Fondation pour la Recherche sur le Diabète

What Fondation pour la Recherche sur le Diabète does

Fondation pour la Recherche sur le Diabète is a Swiss non-profit foundation established in 1991 and headquartered in Geneva, previously operating under the name Fondation Romande pour la Recherche sur le Diabète. It was restructured under its current name in 2020. Its mission is to inform, support, promote, and fund diabetes research in French-speaking Switzerland (Romandie). The foundation runs three core programs: an annual research prize (Prix de la Fondation) of approximately CHF 100,000 awarded to selected diabetes research projects, the annual Journée Romande du Diabète public education event (29th edition scheduled in 2026), and an annual newsletter distributed to donors and the wider public.

The foundation operates with a small team of 6 employees and is governed by a board led by President Keith Fiander, who took over after the death of Léonard Vernet in 2018, and is managed by Victoria Chmielewski as Directrice. In 2014, Sophia Loren became the foundation's godmother, providing public-facing profile. There is no proprietary technology, software platform, or AI infrastructure associated with the foundation; its outputs are programmatic (grants, events, publications) rather than technical products.

The foundation's business model is donation-funded. It receives contributions from individuals, bequests, and event-associated revenue, and redistributes a portion of these funds to academic researchers and clinician-scientists working on diabetes in Switzerland. As an example, in 2013, CHF 260,000 was distributed across three projects. The foundation does not have a transactional revenue model, no recurring commercial pricing, and no proprietary data or scalable technology assets on which to build commercial expansion.

Name

Fondation pour la Recherche sur le Diabète

Legal name

Fondation pour la Recherche sur le Diabète

Website

https://fondation-diabete.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Fondation pour la Recherche sur le Diabète is a Geneva-based Swiss non-profit founded in 1991 that funds and promotes diabetes research in French-speaking Switzerland through an annual prize, public education event, and newsletter.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Health Foundation

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)

akta.pro primary industry

Disease-Specific Research & Support (e.g., Cancer, Diabetes, ALS) (BPAGACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Health & Medical Research Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAL), Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI), Chronic Disease & Health Promotion Program Funding (HLAJALAJ)

Keywords

• Diabetes research funding
• Medical research grants
• Health awareness events
• Nonprofit foundation services
• Patient education programs

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The foundation funds diabetes research through an annual CHF 100,000 research prize and educates the public about diabetes via the annual Journée Romande du Diabète event and recurring newsletter communications aimed at patients, families, and the broader community.

Product overview

The Fondation pour la Recherche sur le Diabète operates as a nonprofit research foundation that does not offer a technology product in the traditional sense. Instead, it delivers three core services: (1) the annual Prix de la Fondation research grant program distributing approximately CHF 100,000 to promising diabetes research; (2) the Journée Romande du Diabète, an annual public education event featuring conferences, workshops, and expert exchanges; and (3) an annual newsletter (PDF) disseminating diabetes research updates and foundation news. These programs support the foundation's mission to inform, support, and fund research in diabetes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Prix de la Fondation (Foundation Research Prize) An annual research grant of CHF 100,000 awarded by the foundation to support diabetes research conducted by academic or clinical investigators in Switzerland.
• Journée Romande du Diabète (Romandie Diabetes Day) An annual public awareness and education event dedicated to informing patients, families, healthcare professionals, and the general public about diabetes prevention, treatment, and the latest research progress.
• Foundation Newsletter

Quantifiable outcome

• CHF 260,000 distributed to 3 research projects in 2013
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Direct peers

• diabetesschweiz (Swiss Diabetes Society): Swiss national umbrella organization for diabetes patients and professionals, funding research and providing education; directly comparable as a Swiss-based diabetes research and awareness non-profit, but operating nationwide across all language regions.
• Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale (FRM): French non-profit foundation funding medical research grants and public science communication; closely comparable as a French-language health research grantmaking foundation with donor-driven funding, though it covers all medical research rather than diabetes alone.
• Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF): The largest global non-profit focused specifically on funding Type 1 diabetes research; directly comparable to the Fondation pour la Recherche sur le Diabète in mission (diabetes-specific research grantmaking) but at vastly greater scale and global reach.
• European Foundation for the Study of Diabetes (EFSD): European non-profit that funds diabetes research through grants and partnerships with industry; directly comparable as a diabetes-specific research grantmaking foundation, but operating at a European rather than regional scale.

Regional players

• Diabetes UK: UK-based diabetes charity funding research and running awareness campaigns; highly comparable to the Fondation pour la Recherche sur le Diabète in combining research funding with public education events, but serving the UK rather than Romandie.

Broad incumbents

• American Diabetes Association: US-based non-profit funding diabetes research, public education, and advocacy; comparable as a diabetes-focused research and awareness organization, though it operates at a much larger scale and broader scope than the Romandie foundation.
• World Diabetes Foundation: Global diabetes-focused grantmaking foundation supporting prevention and care projects in developing countries; comparable mission (diabetes grantmaking) but global scope and significantly larger disbursement scale.
• Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF): Switzerland's principal public research funding body; comparable as a Swiss research grantmaking organization but covering all scientific disciplines rather than disease-specific, and funded publicly rather than through donations.
• Helmsley Charitable Trust - Type 1 Diabetes Program: US-based private foundation with a major Type 1 diabetes grantmaking program; comparable mission of funding diabetes research at scale, but with substantially larger assets and a US rather than Swiss focus.

Emerging players

• Joslin Diabetes Center: Harvard-affiliated US diabetes research and clinical care institution conducting and supporting diabetes research; partially comparable as a diabetes research-focused organization with both research and education components, though primarily an operating clinical/research center rather than a pure grantmaker.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fondation-romande-pour-la-recherche-sur-le-diab%C3%A8te
• Instagraminstagram.com/fondation_diabete
• Facebookfacebook.com/FondationRechercheDiabete

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Fondation pour la Recherche sur le Diabète