Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre
The Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre is a non-profit partnership between the University of Oxford and Harrington Discovery Institute that provides grant funding, drug development support, and translational infrastructure to academic researchers advancing rare disease therapeutics across the US, UK, and Canada.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersOxford, United Kingdom
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre does
The Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre is a non-profit translational research partnership established in 2020 between the University of Oxford and the Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio. It operates from Oxford and Cleveland, with a distributed footprint across the US, UK, and Canada. The Centre does not develop or sell a product; instead, it functions as a grant-making and translational support consortium that provides drug development expertise, core facilities, and acceleration funding to academic researchers working on rare disease therapeutics. Its core offerings include the Rare Disease Scholar Award (up to $100,000/£100,000 guaranteed per awardee with acceleration funding up to $1,000,000), the FA Alliance Innovation Fund (£100,000 per Friedreich's Ataxia researcher), and the companion Catalyst Fund for translational development.
The Centre's beneficiaries are academic researchers at universities in the US, UK, and Canada who are developing novel therapeutics for rare diseases but lack the resources or drug development infrastructure to advance programs toward clinical trials. Technical capabilities supported through its network include epigenetic therapy, gene silencing, repeat proteomics, digital clinical outcome assessments, and cardiac organoid-based treatments. The Centre's business model is philanthropic: it is funded through charitable gifts, institutional donations, and grant-based funding rather than commercial revenue, with recent transformational gifts including a $10 million designation from the Haslam family's $12.5 million blood cancer investment and £500,000 from the FA Alliance Innovation Fund. It measures success by the progression of funded research toward clinical trials and the formation of public-private partnerships addressing the market failure in rare disease drug development, where fewer than 5% of approximately 7,000 known rare diseases have an FDA-approved therapy.
Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre
- Legal name
- Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre
- Website
- https://oxfordharrington.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- The Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre is a non-profit partnership between the University of Oxford and Harrington Discovery Institute that provides grant funding, drug development support, and translational infrastructure to academic researchers advancing rare disease therapeutics across the US, UK, and Canada.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Rare Disease Therapeutics Research
- NAICS
- Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)
- SIC
- Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090), Services-Health Services (8000)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Genetic & Genomic Rare Disease Therapeutics (HLAIAIAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Rare Pediatric & Congenital Disorder Therapies (HLAIAIAN), Health & Medical Research Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAL), Rare Disease & Special Needs Support Organizations (BPAGACAM)
Keywords
Where Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Oxford
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Others, Technology or R&D, Operations
Revenue model
- Philanthropic Donations and Grants: The Centre is funded primarily through philanthropic gifts, institutional donations, and grant-based funding. Notable examples include a $10 million designation from the $12.5 million Haslam gift for CLL and rare blood cancer research, and £500,000 from the FA Alliance Innovation Fund for Friedreich's Ataxia research. These funds support endowed chairs, innovation funds, and researcher awards.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels3 records
Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre is a non-profit translational research partnership between the University of Oxford and Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals that provides grant funding, drug development support, and access to core facilities to academic researchers developing therapeutics for rare diseases. Its core offerings include the Rare Disease Scholar Award (up to $100,000/£100,000 per recipient with potential acceleration funding up to $1,000,000), the FA Alliance Innovation Fund, and the Catalyst Fund, all aimed at advancing early-stage rare disease discoveries toward clinical trials.
Product overview
Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre (OHC) is a research partnership between the University of Oxford and Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals that accelerates rare disease therapeutic discoveries through grant programs and drug development support. The organization operates two main funding mechanisms: the Rare Disease Scholar Award providing up to $100,000 in guaranteed grants with potential follow-on funding up to $1,000,000, and the FA Alliance Innovation Fund (in combination with the Catalyst Fund) supporting Friedreich's Ataxia research with £100,000 grants per researcher. OHC focuses on de-risking early-stage therapeutic programs through public-private partnerships and philanthropy, addressing the significant unmet medical need where fewer than 5% of rare diseases have approved therapies.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Rare Disease Scholar Award A competitive grant programme providing guaranteed awards of USD $100,000 (US/Canada) or £100,000 (UK) to academic researchers developing therapeutics for rare diseases, with access to drug development support, core facilities, and opportunities for additional acceleration and investment funding up to USD $1,000,000. Open to researchers in the US, UK, and Canada.
- FA Alliance Innovation Fund A specialized innovation fund that awards £100,000 each to University of Oxford researchers for Friedreich's Ataxia therapeutic research, supporting approaches including epigenetic therapy, GAA-repeat proteomics, digital clinical outcome assessments, gene silencing, and cardiac organoid-based treatment for cardiomyopathy.
