What Epicentre does

Epicentre is a non-profit field epidemiology and medical research organization founded in 1986 as a satellite of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), headquartered in Paris at 14-34 Avenue Jean Jaurès. Its mandate is to describe, measure, and quantify health situations in support of MSF programs operating in conflict zones, epidemic areas, disaster regions, and settings where access to care is inadequate. The organization runs field epidemiology activities, multi-country research projects, and capacity-building training, focused on infectious diseases (malaria, tuberculosis, HIV, cholera, Ebola, yellow fever, Lassa fever, hepatitis E, measles), neglected tropical diseases (visceral leishmaniasis, human African trypanosomiasis, Buruli ulcer), and emerging chronic-disease areas such as pediatric cancer and hypertension.

Epicentre operates 284 full-time equivalent staff across 31 nationalities, with permanent research centers in Maradi (Niger) and Mbarara (Uganda), field epidemiologist teams in Mali, DRC, Malawi, Chad, and South Sudan, and liaison teams in New York, Dubai, Dakar, Geneva, Brussels, London, and Cape Town. Core technology includes REDCap-based electronic data management infrastructure replacing paper-based field data capture, GeneXpert molecular testing, AI-assisted Computer-Aided Detection (CAD) radiography for tuberculosis screening, and standardized research procedures meeting international research standards. Notable recent outputs include first-in-world reactive Hecolin Hepatitis E vaccination campaigns in South Sudan, retrospective analysis of Ebola vaccination across 2,279 patients in DRC, and Phase 2/3 enabling epidemiological cohorts for Lassa fever vaccine development.

Epicentre does not operate a commercial revenue model. Approximately two-thirds of funding comes from MSF public donations and one-third from external institutional donors (Wellcome, CEPI, EDCTP3, and similar). All services are provided free of charge in support of humanitarian medical assistance. Go-to-market is effectively community-led and direct: Epicentre deploys epidemiologists and research staff directly into MSF field programs across roughly 40 countries, and engages in co-development partnerships with academic and public-sector research institutions (Tulane, Johns Hopkins, HUG, IAVI, INRB, Manila Department of Health, University of the Philippines ICHHD) rather than selling products or services commercially.

Name

Epicentre

Legal name

Epicentre

Website

https://epicentre.msf.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Epicentre is a Paris-headquartered non-profit research organization founded in 1986 as a satellite of Médecins Sans Frontières. It conducts field epidemiology, multi-country clinical research, and training across ~40 countries to support MSF humanitarian medical operations, staffed by 284 FTEs from 31 nationalities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Humanitarian Medical Research & Field Epidemiology

NAICS

Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Emergency and Other Relief Services (62423)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Global Health Research, Evidence & Technical Assistance Organizations (HLAJAKAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Medical Missions & Global Health NGOs (BPAGACAI), Humanitarian Health & Emergency Medical Relief NGOs (HLAJAKAE), Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus & Resilience Programming (BPADAEAK)

Keywords

• Field epidemiology services
• Humanitarian medical research
• Clinical trial monitoring
• Outbreak response research
• Public health training

Headquarters

HQ city

Geneva

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices11 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. MSF Public Funding: Two-thirds of Epicentre's funding comes from funds collected by MSF from the public, supporting operational research and field epidemiology activities.
2. External Donor Funding: One-third of funding from external donors such as Wellcome and other institutional funders supporting specific research projects.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Epicentre is a non-profit satellite of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) that conducts field epidemiology activities, operational research projects, and training programs in support of MSF's humanitarian medical operations. It applies epidemiological methods rapidly in complex humanitarian contexts (conflicts, epidemics, disasters) and runs dedicated research centers in Niger and Uganda covering infectious diseases (Ebola, cholera, malaria, TB, HIV, Lassa fever), neglected tropical diseases, and chronic conditions.

Product overview

Epicentre is a satellite organization of Médecins Sans Frontières dedicated to field epidemiology, medical research, innovation, and training. It operates as a unified service organization rather than a product company, offering field epidemiology activities, research projects, and training sessions in support of MSF's medical humanitarian operations. The organization maintains permanent teams in Paris, Maradi (Niger), and Mbarara (Uganda), with epidemiologist teams deployed across Mali, DRC, Malawi, Chad, South Sudan, and distributed offices globally. Epicentre conducts research across multiple disease areas including infectious diseases (malaria, tuberculosis, HIV, cholera, Ebola, yellow fever, Lassa fever), neglected tropical diseases (leishmaniasis, human African trypanosomiasis, Buruli ulcer), and chronic diseases. The organization utilizes electronic data management systems including REDCap, AI-assisted diagnostic technologies such as Computer-Aided Detection for tuberculosis screening, and supports vaccine development efforts including studies on Ebola, hepatitis E, and malaria vaccines. Epicentre also operates two dedicated research centers in Niger and Uganda providing infrastructure for field projects.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Field Epidemiology Activities

