Deutsches Zentrum für Diabetesforschung

What Deutsches Zentrum für Diabetesforschung does

Deutsches Zentrum für Diabetesforschung (DZD) is a German national research association, registered as a nonprofit (eingetragener Verein, e.V.) in Berlin and headquartered at the Helmholtz Zentrum München campus in Neuherberg. Founded in 2009, DZD operates as one of six German Centers for Health Research (DZG) established by the federal and state governments to accelerate translation of research findings into medical practice. The organization coordinates diabetes research across five core partner institutions — DDZ Düsseldorf, DIfE Potsdam-Rehbrücke, Helmholtz Munich, IDM Tübingen, and PLID Dresden — and more than six associated universities including Heidelberg, Cologne, Leipzig, Lübeck, and LMU Munich, sitting within a broader DZG network of 104 partner institutions across 43 cities and 14 German federal states.

DZD's core offerings combine clinical research infrastructure, public health information, and AI-driven biomedical discovery. Its research portfolio spans five active clinical studies (German Diabetes Study, Gestation Diabetes Study, IFIS, LIFETIME, and DZD Biobanks) plus the European EDENT1FI screening initiative, which has reached over 100,000 participants for early-stage type 1 diabetes detection. Technology capabilities include multi-omics research (metabolomics, transcriptomics, epigenetics), explainable AI for pancreatic tissue analysis, a whole-body AI atlas for obesity-related damage mapping, and AI-identified epigenetic markers for prediabetes risk prediction. The diabinfo.de national diabetes information portal and a public Diabetes-Risiko-Test provide population-scale health information dissemination.

DZD is funded primarily through the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the five German states hosting its partner institutions, supplemented by competitive grants from the European Research Council, German Research Foundation, VELUX Stiftung, Swiss National Science Foundation, Vontobel Foundation, and public donations. As a nonprofit research organization, it does not sell products or services; research outputs are disseminated via scientific publications (including Cell Metabolism and Nature Metabolism), the SYNERGIE magazine, the diabinfo.de portal, and public events. Leadership consists of three board members (Prof. Martin Hrabĕ de Angelis, Prof. Michael Roden, Prof. Andreas Birkenfeld) and Managing Director Dr. Astrid Glaser.

Name

Deutsches Zentrum für Diabetesforschung

Legal name

Deutsches Zentrum für Diabetesforschung e.V.

Website

https://dzd-ev.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

The Deutsches Zentrum für Diabetesforschung (DZD) is a German national nonprofit research association coordinating diabetes research across five core partner institutions and six universities, delivering clinical studies, multi-omics and AI-driven biomedical discovery, and the diabinfo.de public health portal funded by BMBF and five German states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Diabetes Research Services

NAICS

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

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Testing Laboratories (8734)

akta.pro primary industry

Diabetes (General) (HLAKADAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Type 1 Diabetes Care (HLAKADAB), Type 2 Diabetes Care (HLAKADAC), Diabetes Digital Therapeutics & Dose Decision Support (Bolus Calculators) (HLAHAHAJ), Laboratory Developed Tests (LDTs) & Specialized Clinical Lab Assays (HLAAALAN)

Keywords

• Diabetes research
• Translational medicine
• Clinical studies
• Metabolic diseases
• Biomedical research

Headquarters

HQ city

Neuherberg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Public Research Funding: DZD is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the five German states (Bundesländer) where partner institutions are located. This represents core operational funding for research activities.
2. Research Grants: Additional funding through competitive research grants from European Union (e.g., ERC Starting Grant), German Research Foundation (DFG), and other public funding bodies for specific research projects.
3. Donations: Voluntary donations from the public to support diabetes research activities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

DZD is a national research association that conducts translational diabetes research by integrating basic research, epidemiology, clinical applications, and personalized prevention. Its core offerings include multicenter clinical studies (German Diabetes Study, PREG, IFIS, LIFETIME), a public diabetes information portal (diabinfo.de), an online diabetes risk self-assessment, centralized biobanking services, and early-career researcher training programs.

Product overview

The Deutsches Zentrum für Diabetesforschung (DZD) is a national research association that operates as a distributed platform combining basic research, translational research, epidemiology, and clinical applications to develop personalized diabetes prevention and treatment strategies. The core offerings include clinical studies (German Diabetes Study, Gestation Diabetes Study, IFIS, LIFETIME), a national diabetes information portal (diabinfo.de), and a Diabetes Risk Test for public screening. The platform also provides research data infrastructure through DZD Biobanks and Accessible Biomedical AI Research services. For early-career development, DZD operates DZD NEXT containing the Young Talent Program, Health Data Science (HeaDS) Program, and International Diabetes Research School. The DZD contributes to the DZG joint SYNERGIE magazine for science communication. The DZD integrates with Vimeo, YouTube, Matomo, CleverReach, Slido, wonder.me, Jotform, Google Maps, and BlueSky for website operations, communications, and research activities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• diabinfo.de: National diabetes information portal providing comprehensive facts about diabetes mellitus - independent, generally understandable, and scientifically founded.

