SAGA DIAGNOSTICS AB

Their core work

SAGA DIAGNOSTICS AB is a Swedish biotech SME based in Lund working at the intersection of cancer diagnostics and cancer immunotherapy. Their early work developed extended analysis methods for circulating tumor DNA — cancer-derived DNA fragments detectable in a patient's blood — to improve non-invasive cancer monitoring and treatment guidance. They have since contributed to the clinical development of a therapeutic mRNA cancer vaccine targeting HPV-driven cancers of the cervix, head, and neck, working within a Phase 1/2a trial framework using the TriMix adjuvant platform. This progression from detection technology to active treatment positions them as a rare SME with direct experience across both the diagnostic and therapeutic ends of oncology.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

SAGA DIAGNOSTICS entered H2020 in 2017 as a diagnostics company, coordinating a feasibility study on circulating tumor DNA analysis — a liquid biopsy approach for tracking cancer in real time. By 2021 their focus had shifted substantially toward therapeutic intervention: their TIGER participation is centered on mRNA vaccine platforms, cancer immunology, and HPV antigen targeting, with no direct diagnostics component visible. The shift from detecting cancer to treating it through immune activation represents a meaningful strategic pivot, though whether they retained the ctDNA work in parallel cannot be confirmed from the available project data alone.

SAGA DIAGNOSTICS is moving toward clinical-stage cancer immunotherapy, specifically mRNA-based therapeutic vaccines for HPV-driven tumors — making them a relevant partner for organizations working on cancer vaccine development, clinical trial infrastructure, or HPV oncology programs.

How they like to work

SAGA DIAGNOSTICS has taken both a coordinator role (leading the EXACT-dna SME feasibility study) and a participant role (joining the larger TIGER research consortium), showing they can adapt to either position depending on project size and scope. Their total network of 7 partners across just 2 countries reflects a tight, selective approach to collaboration rather than broad consortium building. For a potential partner, this suggests a company that engages deeply with a small number of close partners rather than spreading thinly across large multi-partner consortia.

SAGA DIAGNOSTICS has worked with 7 unique consortium partners across 2 countries over their two H2020 projects, indicating a narrow but focused collaborative network. Their geographic reach appears concentrated in Northern/Western Europe, consistent with their Lund base in the Medicon Valley life science cluster.

What sets them apart

SAGA DIAGNOSTICS is one of very few SMEs with documented H2020 experience spanning both liquid biopsy diagnostics and therapeutic cancer vaccine development — two typically separate fields. Their location in Lund places them within Medicon Valley, one of Europe's most concentrated life science corridors, giving them access to academic and industrial oncology networks that larger companies further from this cluster lack. Their involvement in a Phase 1/2a clinical trial as a small company signals clinical-stage credibility that most early-stage SMEs cannot claim.

Highlights from their portfolio

• TIGER
  The largest project by funding (EUR 186,188) and the most clinically advanced, covering Phase 1/2a trials of a TriMix-adjuvanted mRNA therapeutic vaccine across three HPV cancer indications — a high-stakes, high-visibility program in a therapeutically active field.
• EXACT-dna
  Their only coordinator role and the project that established their identity as a cancer diagnostics innovator, focused on extending circulating tumor DNA analysis beyond standard clinical use.