SIMFO SPEZIELLE IMMUNOLOGIE FORSCHUNG UND ENTWICKLUNG GMBH

Their core work

SIMFO is a German biotech SME whose core asset is the MAINTRAC-AUTO CTC-analyser — a proprietary liquid biopsy platform that detects and quantifies Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs) in blood as a non-invasive alternative to tissue biopsy for cancer monitoring. Their EU-funded work began with automating and validating this assay to make it more scalable for clinical use. They subsequently extended into the clinical oncology domain by joining a Marie Skłodowska-Curie training network focused on active cancer surveillance — specifically the "Watch & Wait" approach for rectal cancer patients who respond well to chemoradiation and may avoid surgery. SIMFO occupies a niche at the intersection of diagnostic tool development and evidence-based clinical monitoring protocols.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

SIMFO's early H2020 activity (2016) was purely technology-facing: they led a feasibility project to automate their own liquid biopsy analyser, a product-development exercise aimed at commercial scale-up. By 2019 they had pivoted toward clinical research, joining a five-year MSCA training network where the emphasis shifted to surveillance protocols, imaging, and evidence generation around non-surgical cancer management. The trajectory is clear: from instrument maker to clinical research partner, with rectal cancer as a specific application focus that did not appear in their earlier work.

SIMFO is moving up the clinical value chain — from developing and validating a diagnostic tool toward generating clinical evidence for non-surgical cancer monitoring, positioning them as a potential partner in oncology trials and diagnostic pathway studies.

How they like to work

SIMFO has played both roles in the EU ecosystem: they led a small, focused SME Phase 1 project (MAINTRAC-Auto) and later joined a large European training network (CAST) as a specialist contributor. In CAST, their 13 consortium partners across 7 countries suggest a broad academic and clinical network rather than a closed circle of repeat collaborators. They are best characterised as a niche technology provider that brings a proprietary diagnostic platform into consortia, rather than a research institute that builds and leads large collaborative structures.

SIMFO has engaged with 13 distinct consortium partners across 7 countries, almost entirely through their five-year participation in the CAST training network. Their network is European in scope and likely concentrated in academic oncology and clinical research institutions.

What sets them apart

SIMFO's key differentiator is that they own a named, validated diagnostic product — the MAINTRAC-AUTO CTC-analyser — rather than offering generic research services. Very few SMEs in the H2020 health space enter consortia as the technology provider with a proprietary platform already in hand. Their combination of a liquid biopsy asset and participation in a clinical evidence network makes them an unusual bridge between diagnostics industry and academic oncology research.

Highlights from their portfolio

• CAST
  Their largest and most complex engagement — a five-year Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network on Watch & Wait cancer monitoring that brought SIMFO into a 13-partner European clinical research consortium and generated the bulk of their H2020 funding (€252,788).
• MAINTRAC-Auto
  The only project where SIMFO acted as coordinator, using SME Phase 1 funding to automate and validate their own proprietary liquid biopsy assay — evidence that they hold genuine IP rather than operating purely as a research subcontractor.