Foundation for Medical Research

What Foundation for Medical Research does

The Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale (FRM) is France's leading nonprofit supporter of public medical research, founded in 1947 by doctors and researchers including Professor Jean Bernard and Jean Hamburger, and recognized as being of public utility by decree of May 14, 1965. Headquartered at 54 rue de Varenne in Paris, it operates independently of any political, economic, or religious power and funds research across all major disease areas — cancers, cardiovascular, infectious, neurological, psychiatric, and rare diseases — plus four named priority areas: fertility and reproductive health, brain health and mental health, chronic inflammatory diseases, and environmental impacts on health. Project selection is managed by a 32-member Scientific Council of recognized researchers, partly renewed every two years.

FRM operates a portfolio of digital platforms supporting its mission: an institutional website (frm.org), online donation platform (don.frm.org) with one-time and monthly tiers, the Espace Donateurs donor portal, a solidarity fundraising platform (agir.frm.org), a memorial-donation platform (inmemoriam.frm.org), and the SYNTO grant-application and proposal-review system (frm.syntosolution.com). The foundation distributes printed magazines four times per year, sends 16 newsletters annually, and operates across four social networks (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube), with celebrity ambassadors including Thierry Lhermitte, Nagui, Matt Pokora, Marina Carrère d'Encausse, Marc Levy, Clotilde Courau, Laury Thilleman, Elie Semoun, and Tom Villa generating recurring media exposure.

The foundation is funded entirely by private generosity — not government appropriation. Revenue streams include individual one-time and recurring donations (€10–€500+ tiers, with a 66% French tax deduction), corporate mécénat partnerships, legacy gifts, and life insurance policies. In 2024, FRM allocated €51M to 427 new research projects, supporting 1,071 publications (15.5% in top-10 most-cited, 55% with international co-authors). It holds the Don en Confiance transparency label continuously since 1990, and is governed by a Supervisory Board chaired by Isabelle Seillier (as of October 2025) and a Management Board led by President Maxime Molina (appointed May 2025).

Name

Foundation for Medical Research

Legal name

Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale

Website

https://frm.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1947

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale (FRM), founded in 1947 in Paris, is France's leading nonprofit supporter of public medical research across all major disease areas. It selects projects via a 32-member Scientific Council and funds them through individual donations, corporate mécénat, and legacies, allocating €51M to 427 new projects in 2024.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Medical Research Funding (Charitable Nonprofit)

NAICS

Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Health & Medical Research Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI), Healthcare Access & Life Sciences Impact Funds (FSANAJAI), Public Health Financing, Budgeting & Grants Management (HLAJAMAC), Environmental & Climate Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAM)

Keywords

• Medical research funding
• Charitable foundation
• Biomedical research grants
• Nonprofit healthcare
• Donation-based philanthropy

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: FRM relies entirely on the generosity of private donors. Individual donors contribute through one-time or recurring donations via don.frm.org, with tax deductions of 66% under French law. Donors can give at various tiers (€50, €100, €250, €500) or custom amounts, either once or monthly.
2. Corporate Partnerships and Mécénat: Companies can support FRM through corporate philanthropy partnerships (mécénat), building tailored philanthropic projects, or organizing in-memoriam fundraising collections.
3. Legacies and Bequests: FRM is authorized to receive donations, legacies (legs), gifts (donations), and life insurance policies as part of its philanthropic mission.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

FRM is France's leading nonprofit foundation supporting public medical research, founded in 1947. It selects and funds the most promising multidisciplinary research projects across all major disease areas (cancer, cardiovascular, infectious, neurological, psychiatric, rare, and environmental health) via a Generalist Funding Programme and a Thematic Funding Programme with four priority areas. The foundation raises funds almost entirely from private individual donations, corporate mécénat, legacies, and life insurance policies, and channels these into grants awarded through a rigorous, independent 32-member Scientific Council selection process.

