DZHK

What DZHK does

DZHK (Deutsches Zentrum für Herz-Kreislauf-Forschung e.V.) is Germany's national non-profit center for cardiovascular research, organized as a registered association (e.V.) and funded principally by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the ten German Länder as part of the German Centers for Health Research framework. It coordinates 25 partner institutions — including university hospitals, Helmholtz, Leibniz, and Max Planck institutes — across six sites (Berlin, Hamburg, Göttingen, RheinMain, Heidelberg/Mannheim, and Munich), serving academic researchers, clinicians, early-career scientists (through the Young-DZHK network of ~1,500 young scientists), and patients participating in clinical studies.

The organization's core technological assets are translational research platforms: the DZHK Heart Bank, a centralized biobank combining liquid and tissue biosamples with imaging and genomic data (DZHKomics); the DZHK Clinical Study Units, which run multi-site trials such as TORCH, SCREEN-AF, TOMAHAWK, Ex-VAD, and the Gutenberg Health Study; and operational platforms including Service4Studies for clinical study management, PIP (Probanden-Informationsplattform) for patient recruitment, and a Grant Management System for funding administration. Distinctive research outputs include single-cell sequencing of cardiac tissue, high-resolution 3D ultrasound imaging of fibrillation, Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia algorithms, and continuous mobile ECG patches.

DZHK does not sell commercial products or services; its operating model is grant-funded translational research. Revenue is sourced from federal and state government appropriations, supplemented by charitable foundation grants (e.g., Deutsche Herzstiftung) and international co-financing (e.g., via GCRFF, ICRPA with the British Heart Foundation and Dutch Heart Foundation, and C-SPIN in Canada). Go-to-market is community-led: researchers and projects are acquired through competitive Open Calls, patients via PIP and Clinical Study Units, and young scientists via Young-DZHK outreach and fellowship programs.

Name

DZHK

Legal name

Deutsches Zentrum für Herz-Kreislauf-Forschung e.V.

Website

https://dzhk.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

DZHK is Germany's national non-profit cardiovascular research network, coordinating 25 partner institutions across 6 sites to fund and conduct translational research, clinical trials, and biobanking for academic researchers, clinicians, and patients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cardiovascular Research Services

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), 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 industry

Biomedical Sciences & Medical Research Institutes (University-Based) (EDAHAGAI)

Keywords

• Cardiovascular research
• Translational medicine
• Clinical trial coordination
• Biobank services
• Research funding management

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Government research funding: DZHK receives funding from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the ten German states (Länder). As part of the German Centers for Health Research (Deutsche Zentren der Gesundheitsforschung), it is funded to advance translational cardiovascular research.
2. Foundation and charity funding: Additional research funding from charitable foundations including Deutsche Herzstiftung and other cardiac research foundations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

DZHK (Deutsches Zentrum für Herz-Kreislauf-Forschung e.V.) operates as Germany's national cardiovascular research center, coordinating preclinical and clinical cardiovascular research across 25 partner institutions at 6 sites. It provides research infrastructure including the DZHK Heart Bank biobank (biosamples, clinical, imaging and genomic data), Clinical Study Units for multi-site trials, Service4Studies and PIP platforms, a grant management system for competitive funding calls, and the Young-DZHK network supporting approximately 1,500 early-career scientists.

Product overview

DZHK (Deutsches Zentrum für Herz-Kreislauf-Forschung e.V.) is Germany's national cardiovascular research center comprising 25 partner institutions across 6 sites. The organization does not operate commercial products but provides research infrastructure platforms including the DZHK Heart Bank (biobank with biosamples and data), Service4Studies (clinical study management), PIP (participant information platform), Grant Management System (funding application platform), Project Database, and Clinical Study Units. Young-DZHK supports young researchers through a dedicated network.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Young-DZHK: A network of approximately 1,500 young scientists within DZHK focused on advancing research ideas into practical applications
• DZHK Heart Bank
• Service4Studies
• PIP (Probanden-Informationsplattform)

Products and services

• DZHK Heart Bank Centralized biobank infrastructure combining biosamples (liquid and tissue samples), associated clinical data, imaging data, and genomic data collected through DZHK clinical studies and additional projects, made available globally to researchers for cardiovascular research projects.
• Service4Studies Web-based platform for managing and coordinating clinical studies, supporting DZHK Clinical Study Units and study partners in multi-site cardiovascular research coordination.
• PIP (Probanden-Informationsplattform) Information platform for study participants (probands) providing information about participating in cardiovascular research studies and supporting patient recruitment into DZHK clinical trials.
• DZHK Clinical Study Units Network of specialized clinical research units at DZHK partner sites that conduct clinical trials for new therapeutic principles and improved treatment guidelines in cardiovascular medicine.
• Young-DZHK Network Network of approximately 1,500 young scientists focused on translating research ideas into practical applications, providing training, mentoring, mobility funding, Clinician Scientist Fellowships, doctoral scholarships, and career development support for early-career cardiovascular researchers.
• Project Database (Projektdatenbank) Searchable database of DZHK research projects covering various cardiovascular disease areas, providing transparency on the research portfolio.

