates revenue principally through membership subscriptions, Congress and event registration, HERMES certification fees, sponsored educational programmes and webinar charges (free for members, €10 per session for non-members), supplemented by EU and industry grants such as the €185 million, 7-year UNITE4TB tuberculosis consortium. Its go-to-market is event-driven: the annual Congress anchors member acquisition and retention, while year-round webinars, courses and the Respiratory Channel sustain engagement. The society's 2025 strategic review codified five priorities — primary prevention, global collaboration, digital transformation, patient partnerships and sustainability — explicitly signalling an organisational pivot toward digital delivery and cross-society collaboration.

Name

European Respiratory Society

Legal name

European Respiratory Society

Website

https://ersnet.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

European Respiratory Society is a Lausanne-based nonprofit medical society serving 35,000-plus respiratory clinicians, scientists and allied health professionals in 160+ countries through the world's largest annual respiratory congress, peer-reviewed guidelines, HERMES certification and the ERS Respiratory Channel.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Lausanne

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: ERS generates revenue through annual membership fees from its over 35,000 members including clinicians, scientists, and allied health professionals.
2. Congress and Event Registration: Revenue from registration fees for the annual ERS Congress and other conferences, courses, and webinars.
3. Webinar Fees for Non-Members: Some webinars are free for members but charged at €10 for non-members.
4. Educational Programs: Revenue from certified training programmes, HERMES examinations, and other professional development offerings.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

ERS is a professional medical society that delivers education, research dissemination, clinical guidelines, certification, and advocacy services to the global respiratory medicine community. Its core offerings include the annual ERS Congress, the ERS Respiratory Channel for online educational content, HERMES examinations for certification, clinical practice guidelines, peer-reviewed journals, fellowships, webinars, and training programmes, sold primarily through membership and event registration fees.

Product overview

European Respiratory Society (ERS) operates as a professional medical society offering a comprehensive portfolio of products and services for the respiratory medicine community. The organization provides a multi-platform approach comprising the annual ERS Congress as its flagship event, the ERS Respiratory Channel for online educational content delivery, ERS Guidelines for clinical practice standards, myERS as the membership portal, HERMES Examinations for professional certification, ERS Publications including the European Respiratory Journal, educational webinars with AI-powered translation, scientific workshops and courses, fellowship programmes, and advocacy initiatives. These offerings work together to serve the respiratory professional community through education, research dissemination, certification, and policy advocacy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ERS Congress

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 35,000 members from 160+ countries served
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

AI capability2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• European Lung Foundation (ELF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn partnership with ERS, the European Lung Foundation (ELF) brings patients and the public together with healthcare professionals to improve lung health and advance diagnosis, treatment and care. This is a core partnership reflecting ERS-ELF joint commitment to strengthening patient-professional partnership in respiratory care and research.
• Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerERS participates in FIRS - United for Lung Health, a global coalition of respiratory societies working together to improve lung health worldwide.
• Conference of European Respiratory Societies (CERS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCERS is a partner society of ERS, representing a collaborative network of European respiratory organizations.
• UNITE4TB ConsortiummajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNITE4TB is a public-private partnership with representation from academic institutions, SMEs, public organisations, and pharmaceutical companies. The 7-year, €185 million project aims to accelerate and improve the clinical evaluation of combinations of existing and novel drugs for TB treatment. ERS is co-developing educational content as part of this initiative (ERS/UNITE4TB webinars).
• American Thoracic Society (ATS)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerERS and ATS collaborate on joint guidelines, such as the guidelines for the diagnosis of Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia.
• European Society of Thoracic Surgeons (ESTS)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint guideline development on fitness for curative intent treatment of lung cancer.
• European Society for Radiotherapy & Oncology (ESTRO)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on guidelines such as endobronchial and oesophageal endosonography for diagnosis and staging of lung cancer.
• European Society of Gastrointestinal and Abdominal Radiology (ESGE)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on endosonography guidelines for lung cancer diagnosis and staging.
• European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint clinical practice guidelines for connective tissue disease-associated interstitial lung disease.
• European Sleep Research Society (ESRS)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint statement on treatment of central sleep apnoea with adaptive servo-ventilation.
• International Respiratory CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerERS advocacy initiative bringing together stakeholders to advocate for respiratory health policy.
• Latin American Thoracic Association (ALAT)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative work on ILD registries and respiratory health around the globe theme.
• Asian Pacific Society of Respirology (APSR)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative work on ILD phenotypes and registries as part of global respiratory health initiatives.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST): CHEST operates the annual CHEST Congress, board certification review courses, peer-reviewed journals, and clinical guidelines in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine — a direct functional peer to ERS across congress, education, and publication.
• American Thoracic Society (ATS): ATS is the leading US-based respiratory professional society running the ATS International Conference, publishing peer-reviewed journals, and developing clinical guidelines — the most direct global peer to ERS, with whom it already co-develops joint guidelines (e.g., Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia).
• British Thoracic Society (BTS): BTS is a national respiratory professional society running the BTS Winter Meeting, producing clinical guidelines and continuing medical education for UK clinicians, occupying the same membership, education, and guideline niche as ERS at a country level.
• Latin American Thoracic Association (ALAT): ALAT is the regional respiratory professional society serving Latin America, operating congress, education, and guideline activities; it is a regional peer partner already collaborating with ERS on global respiratory health initiatives.
• Asian Pacific Society of Respirology (APSR): APSR is the regional respiratory professional society for Asia-Pacific, running congresses, fellowships and joint research initiatives; it is a peer society already partnered with ERS on ILD registries and phenotype research.

Emerging players

• International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union): The Union is an international NGO focused on tuberculosis and lung disease, running the Union World Conference, journals, and training; it overlaps with ERS on respiratory/TB education, journals, and global health advocacy, making it a thematic regional/functional peer.
• European Sleep Research Society (ESRS): ESRS is a smaller European specialty society focusing on sleep research and medicine, producing joint statements (e.g., with ERS on central sleep apnoea) and serving an overlapping allied-health segment — a thematic peer addressing adjacent clinical content.

Broad incumbents

• European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO): ESMO runs a similar European society operating model to ERS — annual congress, peer-reviewed journals, clinical guidelines, fellowships, and certified educational programmes — but in oncology, making it a structural comparable for operations and revenue mix.
• European Society of Cardiology (ESC): ESC operates a large European medical society model with annual congress, the European Heart Journal, comprehensive clinical guidelines, certified education, and EU policy advocacy — structurally analogous to ERS but in cardiology, illustrating the established broader professional-society playbook.

Others

• European Lung Foundation (ELF): ELF is the patient-facing foundation co-located with ERS that amplifies respiratory advocacy, patient-public partnerships, and educational outreach — not a competitor but a closely linked distribution and patient-engagement arm of the ERS ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/erstalk
• Facebookfacebook.com/europeanrespiratorysociety
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/european-respiratory-society

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about European Respiratory Society