- Catalyst Fund A broader therapeutic development fund used in combination with the FA Alliance Innovation Fund to translate early-stage rare disease research into potential treatments, operating within the Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre's broader funding ecosystem.
Quantifiable outcome
- 95% of rare diseases have no approved therapy — fewer than 5% of ~7,000 known rare diseases have FDA-approved treatments
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- University of OxfordcoreThe Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre is co-founded and co-operated by the University of Oxford, one of the world's leading research universities. Oxford provides the primary academic research base, talent pipeline, and institutional infrastructure for the Centre's translational mission. Oxford-based researchers are eligible for and have received Centre funding, including the £500,000 FA Alliance Innovation Fund awarded to five Oxford researchers.
- Harrington Discovery Institute at University HospitalscoreThe Harrington Discovery Institute, embedded within University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio, is the US anchor of the Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre partnership. It provides clinical infrastructure, drug development expertise, and translational capabilities that complement Oxford's academic research excellence. The Institute oversees the award programmes and provides the support infrastructure for awardees.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Critical Path Institute: Nonprofit that accelerates drug development through pre-competitive collaboration and regulatory science in rare diseases; comparable as a translational infrastructure organization supporting orphan therapeutic development across multiple disease areas.
- Muscular Dystrophy Association: Major patient advocacy and research funding organization for neuromuscular diseases; comparable as a philanthropic, grantmaking nonprofit that funds academic and translational rare disease research with strong institutional backing.
- Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics: A classic patient-foundation model that funds and accelerates cystic fibrosis drug development; directly comparable to Oxford-Harrington's grantmaking-and-translational-support structure for rare disease therapeutics, but focused on a single disease area.
- Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Rare Disease Network: CZI's rare disease program supports cross-institution collaboration to accelerate diagnosis and therapy development; comparable as a well-funded philanthropic translational research initiative focused on rare diseases.
Emerging players
- Every Cure: Nonprofit focused on repurposing existing drugs for rare and neglected diseases; comparable to Oxford-Harrington in its mission to expand therapeutic options for underserved rare disease populations.
- Bespoke Gene Therapy Consortium (BGTC): Public-private partnership accelerating development of gene therapies for rare diseases; comparable as a multi-stakeholder translational initiative leveraging academic-clinical infrastructure and philanthropic/pharma capital.
Broad incumbents
- National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD): The largest US rare disease advocacy umbrella organization; comparable as an established nonprofit ecosystem player with research grantmaking programs and federal policy influence in the rare disease space.
- Harrington Discovery Institute: Cleveland-based translational drug development institute that is the US anchor partner of Oxford-Harrington; comparable as a sibling organization that supports physician-scientists developing new therapeutics and shares the drug development acceleration model.
- Therapeutics for Rare and Neglected Diseases (TRND) program / NCATS: NIH-funded program that advances preclinical and clinical development of therapeutics for rare and neglected diseases; comparable as a public-sector translational infrastructure organization targeting the same 95% unmet need.
Regional players
- European Organisation for Rare Diseases (EURORDIS): European umbrella organization representing rare disease patient groups and supporting cross-border rare disease research and policy; comparable as a pan-regional rare disease nonprofit infrastructure organization aligned with Oxford-Harrington's European (Oxford) operating base.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre social profiles
Digital presenceOxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre
What does Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre do?
The Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre is a non-profit translational research partnership between the University of Oxford and Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals that provides grant funding, drug development support, and access to core facilities to academic researchers developing therapeutics for rare diseases. Its core offerings include the Rare Disease Scholar Award (up to $100,000/£100,000 per recipient with potential acceleration funding up to $1,000,000), the FA Alliance Innovation Fund, and the Catalyst Fund, all aimed at advancing early-stage rare disease discoveries toward clinical trials.
Is Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre a public or private company?
Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre founded?
Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre was founded in 2020. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre based?
Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre is headquartered in Oxford, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre make money?
One revenue line is on record: philanthropic Donations and Grants.
Who are Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Critical Path Institute, Muscular Dystrophy Association, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Rare Disease Network. Emerging players are Every Cure and Bespoke Gene Therapy Consortium (BGTC). Broad incumbents are National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD), Harrington Discovery Institute and Therapeutics for Rare and Neglected Diseases (TRND) program / NCATS. European Organisation for Rare Diseases (EURORDIS) is listed as a regional player.
Does Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre have an API?
No public API is recorded for Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre.
What industry is Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre in?
Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre's product category is Rare Disease Therapeutics Research. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAIAIAA, Genetic & Genomic Rare Disease Therapeutics, with a secondary code of HLAIAIAN, Rare Pediatric & Congenital Disorder Therapies. Its NAICS code is 541714 and its SIC code is 8731.