Parsemus Foundation

Name

Parsemus Foundation

Legal name

Parsemus Foundation

Website

https://parsemus.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Medical Research Foundation

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212)

akta.pro primary industry

Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

Keywords

• Nonprofit medical research
• Animal health research
• Neglected disease research
• Veterinary education resources
• Medical research funding

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Foundation/Donor Funding: As a private nonprofit operating foundation, Parsemus Foundation operates primarily through donations and grants. The foundation's website states they accept donations and their professional profile can be found on ProPublica (EIN: 203968895). The foundation supports clinical trials and research studies through funding.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Parsemus Foundation is a private nonprofit operating foundation that funds small-scale medical research studies in neglected areas of human and animal health and shares the results publicly to change treatment practice. Its portfolio includes research projects on male contraception (Vasalgel/Plan A), hormone-sparing pet sterilization, Alzheimer's prevention, menopause, metformin/COVID-19, and nonsurgical tumor treatments, complemented by free educational resources and a veterinarian directory. The foundation does not sell commercial products; it operates through donations, grants, and research partnerships with universities and companies.

Product overview

The Parsemus Foundation is a private nonprofit operating foundation that creates meaningful improvements in human and pet health through advancing innovative and neglected medical research. Rather than a commercial product company, it operates as an educational and research funding organization. Its portfolio includes human health research projects (covering Alzheimer's, menopause, metformin, male contraception, COVID-19), pet health projects (hormone-sparing sterilization, nonsurgical treatments), a free Veterinarian Directory, and educational resources including the Hormonally platform for women's hormone health. The foundation funds small studies, shares results to change treatment practice, and advocates for evidence-based approaches to health.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Vasalgel (Plan A Male Contraceptive) Non-hormonal, long-acting male contraceptive using a hydrogel delivery system. Originally developed by Parsemus Foundation and partnered with NEXT Life Sciences in 2022 to commercialize as Plan A as an affordable and accessible birth control option for men.
• Hormone-Sparing Sterilization Research Projects Research projects exploring alternatives to traditional spay/neuter in dogs and cats, designed to support lifelong well-being while still preventing reproduction. Includes studies on hormone-sparing procedures, identification of sterilized dogs, and health outcome comparisons.
• Veterinarian Directory Free searchable directory for pet owners to locate veterinarians offering hormone-sparing spay/neuter, hormone restoration, or nonsurgical treatments, filterable by location and service type.
• Hormonally Platform Nonprofit platform providing expert-backed insights, interactive tools, community support, and the latest research updates on women's hormonal conditions and treatments.
• Injectable Cat Contraceptive (Gene Therapy) Single-shot gene therapy contraceptive for female cats using a harmless virus to deliver an anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) gene, preventing ovulation for at least two years and potentially a lifetime.
• Metformin Long COVID Prevention Research Funded clinical trial research on metformin (and ivermectin/fluvoxamine) for COVID-19 and Long COVID prevention, including enrollment support and bilingual outreach, demonstrating a 41-63% reduction in Long COVID incidence with early metformin treatment.

Quantifiable outcome

• 41-63% reduction in Long COVID incidence with metformin treatment started within 4-7 days of symptoms (COVID-OUT trial supported by Parsemus)
• +2 more outcomes

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

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NEXT Life SciencescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Parsemus Foundation initially developed Vasalgel (a non-hormonal, long-acting male contraceptive using a hydrogel) and partnered with NEXT Life Sciences in 2022 to bring the product to market as Plan A, an affordable and accessible birth control option for men. NEXT Life Sciences completed a successful clinical trial of the delivery system in Canada involving 50 men under FDA-compliant standards.
• HormonallyminorOthersHormonally is a project of the Parsemus Foundation dedicated to promoting equal access to evidence-based information on women's hormone health. The Parsemus Foundation provided support to start this initiative. Lauren Redfern, Ph.D. serves as Executive Director of Hormonally.
• University of Minnesota (COVID-OUT Trial)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParsemus Foundation supported the COVID-OUT clinical trial conducted by the University of Minnesota, which studied the effectiveness of metformin, ivermectin, and fluvoxamine in preventing Long COVID. The foundation provided enrollment support and bilingual outreach for the trial. Results showed metformin reduced Long COVID by 41-63%.
• Good DogminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration on canine health outcomes study distributed mainly by Good Dog, which involved owner surveys for over 6,000 dogs comparing health outcomes for hormone-sparing sterilization procedures with sexually intact dogs or traditionally spayed/neutered dogs.
• University of SaskatchewanminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerParsemus Foundation provided funding for a study conducted by researchers at the University of Saskatchewan using lithium orotate in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease, supporting research on lithium for Alzheimer's disease prevention.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Doris Duke Charitable Foundation: A large private foundation that funds medical research and clinical care improvement. Comparable as a private operating foundation funding innovative health research, though at a substantially larger scale and with a broader portfolio than Parsemus.
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: The largest U.S. philanthropy devoted to health, funding research and policy across public health topics. Comparable as a major private foundation advancing health research and practice change, but with a much larger endowment and institutional footprint than Parsemus.
• Population Council: A global nonprofit research organization conducting biomedical and social science research on reproductive health, HIV, and gender equity. Much larger and broader than Parsemus but operates at the intersection of nonprofit research funding and reproductive health innovation, where Parsemus's Vasalgel/Plan A work also sits.
• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: The world's largest private foundation, with major global health and reproductive health funding programs. Conceptually similar to Parsemus in backing medical research that commercial players underserve, but operates at vastly greater scale and geographic scope.

Direct peers

• AKC Canine Health Foundation: A nonprofit that funds canine health research with a focus on breed-specific disease and welfare. Overlaps with Parsemus's dog-health research on spay/neuter outcomes, hormone restoration, and prostate issues, and serves a similar veterinary and dog-owner audience.
• Morris Animal Foundation: One of the largest nonprofit foundations funding animal health research, supporting studies across species including dogs and cats. Directly comparable in mission to Parsemus's pet health portfolio (hormone-sparing sterilization, enlarged prostate, hormone restoration) but at a much larger scale.
• Maddie's Fund: A family foundation dedicated to revolutionizing the status and well-being of companion animals, including funding research on animal welfare and population health. Comparable to Parsemus's mission of advancing humane, evidence-based care for pets, particularly in sterilization and shelter medicine.
• Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative: A global nonprofit R&D organization that develops treatments for diseases neglected by commercial pharma. Shares Parsemus's explicit thesis that medical areas with low profit potential require dedicated nonprofit funding, and follows a similar model of funding small studies to de-risk innovation.
• Male Contraceptive Initiative: A small U.S. nonprofit that exclusively funds research and development of new male contraceptive methods. Almost identical organizational model to Parsemus: small team, donor-funded, focused on a single neglected reproductive health area, and working to de-risk early-stage science for eventual commercial handoff.

Emerging players

• NEXT Life Sciences: A for-profit company that took over development of Vasalgel as Plan A and completed its first FDA-compliant clinical trial. Not a peer in mission or structure, but the entity through which Parsemus's flagship research reaches commercialization, making it the most directly linked adjacent organization.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@ParsemusFoundationMedia
• Facebookfacebook.com/ParsemusFoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/parsemus-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/parsemusfoundation
• Xx.com/Parsemus

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 Parsemus Foundation