Oxford University Clinical Research Unit

What Oxford University Clinical Research Unit does

Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU) is a large-scale clinical and public health research unit founded in 1991 in Ho Chi Minh City and affiliated with the University of Oxford's Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health. It operates four site offices across Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi), Indonesia, and Nepal, with 501-1000 employees working on infectious and emerging diseases including tuberculosis (notably tuberculous meningitis), malaria, dengue, antimicrobial resistance, and zoonoses. OUCRU delivers research through embedded partnerships with national hospitals and reference laboratories — Hospital for Tropical Diseases in HCMC, National Hospital of Tropical Diseases and National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology in Hanoi, National Academy of Medical Sciences in Nepal, and Universitas Indonesia — supported by whole genome sequencing capacity, microbiology laboratories (Hanoi lab holds ISO 15189 accreditation), and surveillance infrastructure including ACORN (A Clinically-Oriented Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Network) and DART (a machine learning-based dengue forecasting system).

The unit is a non-profit research organization funded primarily through competitive research grants from Wellcome Trust, UK government mechanisms (Fleming Fund, Newton Fund, FCDO), pharmaceutical companies (Pfizer, GSK, TB Alliance), and international research councils (JPIAMR). It generates no commercial product revenue and operates a sales-led grant pursuit motion. OUCRU has produced over 100 completed clinical trials and 2,000+ peer-reviewed publications, and runs a portfolio of training programmes including a University of Oxford-affiliated PhD programme (100+ graduates), internships, and the MORU-OUCRU Discovery Research Academy (MODRA). Strategic customers are ministries of health and host institutions in Vietnam, Indonesia, and Nepal; strategic funders and industry partners include Wellcome, the University of Oxford, WHO, and ASEAN-UK Health Security Partnership consortium led by FHI 360. Leadership comprises Professor Kevin Baird (Interim Programme Director), Professor Lê Văn Tấn (Interim Director HCMC, appointed June 2026), Professor Rogier van Doorn (Director Hanoi), Associate Professor Abhilasha Karkey (Director Nepal), and Associate Professor Raph Hamers (Interim Director Indonesia).

Name

Oxford University Clinical Research Unit

Legal name

Oxford University Clinical Research Unit

Website

https://oucru.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Oxford University Clinical Research Unit is a University of Oxford-affiliated non-profit clinical research unit conducting infectious disease research and surveillance across Vietnam, Indonesia, and Nepal, funded primarily by Wellcome Trust and UK government grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Clinical Research Services

NAICS

Medical Laboratories (621511), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories (6215)

SIC

Services-Medical Laboratories (8071), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Clinical Research & Trial Central Laboratories (HLAFAMAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Disease-Specific Reference Laboratory Networks (e.g., TB, HIV, Influenza) (HLAJAIAD), Health & Biomedical Research Universities (Academic Medical Center–Affiliated) (EDAHABAC), Disease-Specific Global Initiatives (HIV/TB/Malaria/NTDs) (HLAJAOAE)

Keywords

• Infectious disease research
• Clinical trials
• Antimicrobial resistance surveillance
• Tropical medicine research
• Global health research

Headquarters

HQ city

Ho Chi Minh City

HQ country

Vietnam

HQ region

Asia

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Research Grants and Funding: OUCRU operates as a non-profit clinical research unit primarily funded through competitive research grants from Wellcome Trust, UK government (Fleming Fund, Newton Fund, FCDO), pharmaceutical companies (Pfizer, GSK, TB Alliance), and international research councils. The unit does not generate commercial revenue.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Oxford University Clinical Research Unit is a non-profit clinical and public health research unit that designs and conducts clinical trials, disease surveillance studies, and laboratory research on infectious and emerging diseases (tuberculosis, malaria, dengue, antimicrobial resistance, zoonoses) across Vietnam, Indonesia, and Nepal. It also delivers research training programmes (PhD, MODRA academy, internships) and operates surveillance platforms such as ACORN and forecasting tools such as DART for regional health authorities.

Product overview

Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU) is a clinical and public health research organization rather than a commercial product company. Its offerings consist of research programmes, training initiatives, and surveillance tools focused on infectious diseases in Southeast Asia. Core offerings include MODRA (research training academy), PhD and internship programmes, DART (dengue forecasting tool), and ACORN (AMR surveillance network). The research portfolio spans tuberculosis, malaria, dengue, antimicrobial resistance, zoonoses, and emerging infections across Vietnam, Indonesia, and Nepal.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 100+ clinical trials completed
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

