European Federation of Allergy and Airways Diseases Patients' Associations (EFA)

What European Federation of Allergy and Airways Diseases Patients' Associations (EFA) does

The European Federation of Allergy and Airways Diseases Patients' Associations (EFA) is an independent, democratic non-profit federation founded in 1991 and headquartered in Brussels at Rue du Congrès 35. EFA unifies 38 national patient associations across 24 European countries representing people living with allergy, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It serves as the collective patient voice in EU policy, working through six working groups (Food Allergy, COPD, Allergy & Asthma, Patient Education, Environmental Determinants, Atopic Eczema), a 17-member Brussels staff, and structured programs including the Expert Patient Network, Youth Parliament, and European Respiratory Patient Academy.

EFA's product and service surface comprises member-facing capacity building and EUPATI scholarships, patient evidence reports (e.g., ACCESS, Itching for Life, DIGIT surveying 975 asthma and COPD patients across 5 countries), EU-funded research project participation (SynAir-G, LungHealth4Life, Immuniverse, 3TR, TOLIFE, CURE), educational properties such as AboutAsthma.org (co-built with GAAPP) and the Breathe Vision for 2030, and patient toolkits including the COPD Travel with Oxygen Toolkit. The technology backbone is non-proprietary: EFA runs digital surveys, registries, and dissemination platforms rather than developed products.

EFA's revenue model is a non-profit mix of three streams: membership fees of €500 per national patient association per year (only €13,030 reported in 2024), unrestricted corporate grants from pharmaceutical companies (AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Chiesi, GSK, MSD, Novartis, Roche, Sanofi) representing the majority of funding (90.89% of 2022 income), and EU project grants from Horizon Europe, EU4Health, and Innovative Medicines Initiative. Total income in 2024 was €1,014,638, sourced from operating program grants, project grants, membership dues, and EU project funding; the organization is governed by a volunteer board, audited annually, and registered as a non-profit in Belgium.

Name

European Federation of Allergy and Airways Diseases Patients' Associations (EFA)

Legal name

European Federation of Allergy and Airways Diseases Patients' Associations

Website

https://efanet.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Short description

EFA is a Brussels-based non-profit federation founded in 1991 that unites 38 national allergy, asthma and COPD patient associations across 24 European countries to drive EU-level patient advocacy, policy influence, capacity building, and patient-centered research.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Patient Advocacy Services

NAICS

Professional Organizations (81392), Professional Organizations (813920)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Health, Pharmaceuticals & Medical Devices Regulatory Cooperation (BPADANAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Economic Evaluation & Health Technology Assessment (Public Programs) (HLAJANAL), Multilateral Global Health Agencies (UN/IFIs) (HLAJAKAA)

Keywords

• Patient advocacy federation
• Allergy asthma COPD
• EU health policy
• Patient association network
• Respiratory disease research

Headquarters

HQ city

Brussels

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership fees: National patient associations pay annual membership fees to be part of EFA's network. Membership fees are €500/year per patient association.
2. Corporate unrestricted grants: EFA receives unrestricted core and project grants from pharmaceutical companies including AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Chiesi, GSK, MSD, Novartis, Roche, Sanofi, and others. These grants support operational programs and specific projects.
3. EU project funding: EFA participates in EU-funded research projects receiving grants from Horizon Europe, EU4Health, and Innovative Medicines Initiative programs. Projects include SynAir-G, LH4L, Immuniverse, 3TR, TOLIFE, and CURE.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