Products and services

• diabinfo.de National Diabetes Information Portal

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

AI capability8 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCore partner institution hosting the DZD head office. Collaborates on research in diabetes and obesity, including the Institute for Diabetes Research and Metabolic Diseases (IDM) at the University of Tübingen and the Paul Langerhans Institute Dresden (PLID).
• German Diabetes Center (DDZ) - Leibniz Institute for Diabetes Research at Heinrich-Heine-Universität DüsseldorfcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCore partner serving as the German reference center for diabetes. Coordinates the multicenter German Diabetes Study and serves as a national point of contact for all players in the health sector regarding diabetes.
• German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbrücke (DIfE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCore partner focusing on nutrition-related diabetes research. Part of the Leibniz Association, conducting research on the relationship between nutrition and metabolic diseases.
• Paul Langerhans Institute Dresden (PLID) of Helmholtz Munich at University Medical Center Carl Gustav Carus of TU DresdencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCore partner focusing on beta cell research and pancreatic islet cell studies. Located at the University Hospital Dresden.
• Institute for Diabetes Research and Metabolic Diseases (IDM) of Helmholtz Munich at Eberhard-Karls-Universität TübingencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCore partner focusing on type 1 diabetes research, prevention studies (Fr1da study), and metabolic disease mechanisms.
• German Centers of Health Research (DZG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDZD is part of the DZG network comprising 8 German Centers for Health Research: DKTK (Cancer), DZD (Diabetes), DZHK (Cardiovascular), DZIF (Infection), DZL (Lung), DZNE (Neurodegenerative), DZPG (Mental Health), and DZKJ (Children and Youth Health). The network spans 43 cities across 14 German states with 104 partner institutions.
• University of HeidelbergminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociated partner contributing to diabetes research collaborations.
• University of CologneminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociated partner contributing to diabetes research collaborations.
• University of LeipzigminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociated partner contributing to diabetes research collaborations.
• University of LübeckminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociated partner contributing to diabetes research collaborations.
• Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociated partner contributing to diabetes research collaborations.
• German Center for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborating DZG partner on research projects such as cachexia study examining cardiovascular implications of metabolic disorders.
• German Cancer Consortium (DKTK)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDZG partner collaborating on cross-disease research examining metabolic connections between cancer and diabetes.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK): US NIH institute funding large-scale diabetes and metabolic disease research. Comparable in its role as a public funder and coordinator of large national research programs, though at much greater scale.
• Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF): Global type 1 diabetes research funding and advocacy organization. Comparable to DZD's T1D mission (screening, prevention) but functions primarily as a research funder and convener rather than a research operator.
• Helmholtz Zentrum München (Helmholtz Munich): DZD's core partner institution and a large Helmholtz Association research center with broad scope in environmental health, diabetes, and metabolic disease. Comparable in basic/translational research, but operates across a much wider portfolio than DZD.

Direct peers

• Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research: University of Copenhagen research center conducting basic and translational metabolic disease research. Directly comparable to DZD in mission, scale, and integration of basic research with clinical translation in diabetes and obesity.
• MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge: UK research unit focused on metabolic disease epidemiology, prevention, and translational research. Comparable in combining large-scale cohorts, screening programs, and population health research in diabetes.
• Paul Langerhans Institute Dresden (PLID): DZD core partner at TU Dresden focused on beta cell and islet research. Comparable in its disease-specific (T1D) research focus and integration with clinical partners.
• German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbrücke (DIfE): DZD core partner, Leibniz Institute focused on nutrition and metabolic disease. Comparable in basic and translational research on diabetes and obesity, particularly in nutrition-related mechanisms.
• Joslin Diabetes Center: Harvard-affiliated diabetes research and clinical care center with multi-decade longitudinal cohorts, clinical studies, and biomarker development. Highly comparable in translational diabetes research scope and disease focus.
• Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen: Danish national diabetes center combining clinical care, research, and population health. Closely mirrors DZD's role as a national reference center with integration of research, clinical studies, and public health.
• German Diabetes Center (DDZ) – Leibniz Institute for Diabetes Research: DZD core partner institution in Düsseldorf, Leibniz Institute for Diabetes Research. Directly comparable in diabetes-specific translational research, multicenter studies (coordinates GDS), and national reference role.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/diabresearch
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/german-center-for-diabetes-research-dzd-

Compliance2 records

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 Deutsches Zentrum für Diabetesforschung