ALIN Foundation

What ALIN Foundation does

ALIN Foundation is a Berkeley, California-based nonprofit biotech organization founded in 1962 by Kenneth Matsumura, who continues to serve as CEO. The foundation develops a portfolio of proprietary medical technologies targeting the five leading causes of global mortality — heart attack, cancer, diabetes, infectious diseases, and liver failure. Its product portfolio includes Side Effect-Free Immuno-Chemotherapy (SEF Chemo), a trademarked cancer therapy; a Bio-Artificial Liver recognized by TIME Magazine as Invention of the Year in 2001; a Bio-Artificial Pancreas co-developed with Johnson & Johnson and tested on NASA's Space Shuttle; an Infectious Care Containment Unit unveiled in 2020 in response to COVID-19; and a Fertility Tracker. The foundation has historically collaborated with MIT and Johnson & Johnson on bio-artificial organ technology and reports no government or charitable funding to date.

The foundation operates as a charitable foundation with for-profit entities that return funding from medical innovations. Its go-to-market combines direct patient treatment at a Berkeley clinic with a 2-year international training program teaching medical professionals SEF Chemo techniques, conference-based institutional outreach (Cleveland Clinic, Yale, World Health Care Congress), and earned media placements (ABC News, NYT, Washington Post). Consumer-facing revenue comes from an e-commerce storefront selling books ($17.95-$23.95) and the LifeData Card ($19.95). The foundation has 11-50 employees, a single disclosed Berkeley mailing address, and a publishing subsidiary (ALIN Foundation Press LLC).

Customer evidence is anecdotal: public case studies highlight individual patients such as Academy Award winner William Hurt (terminal prostate cancer, ~10-year remission before March 2022) and Ruby LeBlanc (pancreatic cancer, 4+ years remission). The CEO has volunteered at West Oakland Health for over 45 years. ALIN's intellectual property moat is anchored by the SEF Chemo trademark (2010), TIME Magazine recognition, and NASA-validated component testing, though no FDA approvals or regulatory certifications are disclosed in the source data.

Name

ALIN Foundation

Legal name

ALIN Foundation

Website

https://alinfoundation.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1962

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Biotechnology / Medical Treatments

SIC

Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industries

Hepatology & Liver Disease (HLAKAEAB), Liver & GI Clinical Research (Trials Centers) (HLAKAEAL), Gastroenterology & Hepatology Pharmaceuticals (HLAIAAAI)

Keywords

• Biotech medical treatments
• Side effect-free chemotherapy
• Bio-artificial organ devices
• Infectious disease containment
• Fertility tracking devices

Headquarters

HQ city

Berkeley

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Medical Treatment Programs: ALIN Foundation generates revenue through medical treatment programs including SEF Chemo administered at its Berkeley clinic. The foundation operates as a charitable foundation with for-profit entities that return funding from medical innovations.
2. Book Sales: ALIN Foundation sells books directly via its e-commerce storefront: Samurai Healer ($17.95), Arnold Remade ($23.95), Japan's Economy ($23.95), LifeData Card ($19.95). These products are sold directly to consumers.
3. LifeData Card Sales: Physical LifeData Cards are sold for $19.95 each, providing consumers with a tangible medical information card for emergency room scenarios.
4. Social Justice Programs Funded from Medical Revenues: ALIN Foundation funds social justice programs from its medical revenues and practices affirmative action to provide economic opportunities equally. This is described as a revenue reinvestment activity rather than a direct revenue stream.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ALIN Foundation develops and administers proprietary medical treatments for the 5 leading causes of global mortality (cancer, diabetes, liver failure, infectious disease, heart attack), including SEF Chemo delivered at its Berkeley clinic, the Bio-Artificial Liver/Pancreas devices, Infectious Care Containment Units, and Fertility Tracker. It also publishes books and sells the LifeData Card directly through its e-commerce storefront.

