DOG Deutsche Ophthalmologische Gesellschaft

What DOG Deutsche Ophthalmologische Gesellschaft does

DOG Deutsche Ophthalmologische Gesellschaft (Deutsche Ophthalmologische Gesellschaft e.V.) is Germany's preeminent professional medical society for ophthalmology, founded in 1857 and headquartered in Munich. The society serves practicing ophthalmologists, hospital-based specialists, university faculty, residents, and clinician-scientists across Germany through a portfolio organized around four functions: continuing medical education, professional standards and guideline development, research funding and innovation support, and patient/public engagement. Its core offerings include the annual DOG-Kongress (a flagship scientific congress — the 2022 edition drew 4,463 total participants including 3,023 specialist ophthalmologists), the E-Campus online learning platform, the DOG onlive virtual symposium series, the DOG-Podcast "Augenheilkunde: ein Fach mit Zukunft," and the ophthalmology fellowship program co-developed with the BVA (Berufsverband der Augenärzte Deutschlands). Clinical standards are codified through Leitlinien (clinical guidelines) and Weißbücher (white papers) covering glaucoma, keratitis, dry eye, uveitis, diabetic retinopathy, and driving fitness.

DOG's technology platform is built on conventional digital infrastructure: a membership portal (myDOG), the oregis digital ophthalmology registry (oregis.de) for clinical care data aggregation across connected centers, Zoom-based virtual symposium tooling, and a podcast distribution footprint. Innovation support is delivered through the four-stage DOG-Innovationsinitiative — support letters, seed funding, patent prizes, and the OphthalmoPitch startup competition — anchored by the newly premiered Innovationsforum Ophthalmologie at the 2025 congress. Patient-facing activity is delivered through the DOG website, disease information pages, a clinic finder, and public health campaigns including #SpendeAmEnde (cornea donation awareness in partnership with Stiftung Auge and the Wacken Foundation at Wacken Open Air 2025) and the 2025–2026 "Für mehr Sehen" clinical trials awareness campaign.

The society is registered as a non-profit eingetragener Verein (e.V.) under German law and operates with approximately 15 staff. Revenue derives from membership dues, congress and event registration fees, certification fees, fellowship program fees, and industry sponsorships — including named grant/prize sponsorship from Roche Pharma AG, Bayer Vital GmbH, AbbVie, Santen GmbH, i.com medical GmbH, Science Corporation, Optima Pharmazeutische GmbH, HAAG-STREIT Deutschland GmbH, Alimera, Senator-Hermann-Wacker-Fonds, Dr. Werner Jackstädt-Stiftung, and Paul Martini Stiftung. Leadership comprises Prof. Dr. Siegfried Priglinger (President), Prof. Dr. Claus Cursiefen (Secretary General), and Prof. Dr. Horst Helbig (Media Spokesperson). The organization is independently governed, member-funded, and not affiliated with any parent company or private investor.

Name

DOG Deutsche Ophthalmologische Gesellschaft

Legal name

Deutsche Ophthalmologische Gesellschaft e.V.

Website

https://dog.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

DOG Deutsche Ophthalmologische Gesellschaft is Germany's leading professional society for ophthalmology, founded in 1857 and headquartered in Munich, serving the country's ophthalmologists through continuing education, clinical guidelines, scientific congresses, research funding, and innovation programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

DOG Deutsche Ophthalmologische Gesellschaft is Germany's central professional medical society for ophthalmology, founded in 1857 and headquartered in Munich. It serves its members through an annual congress, continuing medical education programs, fellowship training, clinical practice guidelines, research funding, and innovation support programs, while also providing patient-facing disease information and public health campaigns.

Product overview

DOG Deutsche Ophthalmologische Gesellschaft (German Ophthalmological Society) is a professional medical society, not a product company. Its offerings consist of educational programs, professional development resources, and innovation support services for ophthalmologists. The core offerings include: the annual DOG-Kongress and DOG onlive online symposia for continuing education; the E-Campus digital learning platform; the DOG-Podcast for audio-based education; and structured fellowship programs for subspecialty training. Research support is provided through the oregis clinical registry, the Forschungslandkarte research map, and various awards/fellowships. Innovation is fostered through the four-stage DOG-Innovationsinitiative and the Innovationsforum with OphthalmoPitch competition. Public health initiatives include cornea donation campaigns (#SpendeAmEnde) and the Woche des Sehens awareness week. Clinical guidance is provided through comprehensive guidelines on glaucoma, cornea diseases, uveitis, and other ophthalmological conditions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• DOG onlive: Online symposium format featuring live webinars and digital educational events on ophthalmology topics.
• DOG-Kongress
• E-Campus
• myDOG
• DOG-Führungsakademie
• oregis
• Stiftung Auge
• AG Young DOG
• DOG-Innovationsinitiative
• Woche des Sehens
• Podcast Augenheilkunde
• DOG-Symposien

Products and services

• DOG Membership

Quantifiable outcome

• 85% of all eye surgeries in Germany are performed outpatient, with cataract surgery exceeding 90% outpatient rate
• +6 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and major.

