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EU funding (€2,498,528): Lighting up microbiology: a real-time AI and biophotonics platform for rapid microbial testing Hor 1 Oct 2026 EU Research and Innovation programme "Horizon"
Overview
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Lighting up microbiology: a real-time AI and biophotonics platform for rapid microbial testing
Microbiological quality control is critical across pharmaceuticals, food, beverages, and cosmetics, ensuring both patient safety and compliance with stringent regulatory standards. Traditional culture-based methods, essential for bioburden testing, are reliable and regulatory-accepted, but they are slow, manual, and resource-intensive. With results taking up to several days, these methods delay product release, increase manufacturing costs, and limit the agility required in modern supply chains. Alternative Rapid Microbial Methods promise shorter timelines but are impeded by limited sensitivity, high operational costs, and incomplete regulatory acceptance, preventing widespread adoption. Recalls linked to contamination are rising worldwide, costing companies billions, while breaking consumer trust. Spore.Bio addresses these challenges with an innovative real-time microbial detection platform that brings microbiology into the 21st century. By combining multimodal spectral imaging with machine learning, our technology delivers rapid and accurate detection of microbial contamination, directly on the factory floor. It reduces time-to-result from days to minutes, allowing manufacturers to detect contamination earlier, release products faster, and dramatically reduce the risks of recalls or production downtime. Through the EICA project, Spore.Bio will advance its system from validated pilots into large-scale industrial deployment, with a primary focus on pharmaceutical bioburden and sterility testing. The project will industrialise consumable production, complete Good Manufacturing Practice adaptation, and conduct regulatory validation under real operational conditions. By delivering a transformative alternative to traditional microbiological quality control, Spore.Bio aims to establish a new industry standard: accelerating product release, ensuring compliance, and strengthening global supply chains - across industries where safety, speed, and trust cannot be compromised.
Funded Companies:
| Company name | Funding amount |
| Spore Biotechnologies | €2,498,528 |
Source: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101315111
The filing refers to a past date, and does not necessarily reflect the current state. The latest known state is available on the following page: Spore Biotechnologies SAS, Boulogne-Billancourt, France.