Product overview

ALIN Foundation is a biotech organization established in 1962 operating as a charitable foundation with for-profit entities. The foundation offers a portfolio of breakthrough medical treatments including SEF Immuno-Chemotherapy (revolutionary side effect-free cancer treatment), Bio-Artificial Liver (TIME Magazine Invention of the Year), Infectious Care Containment Units, Bio-Artificial Pancreas (NASA-tested diabetes device), and Fertility Tracker. These products work together to address the five leading causes of fatalities: heart attack, cancer, diabetes, infectious diseases, and liver failure. The foundation also publishes books including Samurai Healer and LifeData Cards for emergency medical information.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SEF Chemo (Side Effect-Free Immuno-Chemotherapy): Revolutionary cancer therapy delivering successful remissions without the toxicity associated with traditional chemotherapy.
• SEF Immuno-Chemotherapy
• Bio-Artificial Liver
• Infectious Care Containment Unit
• Bio-Artificial Pancreas
• Fertility Tracker

Products and services

• SEF Immuno-Chemotherapy (Side Effect-Free Chemotherapy) A revolutionary cancer therapy that delivers successful remissions without the toxicity associated with traditional chemotherapy. Pioneered by Kenneth Matsumura, the therapy focuses on lung and breast cancer treatment, the foremost contributors to global cancer-related mortality. Administered at ALIN's Berkeley clinic.
• Bio-Artificial Liver

Quantifiable outcome

• William Hurt achieved nearly a decade of remission from terminal prostate cancer with SEF Chemo (diagnosed 2012, passed away March 2022)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles7 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerALIN and MIT collaborated on a bio-artificial liver device with a reservoir filled with highly oxygenated liquid medium into which 500 grams of live pig hepatocytes were deposited. Blood courses through membranes immersed in the liquid, allowing hepatocytes to remove bile, ammonia, urea, and other impurities.
• Johnson & JohnsoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerALIN's Bio-Artificial Pancreas was a collaborative project with Johnson & Johnson. This was a significant co-development effort combining ALIN's membrane technology with J&J's resources to develop an external device for diabetes management.
• Dr. William L. HamiltonminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. William L. Hamilton was an essential part of the laboratory team in the pioneering work of the artificial liver, contributing to the development alongside Kenneth Matsumura.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Vital Therapies: Vital Therapies developed the ELAD bioartificial liver system, an extracorporeal cell-based liver support therapy targeting acute liver failure. Both companies pursue cell-based extracorporeal liver devices, making Vital Therapies the closest functional and clinical peer to ALIN's Bio-Artificial Liver program.
• Defymed: Defymed is a French medical device company developing bio-artificial pancreas (MailPan) and liver (Hemotherap) systems using semipermeable membranes encapsulating living cells — architecturally and functionally the closest European peer to ALIN's Bio-Artificial Pancreas and Liver.
• ViaCyte: ViaCyte is a regenerative medicine company developing encapsulated stem-cell-derived pancreatic beta cell therapies for Type 1 diabetes. Its cell-based, encapsulated approach to insulin delivery directly parallels ALIN's membrane-based Bio-Artificial Pancreas, positioning ViaCyte as a direct technology peer.
• Sernova: Sernova develops the Cell Pouch System, an implantable cell-therapy platform for insulin-dependent diabetes and other chronic diseases. The cell-housing therapeutic approach targets the same patient population and use case as ALIN's external Bio-Artificial Pancreas.
• Miromatrix Medical: Miromatrix pioneered perfusion decellularization and recellularization of whole organs for human transplant. Its bioengineered-organ approach overlaps with ALIN's cell-and-membrane-based organ support devices across liver and pancreas programs.

Emerging players

• CytoSorbents: CytoSorbents develops extracorporeal blood-purification therapies (CytoSorb) used in critical care to remove cytokines and toxins. The platform competes with ALIN's Bio-Artificial Liver in the extracorporeal liver-support and critical-care blood-cleansing category.
• Promethera Biosciences: Promethera is developing cell-based therapies (HepaStem) for liver disease and acute liver failure. While its modality (allogeneic stem-cell infusion) differs from ALIN's extracorporeal device, both companies target the same disease space and liver-transplant bridging use case.

Others

• Stand Up To Cancer: Stand Up To Cancer is a nonprofit that funds collaborative cancer research consortia across major institutions. As a high-profile nonprofit actor in oncology research funding and disease-awareness, it represents a peer archetype to ALIN's foundation-driven innovation model, though it operates more as a funder than a developer.

Broad incumbents

• City of Hope: City of Hope is a major nonprofit research and treatment organization focused on cancer, diabetes, and other life-threatening diseases. Its nonprofit biomedical R&D model and mission overlap mirror ALIN's foundation-with-for-profit-entities structure.
• Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center: Fred Hutch is a leading nonprofit cancer research and treatment institution that develops novel immunotherapies and oncology modalities — a peer to ALIN's SEF Chemo positioning in immuno-chemotherapy, though at materially greater institutional scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ALINFoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/alin-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about ALIN Foundation