EFA is a non-profit patient advocacy federation that unifies 38 national allergy, asthma, and COPD patient associations across 24 European countries. It sells organizational membership, delivers capacity-building training and patient evidence research, and runs coordinated EU-level policy advocacy campaigns on behalf of its member associations. EFA does not provide medical services to individual patients; rather it serves as the unified voice for patients in EU policy, research, and healthcare decision-making.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• COPD Travel with Oxygen Toolkit A practical toolkit providing guidance, resources, and cross-country support through National Contact Points for COPD patients who rely on oxygen therapy, aimed at making travel more accessible and safer.
• European Respiratory Patient Academy (ERPA) A training program for respiratory advocates to influence research, policy, and care across Europe, helping patients learn, connect and lead better outcomes.
• DIGIT Project A digital health research initiative surveying asthma and COPD patients about their digital needs, perceptions, and experiences to understand the patient digital journey and identify gaps in accessing digital solutions.
• AboutAsthma.org Educational Website A comprehensive patient education website on asthma, jointly launched with GAAPP, providing science-based information and tips across five areas: asthma symptoms, attacks, care, life with asthma, and help.
• Atopic Eczema Consensus Europe A project to develop consensus on the burden of Atopic Eczema/Dermatitis for patients, addressing awareness gaps and advocating for concrete action at EU and national levels.
• LungHealth4Life (LH4L) Project A EU4Health project bringing lung health education and early screening into schools across Europe, pairing simple lung function checks with age-appropriate lessons on breathing, air quality and prevention.
• SynAir-G Project An EU-funded research project led by EFA studying how indoor air quality affects children with allergy and asthma, deploying sensors across classrooms and developing policy guidelines.
• Immuniverse Project An IMI-funded project uniting over 20 partners to improve diagnostic and therapeutic options for patients with atopic eczema and ulcerative colitis, with EFA coordinating patient involvement through the Patient Input Platform.
• Capacity Building Program A program strengthening the network of allergy, asthma and COPD patient associations in Europe through annual workshops, targeted training, EUPATI scholarships, and Meet & Greet EU training sessions.
• Patient Evidence Surveys Multi-country studies investigating patient experiences including Itching for Life (Atopic Eczema), ACCESS Survey (Asthma/COPD access), and Food Detectives Report, providing evidence for advocacy and policy recommendations.
• #BreakTheInvisibleBurden Campaign A Europe-wide advocacy campaign to implement the WHO resolution on skin diseases, focusing on turning policy resolutions into action for better quality of life for atopic eczema patients.
• Breathe Vision 2030 / #KeepBreathing A lung health policy advocacy initiative outlining shared aims by respiratory partners to increase attention towards respiratory health and support awareness and understanding of lung disease.
• European Allergy and Asthma Youth Parliament A youth initiative bringing young allergy and asthma patients together to develop policy recommendations and advocate for improved information, prevention and care for young patients.

Quantifiable outcome

• 150 million Europeans affected by allergy addressed through EFA advocacy
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core, secondary and minor.

• LH4L (Lung Health 4 Life) ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025EFA coordinates the Community of Practice in this EU4Health project bringing lung health education and early screening into schools across Europe. Implementation begins in Hungary, Poland, and Portugal.
• EU Healthy Air Coalition (EUHAC)secondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024EFA is a founding member of EUHAC, a partnership bringing together patients, doctors, health insurers and public health advocates to advocate for clean air policies at EU level.
• SynAir-G ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022EFA leads communication and dissemination in SynAir-G, an EU-funded research project studying how indoor air quality affects children with allergy and asthma. EFA coordinates the IDEAL Cluster policy work and organizes workshops to translate findings into policy action.
• Immuniverse ConsortiumsecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021EFA coordinates patient involvement through the Patient Input Platform (PIP) in this IMI-funded project improving diagnostic and therapeutic options for atopic eczema and ulcerative colitis patients. The PIP includes 15 patients.
• TOLIFE ConsortiumminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021EFA participates in the TOLIFE project using artificial intelligence for COPD management under EU funding.
• European Parliament MEP Lung Health GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020EFA coordinates with the MEP Lung Health Group, an informal platform of 17+ MEPs working with healthcare professionals and patient organizations on respiratory health policy. Supported by Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides.
• 3TR ConsortiumminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019EFA participates in the 3TR project focused on precision medicine for asthma and COPD under IMI2 funding.
• CURE ConsortiumminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017EFA participates in the CURE project developing phage therapy for asthma under Horizon 2020 funding.
• European Parliament Interest Group on Allergy and AsthmacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015EFA co-runs the secretariat for this MEP Interest Group committed to improving health and quality of life for allergy and asthma patients. Set up in 2015, the group fosters research, shares best practices, and prevents onset of these diseases.
• EUPATI (European Patients' Academy on Therapeutic Innovation)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEFA partners with EUPATI to provide Patient Expert Training scholarships to members. EUPATI is a patient-led partnership enhancing patient engagement in medicine R&D. EFA sponsors members to complete EUPATI Fellow Training covering 6 modules on medicines research and development processes over 15 months with 300 hours of training materials.
• EAACI (European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEFA collaborates with EAACI on the European Parliament Interest Group on Allergy and Asthma secretariat and participates in EAACI Congress. EAACI and EFA co-host events and EFA contributes to EAACI's Atlas on Planetary Health.
• ERS (European Respiratory Society) and ELF (European Lung Foundation)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEFA partners with ERS and ELF to coordinate the MEP Lung Health Group, develop the Breathe Vision for 2030, and collaborate on research projects including U-BIOPRED. The partnership facilitates policy advocacy for respiratory health.
• GAAPP (Global Allergy and Airways Patients Platform)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerEFA and GAAPP jointly launched AboutAsthma.org, an educational website providing science-based asthma information for patients and carers across five areas: symptoms, attacks, care, life with asthma, and help.
• Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerEFA participates in HEAL's Executive Committee to advance health and environmental policies, contributing to the advancement of clean air and respiratory health advocacy.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks2 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/EFA_Patients
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCJ3hniNbt8zftJc-Q4VkWRg
• Facebookfacebook.com/EFAPatients
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/efanet
• Instagraminstagram.com/efapatients

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about European Federation of Allergy and Airways Diseases Patients' Associations (EFA)