nPOD

What nPOD does

nPOD (Network for Pancreatic Organ Donors with Diabetes) is a nonprofit collaborative research consortium founded in 2007 and headquartered at the University of Florida College of Medicine in Gainesville, FL, with a second operational site (nPOD West) at City of Hope in Duarte, CA. The organization procures human pancreatic tissue from organ donors — both with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and non-diabetic controls — through partnerships with the 56 federally designated Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs) in the United States, processes the tissue via its Organ Processing and Pathology Core (OPPC), and distributes it to approved academic investigators worldwide. nPOD's product surface centers on a biorepository and data platform: the Data Portal, Online Pathology Information, DataShare sample request system, Genetic Data resources, the Pancreas Slice Program for live tissue studies, standardized RRID case identifiers, and a publications database. There is no commercial pricing — the organization operates on a grant-funded, no-cost-to-investigator model.

The consortium is sustained financially by two principal charitable funders — The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust (Grant#3-SRA-2023-1417-S-B) and Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF) — and additionally channels 68+ pilot study grants to investigators worldwide through the George S. Eisenbarth nPOD Award for Team Science program (2015-2024). Go-to-market is community-led: investigators apply through nPOD's website, gain approval, and receive processed samples and data access; the organization reaches prospects via its website, webinar series, conference presentations, and the publication output of its investigator network (hundreds of papers in journals including Nature Communications, Science Advances, Cell Reports, Diabetologia, and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory).

Technically, nPOD has invested in specialized AI/ML pipelines applied to its unique tissue dataset: deep-learning models for quantification of endocrine cells and CD3+ T cells across >450,000 objects and >250 donor pancreata, computer-vision tools for 3D confocal microscopy and Nanotomy electron microscopy, the DEGAS machine learning platform for beta-cell transcriptomic analysis, and single-cell multiome and spatial profiling via the Human Pancreas Atlas project. Leadership comprises Executive Director Mark Atkinson PhD, Co-Executive Director Carmella Evans-Molina MD/PhD, and a technical staff of ~19 including pathologists' assistants, research technicians, and an OPO liaison, spanning both the Florida and California sites.

Name

nPOD

Legal name

Network for Pancreatic Organ Donors with Diabetes

Website

https://npod.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

nPOD is a nonprofit research consortium that procures, processes, and distributes human pancreatic tissue from organ donors with and without type 1 diabetes to academic investigators worldwide, funded by charitable grants and operating at the University of Florida and City of Hope.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Biomedical Research Services

NAICS

Blood and Organ Banks (621991)

SIC

In Vitro & In Vivo Diagnostic Substances (2835)

akta.pro primary industry

In Vitro Model Systems & Organoid Platforms (iPSC/organoids, microphysiological systems) (HLAAAIAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

National Public Health Reference Laboratories (HLAJAIAA), Organoids & Organ-on-Chip (regenerative models) (HLAAAGAD)

Keywords

• Pancreatic tissue biorepository
• Diabetes research consortium
• Human organ donor network
• Tissue processing services
• Biomedical research resources

Headquarters

HQ city

Gainesville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding: Primary funding from The Leona M. & Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust (Grant#3-SRA-2023-1417-S-B) and Breakthrough T1D to support tissue collection, processing, and distribution operations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

nPOD (Network for Pancreatic Organ Donors with Diabetes) is a nonprofit research consortium that procures, processes, and distributes human pancreatic tissue samples from organ donors with and without type 1 diabetes to approved investigators worldwide. It coordinates with 56 federally designated Organ Procurement Organizations to recover pancreata, then operates the Organ Processing and Pathology Core (OPPC) to deliver standardized samples, clinical metadata, pathology images, genetic data, and live pancreas slices to academic researchers studying type 1 diabetes.