Quantifiable outcome

• 94% of eligible women received at least one dose of Hepatitis E vaccine; 77% completed two-dose series in Fangak campaign
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• IAVI (International AIDS Vaccine Initiative)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on IAVI X100 study - a Wellcome-funded prospective cohort study generating epidemiological data on Lassa fever in Sierra Leone. Epicentre partnered with IAVI and Tulane University to implement REDCap databases and standardized procedures at Kenema Government Hospital, modernizing data management infrastructure from paper-based to electronic systems meeting international research standards. This capacity-building positions Sierra Leone for future vaccine trials.
• Tulane UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership in the Viral Hemorrhagic Fever Program at Kenema Government Hospital, collaborating on epidemiological studies for Lassa fever vaccine development. Contributes academic expertise and research capabilities to the IAVI X100 prospective cohort study.
• Kenema Government Hospital - Viral Hemorrhagic Fever Program (KGH-VHF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost institution for the IAVI X100 Lassa fever epidemiological study. Epicentre supported modernization of data management infrastructure at KGH-VHF by implementing REDCap databases and standardized procedures, transitioning from manual paper-based data entry to electronic systems meeting international research standards.
• Manila Department of Health (MHD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on tuberculosis project in Tondo district, Manila, Philippines. MSF supports MHD in implementing WHO-recommended guidelines for TB treatment. Epicentre conducts studies on AI-assisted TB detection and evaluation of shorter 4-month treatment regimens for pediatric TB as part of the TACTiC project.
• Institute of Child Health and Human Development (ICHHD), UP-NIHcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partnership with University of the Philippines on pediatric tuberculosis studies. Collaborates on evaluating the implementation of shorter TB treatment regimens for children in the Philippines as part of the TACTiC project.
• IMVACS Consortium (Integrating Malaria Vaccine with Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention in West Africa)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership under EDCTP3 program supported by the European Union. Epicentre participates in clinical trials comparing R21/Matrix-M vaccine administration strategies in Burkina Faso and Mali, working with national malaria control programs and local research institutions.
• University Hospitals of Geneva (HUG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on analysis of Hepatitis E vaccine real-world data from Bentiu, South Sudan. HUG researchers contributed to efficacy and safety studies published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases and The Lancet Global Health, working with Epicentre and MSF on vaccine evaluation.
• Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Andrew Azman from Johns Hopkins on Hepatitis E vaccine effectiveness studies following the Bentiu mass vaccination campaign. Contributed to analysis published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases on two-dose vaccine regimen efficacy.
• Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale (INRB), Democratic Republic of CongocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with DRC Ministry of Health on Ebola vaccination study during the 10th epidemic. Epicentre conducted retrospective cohort analysis of vaccination data from 2,279 confirmed Ebola patients, in partnership with INRB and supported by MSF funding.
• Université de LeedsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership for mixed-methods research on Kwashiorkor diagnosis and treatment. Giulia Scarpa, researcher at Epicentre and University of Leeds, contributed to qualitative studies on healthcare worker perceptions of nutritional edema in DRC and Mali.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine: German research institute specializing in tropical and infectious disease epidemiology with field sites in West and Central Africa. Comparable in combining outbreak response, vaccine trial support and capacity building in humanitarian-relevant geographies.
• London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine: UK-based academic institution running large-scale field epidemiology studies in LMICs with extensive peer-reviewed output in Lancet and BMC. Operates overlapping disease research (malaria, TB, NTDs) and frequently partners with humanitarian medical organizations.
• PATH: Global health non-profit driving innovation across vaccines, diagnostics and device development for LMIC use, including active TB, malaria and NTD programs. Closely comparable in combining technical product development with multi-country field evidence generation.
• Partners In Health: Non-profit providing healthcare delivery and operational research in resource-limited settings with embedded research in TB, HIV, Ebola and maternal-child health. Comparable scope of combining field operations with rigorous applied research publication.
• Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute: Basel-based institute conducting translational research and field epidemiology across malaria, TB, NTDs and vaccine effectiveness studies in Africa and Asia. Comparable structure of integrated research, teaching, and country-level implementation partnerships.
• Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine: UK institution with a long history of operational research and clinical trials in LMICs across malaria, TB, Ebola and snakebite. Comparable in balancing peer-reviewed publication output with in-country field research infrastructure.
• Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi): Geneva-headquartered non-profit R&D organization developing treatments for neglected tropical diseases (visceral leishmaniasis, human African trypanosomiasis, Buruli ulcer) — overlapping directly with Epicentre's research portfolio and similar MSF-affiliated humanitarian mission.
• Institut Pasteur: Paris-based foundation operating a global network of research institutes focused on infectious diseases, epidemiology, and vaccine science in LMICs. Highly comparable to Epicentre's portfolio of Lassa, Ebola, measles, cholera and TB research with field-based implementation across Africa and Asia.

Broad incumbents

• Wellcome Trust: Large UK-based charitable foundation funding global health research including Epicentre's IAVI X100 Lassa study. Functions both as Epicentre's third-party funder and as a broader orchestrator of comparable field epidemiology initiatives (e.g., MALED, EMaBS).

Emerging players

• CEPI (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations): Multi-donor-funded organization financing vaccine development against epidemic threats including Lassa and Ebola. Directly comparable as a funder of Epicentre's Lassa epidemiological studies and as a competing orchestrator of vaccine-trial data ecosystems.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/epi_ug
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCpNn97kLra_zOn-hFu9_vGA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/medecins-sans-frontieres-msf

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Epicentre