Comlab

What Comlab does

ComLab is an academic center — formally a Universitäres Zentrum für Palliative Care — affiliated with the University of Bern and Inselspital (University Hospital Bern) in Bern, Switzerland. It is dedicated to improving the quality of communication in healthcare, with a specific focus on end-of-life and palliative care settings. The center integrates research, education, and practice-oriented offerings, combining scientific findings with innovative workshops, interdisciplinary collaboration, and applied training to help healthcare professionals conduct difficult conversations with empathy and clarity. Its audience spans medical professionals, nurses, caregivers working in palliative care, oncology, and geriatrics, as well as patients and family members (Angehörige) navigating serious illness.

ComLab's core product is its catalog of communication training topics (Themen), delivered through in-person workshops and educational sessions rather than a distinct software platform. The center functions as an integrated academic-educational platform: there is no modular SaaS or licensed product, and content is organized thematically rather than as discrete product lines. Underlying intellectual property is the team's research methodology and event/conference programming, anchored to the University of Bern's academic brand.

The business model is a professional services / educational services model. ComLab monetizes via training sessions, workshops, and conference registrations such as the biennial 'Tagung zur Kommunikation im Gesundheitswesen' held in Bern. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is likely handled through direct inquiry or institutional agreements with healthcare organizations. Distribution is single-country/domestic in Switzerland, delivered primarily through direct sales and field engagement with healthcare institutions, supplemented by event marketing and academic-network referrals via partnerships with palliative care plattform, endlich.menschlich, and Palliativakademie Bern. Ownership rests with the Universitäres Zentrum für Palliative Care at the University of Bern / Inselspital, with no venture, private equity, or founder ownership signals present in the data.

Name

Comlab

Legal name

ComLab

Website

https://comlab.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1971

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ComLab is a University of Bern-affiliated academic center that combines research, education, and training to improve compassionate communication in Swiss healthcare, with emphasis on end-of-life and palliative care. It serves healthcare professionals, patients, and families.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare Communication Training

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment & Care Planning (HLADALAA)

Keywords

• Healthcare communication training
• Palliative care education
• Medical communication workshops
• End-of-life care training
• Compassionate care programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Ittingen

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Educational and Training Services: ComLab generates revenue through educational programs, training sessions, and workshops for healthcare professionals on compassionate communication and end-of-life conversations. The center also offers conference registrations and likely ongoing professional development offerings in palliative care communication.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

ComLab is a university-affiliated academic center (Universitäres Zentrum für Palliative Care) that delivers research, education, and practice-oriented training programs focused on improving the quality of communication in healthcare, particularly in end-of-life and palliative care. It provides training topics (Themen), innovative workshops, scientific insights, and an annual conference to help healthcare professionals, patients, and family members conduct difficult conversations with empathy and clarity.

Product overview

ComLab operates as a single unified offering — an academic center (Universitäres Zentrum für Palliative Care) that combines research, education, and practical training programs focused on compassionate communication in healthcare. The core product is its communication training topics (Themen), which are delivered through innovative workshops, scientifically grounded knowledge, and interdisciplinary collaboration. There are no separate modules, sub-products, or add-ons — the center functions as an integrated academic-educational platform offering training and resources to help healthcare professionals conduct difficult conversations with empathy and clarity.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Communication Training Topics (Themen) Educational offerings and training topics focused on improving communication quality in healthcare, particularly in end-of-life care, designed for healthcare professionals, patients, and family members. The training covers difficult conversations in palliative care, oncology, and geriatrics settings.
• Tagung zur Kommunikation im Gesundheitswesen (Conference on Healthcare Communication) Annual conference providing a forum for healthcare professionals to engage with the topic of communication in healthcare, particularly at the end of life, hosted in Bern, Switzerland. The 2026 edition is scheduled for 28–29 October at the Kornhausforum in Bern.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Universität Bern (University of Bern)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerComLab operates as a university center (Universitäres Zentrum) affiliated with the University of Bern, integrating academic research with practical healthcare communication training. The partnership provides research credibility, access to academic talent, and institutional backing for the center's educational mission.
• Inselspital (University Hospital Bern)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAffiliation with the Palliative Care Center at Inselspital provides clinical expertise, practical training settings, and integration with one of Switzerland's leading university hospitals. The partnership enables research-practice integration in real healthcare environments.
• palliative care plattformcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerComLab is hosted by the palliative care platform (c/o palliative care plattform), which provides organizational infrastructure and connects the center with broader palliative care networks and resources in Switzerland.
• endlich.menschlichminorGTM or Marketing PartnerA related initiative focused on end-of-life communication topics. The organizations appear to collaborate on events and share audiences, with endlich.menschlich hosting the 2026 conference that ComLab participates in.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• VitalTalk: US-based nonprofit that trains clinicians in serious-illness communication skills, directly comparable to ComLab's focus on compassionate communication for end-of-life and difficult healthcare conversations.
• End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC): National curriculum initiative training nurses in palliative and end-of-life care; directly comparable in subject matter to ComLab's nurse and clinician training in palliative communication.
• Respecting Choices: Organization that designs and disseminates person-centered decision-making and advance care planning curricula for healthcare professionals; directly comparable to ComLab's communication-training focus.
• Ariadne Labs Serious Illness Care Program: Research and training program developing the Serious Illness Conversation Guide and related clinician education; directly comparable to ComLab's evidence-based communication training for serious illness.

Broad incumbents

• Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Palliative Medizin, Pflege und Begleitung (palliative ch): Swiss national palliative care professional society providing education, certification and policy work; a broader incumbent operating in ComLab's exact national domain.
• Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC): Leading US palliative care training and technical assistance organization; comparable to ComLab in mission (workforce education for palliative care) but broader in scope and scale.
• European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC): Pan-European professional association advancing palliative care education, research and policy; a broader incumbent in the same domain as ComLab's palliative communication training mission.
• Cicely Saunders Institute: King's College London research and education institute integrating palliative care research with clinical practice; comparable to ComLab in bridging research, education and clinical application for palliative care.

Emerging players

• endlich.menschlich: Swiss initiative co-hosting ComLab's conference and focused on end-of-life communication awareness; adjacent peer with overlapping subject matter and shared audience in the Swiss market.

Regional players

• Palliativakademie Bern: Swiss palliative care training academy partnering with ComLab; offers overlapping multi-professional palliative care education in Switzerland and serves a closely related audience.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/comlab-ag

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Comlab