Product overview

nPOD (Network for Pancreatic Organ Donors with Diabetes) is a collaborative research coordination organization, not a traditional software company. It provides a unified biorepository and research resource platform centered on human pancreatic organ donor samples for type 1 diabetes research. The core offerings include the Data Portal for case data access, Online Pathology Information for tissue image viewing, DataShare for sample requests, the Pancreas Slice Program for live tissue studies, and Genetic Data resources. These are complemented by investigator coordination services, nPOD Working Groups, a Webinars series, Standard Operating Procedures, and a Publications Database. The infrastructure is organized around the Administrative Core, the Organ Processing and Pathology Core (OPPC), and Autoantibody Cores at University of Florida and University of Colorado Denver. Key publications have utilized deep learning for cell quantification, AI-assisted imaging analysis, and machine learning for beta cell transcriptomics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• nPOD Data Portal

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 68 grants awarded to investigators through the Eisenbarth nPOD Award program (2015-2024)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner56 federally designated OPOs in the United States work with nPOD to recover pancreata from suitable organ donors. Pancreata are recovered in the same procedure and by the same team as organs being recovered for life-saving transplant. OPOs identify donations from patients with type 1 diabetes.
• University of Florida College of MedicinecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdministrative headquarters and Organ Processing and Pathology Core (OPPC) located at University of Florida, College of Medicine. Houses nPOD Executive Director, Administrative Core staff, and OPPC lab.
• City of Hope (nPOD West)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnernPOD West operations located at City of Hope, led by Dr. Julia Panzer. Handles cases processed at nPOD West and provides western US operations support.
• Donate Life AmericaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegistration through Donate Life America serves as the binding, legal document of gift for organ donation. Individuals can register at RegisterMe.org to become organ donors.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Human Pancreas Analysis Program (HPAP): HPAP is an NIH-funded T1D program (within HIRN) that performs deep molecular characterization of human pancreatic tissue from organ donors with and without T1D, directly mirroring nPOD's research mission.
• T1D Exchange: T1D Exchange operates a clinic-based registry and biobank for people living with T1D, sharing nPOD's mission of accelerating cure-oriented research through coordinated data and biospecimen collection.
• INNODIA: INNODIA is a European public-private T1D consortium that maintains the INNODIA HARVEST biobank of pancreatic, blood, and other samples from new-onset T1D donors, the closest international counterpart to nPOD.
• Integrated Islet Distribution Program (IIDP): IIDP, also hosted at City of Hope, distributes isolated human islets from organ donors to T1D researchers. It is the most directly comparable tissue-distribution counterpart to nPOD and overlaps in donor sources and scientific user base.
• Diabetes Research Institute (DRI) at University of Miami: DRI runs its own donor pancreas program for islet transplantation and T1D research, including a biobank and clinical islet transplant pipeline, making it a functionally similar pancreatic tissue research organization.

Broad incumbents

• Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF): Breakthrough T1D is the largest T1D-focused philanthropic funder and a core sponsor of nPOD; it also funds a much broader research portfolio (cure therapies, device, beta-cell replacement) that overlaps thematically with nPOD's mission.
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VX-880 / zimislecel program): Vertex's T1D cell therapy program depends on donor-derived islet biology insights akin to those nPOD enables; while a commercial drug developer rather than a biobank, it is a major downstream consumer of nPOD-adjacent research.

Regional players

• Network for Pancreatic Organ Donors – nPOD (Canada) and DiBET: Canadian equivalents like the Alberta Diabetes Institute and donor programs in Edmonton operate similar human pancreas tissue resources for T1D research but are regionally focused and complementary rather than direct global competitors.
• Steno Diabetes Center: Steno is a leading European diabetes research institute with extensive biobanking and T1D cohorts, comparable to nPOD in mission though serving primarily Nordic/EU populations.
• European Consortium for Islet Transplantation (ECIT): ECIT coordinates European islet isolation and distribution for transplantation and research, paralleling nPOD's tissue-broker role in a different regulatory and donor-recruitment geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/diabetesnpod
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/npod-the-network-for-pancreatic-organ-donors-with-diabetes

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles19 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about nPOD