Product overview

The Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale (FRM) is France's leading nonprofit supporter of public medical research. While not a traditional software product company, FRM operates a portfolio of digital platforms supporting its mission: frm.org serves as the main institutional website with disease information and organizational content; don.frm.org and espacedonateur.frm.org handle online donations and donor management; agir.frm.org and inmemoriam.frm.org enable fundraising campaigns; and SYNTO (frm.syntosolution.com) manages research project applications. The foundation funds medical research through two main programmes: a Generalist Funding Programme supporting researchers across all career stages and disease areas, and a Thematic Funding Programme targeting four priority areas (fertility, brain health, chronic inflammatory diseases, and environmental health impacts). FRM also produces disease dossiers as informational resources and maintains a press space for communications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Don en Confiance label: Quality label held since 1990, demonstrating the foundation's commitment to transparency and ethical fundraising practices

Products and services

• Donation Platform (don.frm.org) Primary digital donation platform for FRM. Donors make one-time contributions (€50, €100, €250, €500 or custom) or monthly recurring donations (€10–€40 or custom) to support general or specific research areas such as cancer, neurological, or rare diseases. After 66% French tax deduction, a €100 donation costs €34. Supports both individual and corporate/organizational donors.
• Espace Donateur (Donor Portal) Personalized donor portal allowing registered donors to manage their contributions, update personal information, download tax receipts, and interact with the FRM donor relations team.
• agir.frm.org (Solidarity Fundraising Platform) Online platform enabling individuals and communities to create and manage peer-to-peer and solidarity fundraising campaigns to support FRM's medical research mission.
• inmemoriam.frm.org (Memorial Donation Platform) Memorial donation platform allowing users to organize in-memoriam fundraising collections to support medical research in memory of deceased loved ones.
• Generalist Funding Programme FRM's core research funding programme supporting biomedical researchers at all career stages — from PhD students and post-docs to emerging or established teams — across all disease areas. Grants are awarded based on project excellence and scientific advancement potential following review by the 32-member Scientific Council.
• Thematic Funding Programme (Priority Areas) Targeted FRM funding programme encouraging research in four priority areas: (1) fertility and reproductive health, (2) brain health and mental health, (3) chronic inflammatory diseases, and (4) environmental impacts on health. Funds multidisciplinary projects addressing these specific public health priorities.
• Corporate Philanthropy / Mécénat Partnerships Structured corporate philanthropy engagement program. Companies can support FRM through mécénat partnerships, tailored philanthropic projects, employee engagement campaigns, or in-memoriam collections.
• Legacies, Bequests, and Life Insurance Gifts FRM is authorized to receive planned-giving donations including legacies (legs), gifts, and life insurance policies as part of its philanthropic mission, leveraging its public-utility status.