22 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• ASEAN-UK Health Security PartnershipcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 July 2026Regional health security partnership led by FHI 360 UK with OUCRU contributing the SOAP-PEx project on AMR and Streptococcus suis. Launched during Princess Anne's visit to MORU in Bangkok.
• Universitas IndonesiaflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017OUCRU Indonesia established Universities of Indonesia and Oxford Clinical Research Laboratory (IOCRL) embedded in Faculty of Medicine to strengthen local research capabilities.
• University of OxfordflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerOUCRU is part of the Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health at the University of Oxford. The university provides academic oversight, research leadership, and connection to Oxford's global network of tropical medicine research.
• GSKcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry collaborator on tuberculous meningitis research, providing experimental drug ganfeborol for evaluation in the Wellcome-funded TBM research programme.
• TB AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry collaborator providing experimental drugs telacebec and TBAJ-876 for evaluation in TBM research programme.
• CIDRI-AfricacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborating institution at University of Cape Town, South Africa, involved in human experimental medicine studies for TBM research.
• Medicines Development for Global HealthminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry collaborator on TBM research programme.
• BioVersysminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry collaborator on TBM research programme.
• Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerClosely affiliated Oxford research unit in Thailand. OUCRU collaborates with MORU on MODRA training programme and shares research infrastructure.
• Hospital for Tropical Diseases (HTD), Ho Chi Minh CityflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost institution for OUCRU HCMC since 1991. HTD is the referral hospital for infectious diseases for all of southern Vietnam.
• National Hospital of Tropical Diseases (NHTD), VietnamflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost institution for OUCRU Hanoi since 2006. OUCRU shares microbiology laboratory with NHTD including whole genome sequencing capacity.
• National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE), VietnamcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost institution for OUCRU Hanoi alongside NHTD. Major public health institute and national agency for disease control under Ministry of Health.
• VINARES NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational surveillance network for AMR established with OUCRU support, recognized by Ministry of Health Vietnam in 2016.
• National Academy of Medical Sciences, NepalflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerOUCRU Nepal works closely with NAMS in Kathmandu on enteric fever, dengue, and AMR research.
• Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine, VietnamcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in SOAP-PEx project and various zoonoses research collaborations.
• Lao-Oxford-Mahosot Hospital-Wellcome Trust Research Unit (LOMWRU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborator in SOAP-PEx project on Streptococcus suis research in Laos.
• Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department (LBVD), MyanmarcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborator in SOAP-PEx project on zoonotic disease research in Myanmar.
• FHI 360 UKcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLead organization for ASEAN-UK Health Security Partnership Programme.
• World Health Organization (WHO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOUCRU researchers contributed to WHO research priorities for AMR. OUCRU involvement in WHO Coronavirus Network and Expert Working Group on Enteric Fever.
• ADVANCE-ID NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational network for antimicrobial resistance research that OUCRU Hanoi participates in.
• Children's Hospital 2, Ho Chi Minh CitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborator on pneumococcal infection research workshop and CHANCES project.
• Fleming Fund Technical Advisory GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOUCRU Nepal Director Abhilasha Karkey sits on this advisory group for AMR surveillance.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Wellcome Sanger Institute: Wellcome-funded genomics institute with comparable pathogen-genomics capability used in AMR surveillance. Indirect peer and shared funder ecosystem; complements OUCRU's whole-genome-sequencing work.
• TB Alliance: Product-development partnership advancing new TB regimens. Indirect peer/funder — supplies experimental TB drug candidates (telacebec, TBAJ-876) to OUCRU's TBM Discovery Award programme and shares TB research objectives.

Regional players

• Institut Pasteur du Cambodge: Cambodia-based Pasteur Institute research centre conducting infectious-disease research and surveillance in the same Mekong region as OUCRU, with overlapping focus on AMR, dengue, and emerging pathogens.
• Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology (BRIN): Indonesian molecular biology and pathogen genomics research institute. Operates in one of OUCRU's host countries with comparable focus on infectious-disease genomics, AMR, and tropical pathogens.

Direct peers

• Lao-Oxford-Mahosot Hospital-Wellcome Trust Research Unit (LOMWRU): Oxford-affiliated clinical research unit in Laos embedded in Mahosot Hospital. Directly comparable peer: same institutional lineage, similar grant-funded model, hosts collaborative research (e.g., SOAP-PEx) with OUCRU.
• CIDRI-Africa: Wellcome-funded clinical infectious-disease research group at University of Cape Town. Directly comparable on the new £5M TBM Discovery Award and on AMR/translational research, sharing investigators and Oxford linkage with OUCRU.
• Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU): Sister Oxford-affiliated tropical medicine research unit based in Bangkok, Thailand. Most directly comparable peer: jointly runs MODRA with OUCRU and shares governance, funder relationships, and research scope across infectious diseases in Southeast Asia.

Emerging players

• FIND (Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics): Global non-profit driving diagnostic innovation for infectious diseases. Comparable as a peer global-health organisation working on AMR, TB, and dengue diagnostics with similar funder mix (Wellcome, UK government).
• Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health (NUS): Singapore-based academic public-health school with active infectious-disease research programmes in the region. Comparable as a regional academic public-health research entity that overlaps with OUCRU on outbreak response and AMR.

Broad incumbents

• Institut Pasteur: Global infectious-disease research network with 30+ institutes worldwide. A broader incumbent comparable to OUCRU on surveillance, reference-lab functions, and tropical-medicine research portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@oucru_programme
• Facebookfacebook.com/OUCRUVN
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/oucru

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Oxford University Clinical Research Unit