Metafora Biosystems, founded in Paris in 2011, sells METAglut1, a blood test for the rare Glut1 deficiency syndrome, and METAflow, cloud software that uses AI to analyse flow cytometry data. Its EIC project aimed to turn METAflow into "the first digital, clinical grade" flow cytometry platform, because manual analysis of such data is slow, complex and hard to scale, according to CORDIS.
The European Innovation Council granted €2,499,579 towards a €3.57 million project from January 2023 to June 2024. The final report says the company built AI clustering and cell recognition tools, security features and a cloud architecture, and that "the solution is ready to apply for a CE-mark". No CE-IVD or FDA clearance for METAflow has been announced. Revenue was €166,000 in 2023, the last year with published accounts. On 23 February 2026 the Paris commercial court opened a safeguard procedure and appointed an administrator, according to the official gazette BODACC.
Company file
- Legal entity
- Metafora Biosystems SAS, SIREN 530 932 672, Paris
- Founded
- March 2011
- Products
- METAglut1 diagnostic test; METAflow cytometry software
- Staff
- 20 to 49 (2022 register data)
- EIC project
- METAflow, 1 Jan 2023 to 30 Jun 2024, closed
- EIC funding
- Blended finance
- Court status
- Safeguard procedure since 23 February 2026
Where Metafora Stands Now
A safeguard procedure in France lets a company that is struggling, but has not stopped paying its debts, reorganise under court protection. The court appointed an administrator to supervise Metafora's management and a creditors' representative. Metafora's last published news, in February 2025, was the renewal of its ISO 13485 quality certification. It has not published accounts for 2024 or 2025, according to Pappers.
"The solution is ready to apply for a CE-mark."
Metafora Biosystems, final report to the EIC, 2024The Technology: Software Instead of Manual Gating
The report describes a two-step analysis: unsupervised algorithms clean the data and cluster cell populations, then supervised machine learning labels cells of interest, measures population proportions and finds rare cells. It claims METAflow will cut analysis time by 80% and could save 40% of costs, without publishing validation data. METAflow was launched for research use in January 2023 for a limited number of licensees. In May 2023 France's health authority HAS recommended coverage of the separate METAglut1 test.
What the EIC Project Promised, and What CORDIS Shows
The project promised to bring a clinical-grade platform to market, with research, FDA-compliant and CE-IVD versions sold as software subscriptions. The report shows the software features and compliance work were done. The clinical-grade version needed regulatory clearance, and none has been announced. CORDIS lists the project as closed.
- AI analysis featuresDeliveredPer final report.
- Compliance and cloud scalingDeliveredPer final report.
- CE-IVD or FDA clearanceNot announced"Ready to apply" only.
- Commercial scaleNot reached€166k revenue, 2023.
The Money
Metafora's revenue was €88,700 in 2020, €70,000 in 2021, €115,000 in 2022 and €166,000 in 2023. It lost €2.4 million in 2022 and €2.05 million in 2023. Cash fell from €4.37 million at the end of 2021 to €1 million at the end of 2023, and equity from €5.28 million to €2.74 million. The €2.5 million EIC grant was more than five times its revenue for those four years combined.
What Cannot Be Checked
Questions for the EIC
Whether the EIC Fund invested, whether a CE application was filed, how many METAflow licences were sold and what the safeguard plan proposes are not public.
Why Europe Should Care
The EIC paid 70% of a project to make a French AI diagnostic tool fit for hospitals. The development work was done, but the clearance and sales that would have made it matter did not follow before the company sought court protection.
What the project promised
The first digital, clinical-grade flow cytometry platform, brought to market.
What the record shows
Software ready to apply for CE marking, €166,000 in revenue and a court safeguard procedure in 2026.
The Verdict
Built, not cleared, not sold
Metafora spent the EIC grant on the software it promised, then stopped short of the clearance that clinical sales require. Revenue never took off, and the company is now reorganising under court protection.
Metafora Biosystems, its administrator and the EIC have not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records and published statements, linked throughout.
