AllergyExplorer · Project

Automated Allergy Test Covering All Allergens in One Run, Ready to Ship

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Imagine going to the doctor with allergy symptoms, but instead of testing you for just a handful of suspected triggers, they run a single blood test that checks nearly every known allergen on the planet at once. Right now, doctors have to guess which allergens to test — and nearly half the time they get it wrong. An Austrian company built an automated lab instrument that does the complete screening in one go, already CE-marked and shipping to European labs. They're breaking a market that one US company has dominated for decades.

By the numbers

140 Bn Euro

Annual European public health spending on allergies that could be reduced with adequate treatment

~100%

Coverage of globally relevant allergens in a single test

~50%

Estimated share of allergy patients currently diagnosed insufficiently

25%

Share of population affected by allergies and asthma

700 million USD

Global in-vitro allergy diagnostics market annual revenues (2016)

2,475,375 EUR

EU contribution to the project

The business problem

What needed solving

Allergy diagnosis today is essentially a guessing game — doctors must pre-select just a few allergens to test, and independent experts estimate that almost half of patients end up with an insufficient diagnosis. This leads to wrong treatments, reduced quality of life, and over 140 billion Euro in avoidable annual healthcare spending across Europe. The market is locked in by a single US supplier with no real competition.

The solution

What was built

A fully automated, CE-marked laboratory instrument that tests a patient's blood against close to 100% of globally relevant allergens in a single run, delivering a complete molecular-level immunological profile. The company was already selling the manual version; this project automated it for high-throughput clinical laboratories.

Audience

Who needs this

High-volume clinical reference laboratories looking to upgrade allergy testing capacityHospital laboratory directors seeking to improve diagnostic accuracy for allergy patientsAllergen immunotherapy companies needing precise molecular allergen profiling for patient selectionHealth insurers and public health agencies aiming to reduce allergy-related treatment costsLaboratory equipment distributors looking for differentiated IVD products to challenge the US monopoly

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Clinical diagnostics laboratories

enterprise

Target: Large hospital and commercial reference laboratories running high-volume allergy testing

If you are a clinical lab processing hundreds of allergy samples daily and struggling with the trade-off between testing cost and diagnostic completeness — this project delivered a CE-marked automated instrument that screens close to 100% of globally relevant allergens in a single test. It plugs into high-throughput routine workflows, replacing the need to pre-select a handful of allergens per patient. The global in-vitro allergy diagnostics market was approximately 700 million USD in 2016 and growing at near double-digit rates.

Pharmaceutical and immunotherapy companies

mid-size

Target: Allergen immunotherapy manufacturers and clinical trial organizations

If you are an immunotherapy company needing precise molecular-level allergen profiles to match patients to the right treatment — this project built an automated test that delivers complete immunological profiles with enhanced risk assessment. It improves patient selection for immunotherapy, potentially increasing treatment success rates. The WHO has declared allergy a major health problem of the 21st century, affecting at least a quarter of the population.

Health insurance and public health

enterprise

Target: Health insurers and national health systems managing allergy-related costs

If you are a health insurer or public health authority dealing with rising allergy treatment costs — this project addresses a root cause: insufficient diagnosis. Independent experts estimate almost half of allergy patients are diagnosed insufficiently, contributing to over 140 billion Euro in annual public health spending across Europe. A complete diagnostic profile from a single automated test means better-targeted treatment and lower downstream costs.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What does the automated allergy test cost compared to current solutions?

The project was designed to eliminate the trade-off between cost and quality in allergy diagnosis. By covering close to 100% of globally relevant allergens in a single test run, it replaces the need for multiple sequential tests. Specific per-test pricing is not disclosed in the project data, but the value proposition centers on doing one comprehensive test instead of many partial ones.

Is this ready for large-scale clinical deployment?

Yes. The project delivered a CE-marked instrument ready to ship to customers. The company was already selling manual (non-automated) test systems across Europe before this project. The automation developed here targets high-throughput clinical routine laboratories, multiplying the potential customer base.

What is the IP and licensing situation?

The technology is owned by MacroArray Diagnostics GmbH, an Austrian SME that was the sole consortium partner. The product is registered as an in-vitro diagnostics device in Europe with CE marking. Based on available project data, licensing terms would need to be discussed directly with the company.

What regulatory approvals does this have?

The instrument carries CE marking for in-vitro diagnostics in Europe, as confirmed by the project deliverables. This means it meets EU regulatory requirements for clinical laboratory use. Additional approvals for markets outside Europe (e.g., FDA for the US) are not mentioned in the project data.

How does this compare to existing allergy tests on the market?

The current market is dominated by a single US supplier, creating a de-facto monopoly. Traditional tests force doctors to pre-select very few allergens, leading to insufficient diagnosis in almost half of patients. This solution tests close to 100% of globally relevant allergens at the molecular level in one run — a fundamentally different approach.

What is the market opportunity?

The global in-vitro allergy diagnostics market was approximately 700 million USD in annual revenues in 2016, growing at almost double-digit rates. Allergies and asthma affect at least a quarter of the population. The project specifically aims to break the current de-facto monopoly of a single US supplier in this market.

How quickly can a lab integrate this system?

The instrument was designed for highly automated clinical routine labs, meaning it fits existing high-throughput workflows. The CE-marked instrument is ready to ship to customers. Based on available project data, specific installation timelines are not disclosed but the product is commercially available.

Consortium

Who built it

This is a single-company project: MacroArray Diagnostics GmbH, an Austrian SME that received the full EUR 2,475,375 under the SME Instrument Phase 2 — a highly competitive EU funding scheme reserved for market-ready innovations with strong growth potential. The 100% industry consortium with zero academic partners signals this is a commercial scale-up, not a research exercise. The company already had a validated manual product on the market and used this funding to automate it for high-volume clinical labs. For a potential business partner or customer, this means you are dealing with a focused product company, not a research consortium that might never commercialize.

How to reach the team

MacroArray Diagnostics GmbH (Vienna, Austria) — contact through their website or SciTransfer can facilitate an introduction

Order a report on this consortium

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to evaluate this allergy diagnostic technology for your lab or portfolio? SciTransfer can arrange a direct briefing with the team behind AllergyExplorer.

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