Actome and the EIC Accelerator: Single-Cell Proteomics Cut Short
Actome, which grew out of research at the University of Freiburg, developed PICO, a method that converts proteins and their interactions into DNA signals that can be counted by digital PCR. Its EIC project, PICO-NGS, promised to measure proteins, protein-protein interactions and post-translational modifications "simultaneously (>50 targets)" in single cells with next-generation sequencing, to "disrupt the global proteomics market", according to CORDIS.
The European Innovation Council signed a grant of €2,498,125 towards a €3.57 million project running from August 2023 to July 2025. The project was terminated on 8 May 2025. The final report says it "was prematurely terminated due to strategic shifts and resource constraints", after Actome failed to find a manufacturer for the system it needed and pivoted to the "more commercially promising" market for extracellular vesicles. On 2 July 2025 the Freiburg local court appointed a provisional insolvency administrator for Actome GmbH (case 8 IN 433/25), and the register recorded the company in liquidation on 4 September 2025, according to North Data.
Company file
- Legal entity
- Actome GmbH, Freiburg, in liquidation
- Insolvency case
- 8 IN 433/25, Freiburg local court
- Successor brand owner
- PICO BioScience GmbH, HRB 726744, formerly BFX Holding GmbH
- Technology
- PICO (Protein Interaction Coupling), digital PCR
- Other public funding
- €504,267 nanodiag BW grant (2023)
- EIC project
- PICO-NGS, 1 Aug 2023, terminated 8 May 2025
- EIC funding
- Blended finance
Where Actome Stands Now
Actome's website now carries PICO BioScience's pages, which describe Actome as a PICO BioScience brand and sell PICO kits, antibody labelling services and PIQuant software, with extracellular vesicle analysis as its lead application. PICO BioScience's history page tells the story as one company: "We officially launched as Actome GmbH", and "Today, we are officially PICO BioScience". On the register, PICO BioScience GmbH is a separate company, registered in 2022 as BFX Holding GmbH and renamed in October 2025, with Tobias Gross as managing director, according to North Data. Actome GmbH remains in liquidation. The link between Actome and PICO BioScience, including who holds the brand and patents, is not public.
The record
Single-cell proteomics project ended early, then insolvency
The EIC project was terminated in May 2025 after Actome shifted towards extracellular vesicles. Actome GmbH entered insolvency proceedings in July 2025, and the Actome brand and PICO technology are now marketed by PICO BioScience GmbH, a separate company.
- Feb 2017Actome GmbH registeredFreiburg
- Oct 2022EIC Accelerator cut-offPICO-NGSblended finance
- Aug 2023EIC project starts€3.57M project€2.50M grant
- 8 May 2025EIC project terminatedStrategic shift and resource constraints
- 2 Jul 2025Provisional administratorFreiburg court, 8 IN 433/25
- 4 Sep 2025LiquidationEntered in the commercial register
- Oct 2025PICO BioScience GmbHBFX Holding renamed; Tobias Gross managing director
CORDIS, North Data and PICO BioScience.
"While the project was prematurely terminated due to strategic shifts and resource constraints, it achieved several significant scientific and technical milestones."
Actome, final report to the EICThe Technology: Counting Proteins as DNA
PICO labels antibodies with DNA tags so that proteins, and pairs of interacting proteins, show up as countable DNA signals in digital PCR. The EIC project was to push this to single cells and sequencing readouts. Partway through, Actome concluded that biologically relevant interactions can involve as few as 10 molecules per cell and raised its sensitivity target, which meant moving from 1 million to 5 billion reaction compartments per assay, the report says.
The problem
Compartments per assay: built versus needed
Actome built 1-million-compartment devices. Its revised sensitivity target of 10 molecules per cell required 5 billion compartments, and no third-party manufacturer could be found for that system.
CORDIS project 190140802, final report. Values in millions.
What the EIC Project Promised, and What CORDIS Shows
The EIC project
The EU paid 70% of a €3.6M project
The project was planned for August 2023 to July 2025 and terminated on 8 May 2025. The amounts are the signed budget; CORDIS does not show how much was paid out.
CORDIS project 190140802. Values in € millions.
The report lists real progress: 41 of 50 target markers validated across 9 of 10 pathways, 1-million-compartment prototypes built on QIAGEN's QIAcuity and Stilla systems, and a new cartridge for the larger system. But the cartridge was hard to produce at scale and not user-friendly enough for customers, no outside manufacturer would take on the 5-billion-compartment device, and the single-cell product the EIC funded was not brought to market. CORDIS does not state how much of the grant was paid before termination.
The results
Molecular markers validated against the target
Actome validated 41 of the 50 planned markers across 9 of 10 biological pathways before the project was stopped.
CORDIS project 190140802, final report.
- Antibody panelPartial41 of 50 markers.
- NGS readout prototypesPartial1M compartments only.
- Single-cell productMissedProject terminated.
- Company survivalMissedInsolvent, July 2025.
The Money
Besides the EIC grant, Actome received €504,267 from Germany's nanodiag BW cluster programme in 2023, North Data lists. PICO BioScience, under its old name BFX Holding, received two further federal research grants in 2023 worth €702,173 together. Actome's revenue and the size of its insolvency estate are not public, nor is whether the EIC Fund invested under the blended award.
What Cannot Be Checked
Questions for the EIC
How much of the €2.5 million was paid out, whether any was recovered after termination, whether the EIC Fund had invested, and who now holds Actome's patents and brand are not public.
Why Europe Should Care
Single-cell proteomics is a growing research tools market, and Actome's technology came out of a German university. The EIC backed an ambitious single-cell goal that the company itself dropped for a nearer market. The technology survives commercially, but under a different legal entity, and the public record does not show how the brand, patents and staff passed to it.
What the project promised
Simultaneous measurement of more than 50 proteins, interactions and modifications in single cells with sequencing readout.
What the record shows
Validated markers and prototypes, an early termination, a pivot to vesicles, and insolvency two months later.
The Verdict
Terminated, pivoted, insolvent
The EIC project did not reach its goal and the funded company did not survive. What remains is a product line sold under the PICO BioScience name; the link between that company and Actome is not public.
Actome, PICO BioScience and the EIC have not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records and published statements, linked throughout.
Industry
HealthLife science tools
- Focus
- Reagents and consumables
- Technologies
- PCR
- Molecular biomarkers
- Keywords
- Single-cell analysis
- Protein-protein interactions
- Digital PCR
- Extracellular vesicles
- Proteomics