Quantifiable outcome

• DZHK-funded research contributes to improved guidelines for cardiovascular disease treatment
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Cardio-Pulmonary Institute (CPI) Frankfurt/GießencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 February 2021Partnership in single-cell sequencing study of children's hearts leading to personalized therapy approaches for pediatric heart failure.
• LMU Klinikum München (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 December 2018Key partner in breakthrough xenotransplantation research and multiple other cardiovascular studies. Prof. Bruno Reichart led the pig heart transplantation in baboons study.
• Max-Planck-Institut für Dynamik und SelbstorganisationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 February 2018Collaboration with Max-Planck researchers in Göttingen led to breakthrough in 3D ultrasound imaging for cardiac fibrillation diagnosis, published in Nature.
• Universitätsmedizin GöttingencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 February 2018Partner institution contributing to breakthrough research on ultrasound diagnosis of heart rhythm disorders, including Gerd Hasenfuß as co-author.
• Max-Delbrück-Centrum für Molekulare Medizin (MDC) BerlincoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 September 2017Collaboration led by Prof. Norbert Hübner on largest transcriptomics study of transplanted hearts identifying risk genes for cardiovascular disease.
• Charité - Universitätsmedizin BerlincoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 September 2017Partner in transcriptomics study analyzing RNA of transplanted hearts for genetic risk factors of dilated cardiomyopathy.
• NAPKON (Nationale Pandemie Kohorte Netzwerk)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNAPKON powered by DZHK - collaboration for national pandemic cohort network to study long-term effects of infections on cardiovascular health.
• British Heart FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership through International Cardiovascular Research Partnerships Awards (ICRPA) for international collaboration in cardiovascular research.
• Nederlandse Hartstichting (Dutch Heart Foundation)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership through International Cardiovascular Research Partnerships Awards (ICRPA) for international collaboration in cardiovascular research.
• Global Cardiovascular Research Funders Forum (GCRFF)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMembership in international forum connecting global cardiovascular research funders to coordinate international research efforts.
• C-SPIN Network (Canada)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-financing partnership for SCREEN-AF study on atrial fibrillation early detection in primary care patients.
• Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft CenterscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember institutions of the Helmholtz Association contribute to DZHK research network as partner institutions.
• Leibniz InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeibniz Association institutes participate as partner institutions in the DZHK research network.
• Max-Planck InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMax Planck Institutes participate as partner institutions in the DZHK research network.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• German Center for Infection Research (DZIF): DZIF is part of the same DZG consortium as DZHK, with identical public funding mechanics and a federated partner-institution network. It is comparable in mission (translational research coordination across German university hospitals and research institutes) and in organizational design.
• German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE): DZNE is a sibling DZG center to DZHK, sharing the BMBF/Länder funding model and the multi-site translational research mission. Its distributed site network, Clinical Study Units, and integration of Helmholtz/Max Planck/Leibniz partners make it a close structural and operational comparator.
• German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ): DKFZ is the largest of the German Centers for Health Research (DZG) and the most direct structural peer to DZHK. Both operate as federally and state-funded translational research centers under the BMBF, with comparable governance, funding models, and site-network architectures, just focused on oncology rather than cardiovascular disease.
• Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC): MDC is a Helmholtz Association biomedical research institute in Berlin and an active DZHK partner (collaboration on cardiac transcriptomics). It is highly comparable as a German preclinical/translational cardiovascular and molecular medicine research center, sharing Berlin-based operations and key investigators.
• German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD): DZD is another member of the DZG family and shares DZHK's translational research mandate, multi-site partner institution model, and BMBF/state funding structure. It serves as a strong comparator for evaluating DZHK's governance, study activation speed, and pipeline of young researchers.
• German Center for Lung Research (DZL): DZL is a DZG center that, like DZHK, coordinates translational research across multiple German partner sites with BMBF/state co-funding. It offers a direct comparator for clinical study operations, biobanking approaches, and youth/talent programs in a different but methodologically similar disease area.

Broad incumbents

• NHLBI (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute): NHLBI is the US National Institutes of Health institute dedicated to heart, lung, and blood research. It is a broad incumbent comparator for DZHK in terms of scale, translational research portfolio, and clinical study sponsorship, though it operates as a US federal agency rather than a German DZG-style center.
• INSERM: INSERM is the French national institute of health and medical research, comparable to DZHK in being a publicly funded, multi-site translational biomedical research organization. It provides a European comparator for translational cardiovascular research infrastructure and clinical study networks.
• British Heart Foundation: BHF is the UK's largest cardiovascular research charity and a current DZHK international partner via the ICRPA program. It is broadly comparable as a national-scale cardiovascular research funder with significant grantmaking capacity, though it operates primarily as a charity rather than a coordinated translational research network.
• American Heart Association: AHA is the largest US nonprofit funder of cardiovascular research and a global benchmark for cardiovascular research funding, guideline development, and public engagement. It is a broad incumbent peer relevant to DZHK on the funding, scientific influence, and public/patient engagement dimensions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/dzhk_germany
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCa1PWgvnaxbLnVR2h2czBBQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/dzhkev
• LinkedInde.linkedin.com/company/dzhk
• Instagraminstagram.com/dzhk_official

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 DZHK