Quantifiable outcome

• 51M€ allocated to research in 2024, funding 427 new projects
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• UCAD/USSEIN (Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar / Université du Sine Saloum El Hadji Ibrahima Niass)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023International interdisciplinary research partnership with UCAD/USSEIN in Senegal as part of the €600,000 'Episodes extrêmes et santé' project studying the impact of rising temperatures on pregnant women and young children in Senegal's Matam region.
• IRD (Institut de Recherche pour le Développement)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Partnership with IRD's Centre Population et Développement (CEPED) and Université Paris Cité, coordinated by Valéry Ridde, for the 'Episodes extrêmes et santé' project on climate change health impacts in Senegal.
• LSHTM (London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023International academic partnership with LSHTM for the 'Episodes extrêmes et santé' project, bringing global health expertise to the study of climate-related health impacts in Senegal.
• Institut de Neurosciences Cognitives et Intégratives d'Aquitaine, BordeauxcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Research partnership with Inserm director Muriel Thoby-Brisson's team studying the effects of titanium dioxide nanoparticles on brain development, with €432,824 in FRM funding.
• Université de Paris — Laboratoire de Chimie et Biochimie Pharmacologiques et ToxicologiquescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Research partnership with Professor Julien Dairou's laboratory studying pesticide links to Parkinson's disease, with €209,500 in FRM funding.
• INRAE (Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Research partnership with INRAe's 'Biopolymères, interaction assemblage' unit in Nantes, where researcher Grégory Bouchaud conducts pesticide allergy research funded by FRM's Environment and Health program.
• Thierry Lhermitte (Parrain/Ambassador)flagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 1947French actor Thierry Lhermitte serves as a high-profile ambassador for FRM, visiting funded laboratories, writing science chronicles for France Inter, and publicly advocating for medical research.
• Marina Carrère d'Encausse (Marraine/Ambassador)flagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 1947Physician, journalist, and novelist Marina Carrère d'Encausse serves as a prominent ambassador, leveraging her medical authority to promote FRM's mission and medical research to the public.
• Nagui (Parrain/Ambassador)flagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 1947French TV and radio presenter Nagui serves as ambassador, acting as a bridge between the research community and the general public to raise awareness and donations.
• Matt Pokora (Parrain/Ambassador)flagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 1947Singer and actor Matt Pokora is a dedicated ambassador, personally motivated by his grandfather's Alzheimer's disease, raising awareness and funds specifically for neurodegenerative disease research.
• Marc Levy (Parrain/Ambassador)flagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 1947Bestselling author Marc Levy is a long-standing ambassador, sharing his experiences meeting FRM-funded researchers and advocating for medical research progress.
• Clotilde Courau (Ambassadrice)flagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 1947Actress Clotilde Courau is an ambassador focused on mental health research, motivated by personal experiences with mental illness among friends.
• Laury Thilleman (Ambassadrice)flagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 1947Journalist and TV presenter Laury Thilleman serves as ambassador, sharing her personal experience with Alzheimer's disease through her grandmother and supporting FRM's research mission.
• Elie Semoun (Ambassadeur)flagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 1947Comedian Elie Semoun is an ambassador supporting Alzheimer's and mental health research, motivated by his father's illness.
• Tom Villa (Ambassadeur)flagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 1947Comedian Tom Villa is an ambassador supporting Alzheimer's research, having witnessed the disease affect both his grandmother and grandfather.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Wellcome Trust: The Wellcome Trust is a UK-based charitable foundation that funds health and biomedical research globally. It is comparable to FRM as a major independent research grantmaking foundation with a transparent peer-review governance model, though significantly larger in endowment and global footprint.
• Novo Nordisk Foundation: The Novo Nordisk Foundation is a Danish enterprise foundation supporting medical research and life sciences. Comparable to FRM in grantmaking for biomedical research with rigorous peer review, though significantly larger in endowment and scope.
• Institut Pasteur: Institut Pasteur is a French foundation recognized for public utility that conducts and funds biomedical research, particularly in infectious diseases. Comparable to FRM in mission and French public-utility foundation status, though Pasteur is more research-operational rather than purely grantmaking.
• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: The Gates Foundation is one of the world's largest philanthropic foundations, funding global health and medical research. Comparable to FRM in funding biomedical research via grantmaking, though vastly larger in scale and with a global health focus.
• Howard Hughes Medical Institute: HHMI is a US biomedical research organization that funds and conducts scientific research, including investigator programs and grants. Comparable to FRM in supporting independent medical research with rigorous scientific review, though HHMI also operates its own research laboratories.

Direct peers

• Fondation ARC pour la Recherche sur le Cancer: Fondation ARC is a French charity dedicated exclusively to cancer research funding. Comparable to FRM as a French recognized public-utility foundation funding biomedical research via peer-reviewed grants, though ARC is disease-focused while FRM is generalist.
• AFM-Téléthon: AFM-Téléthon is a major French patient-led charity funding neuromuscular disease research, organized around an annual televised fundraising event. Comparable to FRM in French medical research grantmaking and donor mobilization, though focused on rare/genetic diseases.
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: RWJF is a US philanthropic foundation focused on health and healthcare research funding. Comparable to FRM as a national-scale health research grantmaker operating independently of government, though oriented toward US health policy and population health.
• Gustave Roussy Foundation: The Gustave Roussy Foundation supports cancer research at Europe's leading cancer center. Comparable to FRM as a French research-focused foundation with disease-area expertise (cancer vs. general medical), and uses celebrity-driven donor engagement models.
• Ligue contre le cancer: The Ligue contre le cancer is France's leading cancer-focused charity, funding research and supporting patients. Comparable to FRM in French medical research grantmaking, donor mobilization, and recognized public-utility status, though cancer-only.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/playlist?list=PL0xZV6wTxjopUCLxHg-agFXag4BCzD8YA
• Facebookfacebook.com/FondationRechercheMedicale
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fondation-pour-la-recherche-medicale
• Instagraminstagram.com/fondationpourlarecherchemedicale
• Xx.com/frm_officiel

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Foundation for Medical Research