Max-Planck-Zentrum für Physik und Medizin

Name

Max-Planck-Zentrum für Physik und Medizin

Legal name

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e.V.

Website

https://mpzpm.mpg.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Biomedical Research Services

NAICS

Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Biomedical Sciences & Medical Research Institutes (University-Based) (EDAHAGAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Microscopy, Imaging & Flow Cytometry Instruments (HLAGAIAE)

Keywords

• Biomedical research
• Mechanobiology research
• Cell physics research
• Immunophysics research
• Interdisciplinary science

Headquarters

HQ city

Erlangen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Public Research Funding: As a Max Planck Society research center, MPZPM receives institutional funding from German federal and state governments through the Max Planck Society (MPG). Additional funding comes from competitive research grants including ERC grants, DFG Emmy Noether grants, and other public funding sources.
2. Research Collaboration and Services: Core facilities provide research services and collaboration opportunities with industry partners, universities, and clinical institutions. Revenue may come from service agreements and collaborative research projects.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Max-Planck-Zentrum für Physik und Medizin is an interdisciplinary research center that conducts fundamental research at the intersection of physics and medicine. Its programs focus on cell physics, neuronal mechanics, and immunophysics, and it operates shared Core Facilities (Microscopy, Lab-on-a-Chip, In-Vivo Model Systems) to support mechanobiology and quantitative biomedical investigation.

Product overview

Max-Planck-Zentrum für Physik und Medizin (MPZPM) is an interdisciplinary research center, not a commercial product company. It does not offer products or services in the commercial sense. The institution conducts fundamental research at the interface of physics and medicine, organized around five permanent research divisions (Franze on neuronal mechanics, Guck on cell physics, Ladoux on tissue mechanobiology, Sandoghdar on nano-optics, Zaburdaev on immunophysics) and five independent research groups. Research is supported by three core facilities: Core Facility Microscopy (with Zeiss confocal and Nikon Spinning Disk systems), Core Facility In-vivo Model Systems (with zebrafish, African clawed frog, and fancy mouse models), and Core Facility Lab-on-a-Chip (with microfabrication equipment).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• ERC Synergy Grant awarded to UNFOLD research project for brain development research
• +5 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light (MPL)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary host institution and founding partner of MPZPM. MPL provides the physical infrastructure, administrative support, and research leadership including divisions led by Jochen Guck and Vahid Sandoghdar. The MPZPM building is located adjacent to MPL.
• Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner providing academic integration, teaching programs, and research collaboration. FAU's Chair of Mathematics in Life Sciences is led by Prof. Vasily Zaburdaev who holds a dual affiliation with MPZPM.
• Universitätsklinikum Erlangen (UKER)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClinical partner providing medical research integration and translation of physics-based insights into clinical applications. Essential for bridging fundamental research with medical practice.
• FLAMIN-GO ConsortiumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean project collaboration focused on developing organ-on-chip solutions for personalized rheumatoid arthritis care. MPZPM contributes lab-on-a-chip expertise to this multi-partner initiative.
• Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology (MPIIB)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on nucleocytoplasmic density homeostasis research published in Nature Communications 2025. Joint research combining ODT imaging capabilities with MPIIB's biological expertise.
• Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on transcription factory research combining advanced light microscopy developed at KIT with computational modeling at MPZPM. Published in Molecular Systems Biology.
• University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational research collaboration on transcription factory formation and phase separation in living cells.
• Max Planck Institute for Molecular GeneticsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration partner in international research on nucleocytoplasmic density homeostasis across eukaryotes.
• Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New YorkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational collaboration partner in nucleocytoplasmic density research spanning yeast to human cells.
• Max Planck Institute for Cell Biology and GeneticsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration partner in the Nature Communications study on conserved nucleocytoplasmic density across eukaryotes.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL): Intergovernmental life-sciences research organisation operating across multiple sites with deep imaging, structural biology, and tissue mechanobiology programmes. Larger, more established incumbent in the same interdisciplinary life-science space.
• Francis Crick Institute: Large UK biomedical research institute with multiple research groups covering cell biology, biophysics, and neuroscience. Comparable in scale and the model of shared core facilities plus group-led research, though broader in scope.
• Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard: US institute combining biology, chemistry, and computational science at scale. Overlaps with MPZPM in biophysics, single-cell biology, and tool/platform development, but operates with a substantially larger budget and portfolio.
• Wellcome Sanger Institute: Large-scale genomics and cellular biology research institute within the Wellcome genome campus. Comparable model of publicly funded basic research with shared facilities and a strong translational lens, though focused on genomics rather than mechanobiology.
• MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB): Cambridge (UK) MRC research institute with a long track record in structural biology, cellular biophysics, and method development. Comparable in basic-research orientation and in producing enabling technologies adopted across biomedicine.

Direct peers

• Janelia Research Campus (HHMI): HHMI's interdisciplinary research campus in Virginia is built around advanced imaging, tool development, and group-led basic research in cellular biophysics. Comparable in mission (physics/biology convergence, shared core facilities, no teaching load) and in scientific scope to MPZPM.
• Allen Institute for Cell Science: Seattle-based non-profit research organisation focused on cell biology, live-cell imaging, and computational modelling of cellular structure. Comparable use of high-end microscopy pipelines and AI-assisted analysis to MPZPM's Microscopy core.
• Max Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG): Dresden-based MPI institute focused on cell biology, biophysics, and quantitative microscopy with extensive core-facility infrastructure. Operates a similar model of permanent groups plus independent researchers and shares the MPG funding architecture.
• Max Planck Institute of Biophysics: Frankfurt-based Max Planck sister institute with an overlapping research portfolio in cellular and molecular biophysics, including structural biology and advanced imaging. Most direct functional peer to MPZPM within the MPG system.
• Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology (MPIIB): Berlin-based MPI institute studying infection biology and immunology. An active MPZPM collaboration partner (joint Nature Communications 2025 paper) with directly overlapping immunological and vascular-infection research themes.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCFA-P-cyYkgjWu7aWuKkCyA
• Facebookfacebook.com/PhysikDesLichts
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/max-planck-institute-for-the-science-of-light
• Instagraminstagram.com/physik_des_lichts

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Max-Planck-Zentrum für Physik und Medizin