• BVA — Berufsverband der Augenärzte DeutschlandscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe BVA (Professional Association of German Ophthalmologists) is the DOG's primary strategic partner for joint guideline development, the DOG-/BVA-Fellowship-Programm (Fellowship program co-developed and launched in 2024), and policy advocacy on eye care standards and health policy in Germany.
• Stiftung AugecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStiftung Auge (Foundation for Eye Health) is the DOG's charitable foundation arm, co-organizing campaigns such as Hornhaut-SpendeAmEnde (cornea donation), funding the Wissenschaftspreis der Stiftung Auge (science prize, €2,500), and supporting health services research grants. Managed at stiftung-auge.de.
• Wacken FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Wacken Foundation partnered with the DOG and Stiftung Auge at the Wacken Open Air 2025 festival to conduct the Hornhaut-SpendeAmEnde cornea donation awareness campaign, marking the campaign launch and reaching festival attendees.
• European Society of Ophthalmology (SOE)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe SOE partners with the DOG to award the SOE National Lecture at the DOG congress, recognizing promising clinical or scientific work by researchers under age 45 and promoting visibility at the European level.
• AG Young DOG (Young Ophthalmologists Working Group)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAG Young DOG is the internal young ophthalmologists' working group of the DOG, co-organizing the Margarete Kramer Best Abstract Prize and representing the next generation within the society's governance and programming.
• DOG-Sektion Ophthalmologische OnkologiecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe DOG Section for Ophthalmological Oncology (newly founded) awards the Best Abstract Prize and a young researcher publication prize in the field of oncological ophthalmology, operating as a specialized section within the DOG.
• Deutsche Stiftung Organtransplantation (DSO)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDSO is referenced in the Hornhaut-SpendeAmEnde campaign as the authority reporting that donation rates would be substantially higher if next of kin knew the deceased's wishes, supporting the DOG's cornea donation awareness initiative.
• oretics Register Partners (oregis)majorStrategic or Co-development Partneroregis is the DOG's digital ophthalmology registry, with a growing number of connected eye centers providing data for health services research in ophthalmology. The registry is actively promoted at DOG congresses with dedicated symposia.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• European Society of Ophthalmology (SOE): SOE is the pan-European umbrella society for ophthalmology, already partnering with DOG on the SOE National Lecture. It represents both an upstream collaborator and a potential competing convener of European ophthalmology education and congress activity.
• American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO): AAO is the US counterpart professional society for ophthalmologists, providing annual congresses (AAO Meeting), clinical guidelines (PPP), CME, and advocacy. It is the international benchmark for what a national ophthalmology society can scale to in terms of programs, membership, and industry partnerships.
• Royal College of Ophthalmologists (RCOphth): RCOphth is the UK's national professional body for ophthalmologists, responsible for training, examinations, clinical standards, and congress. It is the closest geographic/functional peer in another major European healthcare system.
• European Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS): ESCRS is the leading European subspecialty society for cataract and refractive surgery, with a major annual congress and industry partnerships. It competes with DOG for surgical-ophthalmology KOL attention, congress sponsorship, and guideline authority in the high-value surgical segment.
• Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO): ARVO is the premier international vision-research organization, hosting the largest global eye-research annual meeting. It is the closest analog for DOG's research-grant, fellowship, and scientific-exchange functions at a global rather than national scale.
• Berufsverband der Augenärzte Deutschlands (BVA): BVA is the DOG's primary strategic partner and the professional association representing practicing ophthalmologists in Germany. Together they co-develop guidelines, run the joint Fellowship-Programm, and advocate on eye-care policy — making BVA the most directly comparable peer organization.

Emerging players

• European Glaucoma Society (EGS): EGS is a focused European subspecialty society for glaucoma, producing guidelines and hosting education events that intersect with DOG's glaucoma surgery fellowship and guideline content. It represents the kind of subspecialty organization that could fragment DOG's authority in specific clinical domains.
• European Society of Retina Specialists (EURETINA): EURETINA is the European retina subspecialty society with major industry-sponsored congress activity. It overlaps with DOG's retinal-disease research-grant programs and competes for retina KOL engagement, particularly with sponsors like Roche and Bayer who fund DOG programs.

Broad incumbents

• Deutsche Gesellschaft für Innere Medizin (DGIM): DGIM is the largest German internal-medicine specialty society, with a similar operating model (annual congress, CME, guidelines, research awards). It is a useful analog for operational scale, sponsorship economics, and policy influence of a large German medical society — though in a different specialty.
• Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Wissenschaftlichen Medizinischen Fachgesellschaften (AWMF): AWMF is the umbrella organization of all German medical specialty societies, including DOG. It coordinates cross-specialty guideline methodology (S2/S3 standards), represents medical societies in national policy, and is the institutional frame within which DOG operates alongside other specialty societies.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat7 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/61583151866963
• Instagraminstagram.com/fuer_mehr_sehen
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dog-deutsche-ophthalmologische-gesellschaft

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about DOG Deutsche Ophthalmologische Gesellschaft