ARXUM and the EIC Accelerator: Lab Control, Then an Administrator
Pharmaceutical quality control labs must prove to regulators that their test data have not been altered, a requirement known as data integrity under Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP). ARXUM, a software company in Kaiserslautern, built B-LOCS, a system that records in real time every event on the files of laboratory software on a blockchain, so any change to raw data leaves a trace.
The European Innovation Council granted €1,538,250 towards a €2.27 million project that ran from July 2022 to June 2024. In January 2024, before the project ended, a provisional insolvency administrator was appointed for ARXUM, and in April 2024 the company entered liquidation, according to German register data compiled by North Data. Its former domain, arxum.com, now hosts an unrelated trading blog.
Company file
- Legal entity
- ARXUM GmbH i. L., HRB 32736, Amtsgericht Kaiserslautern
- Registered name
- Since June 2019, renamed from a shelf company
- Business
- Blockchain software for manufacturing companies
- Product
- B-LOCS, blockchain-based laboratory operations control
- Affiliates in project
- Entities in France and Bulgaria
- Status
- Provisional insolvency administrator January 2024 (Trier local court, 23 IN 11/24); liquidation April 2024
- EIC project
- B-LOCS, 1 Jul 2022 to 30 Jun 2024, closed
- EIC funding
- Grant first
What Happened to ARXUM
According to the register entries summarised by North Data, the local court of Trier appointed a provisional insolvency administrator for ARXUM by an order of 24 January 2024 (case 23 IN 11/24), published on 7 February 2024, and on 9 April 2024 the company entered liquidation; its name now carries the suffix "i. L." (in Liquidation). We found no public statement by the company. Its web domain has been taken over: the current arxum.com describes itself as "a strategy-research lab for forex, crypto, and derivatives markets" and has no link to the Kaiserslautern company.
The clock
How far the project got before the provisional administrator
Months of the 24-month B-LOCS project completed before a provisional insolvency administrator was appointed in January 2024.
CORDIS and German register data via North Data.
The Technology: A Tamper-Proof Lab Log
According to the CORDIS fact sheet, B-LOCS "records in real time the events that occur on the files from the lab software" and detects alterations to raw data caused by errors or non-compliance with GMP. Records are stored in smart contracts on a blockchain, and deviations trigger configurable alerts.
"A first commercialisation is underway with selected pilot customers."
B-LOCS report, CORDISWhat the EIC Project Promised, and What CORDIS Shows
The EIC project
The EU paid 68% of a €2.27M project
B-LOCS ran from July 2022 to June 2024. The award was grant first.
CORDIS project 190157602. Values in € millions.
B-LOCS promised a "fully digital blockchain-based laboratory operations control system for real-time and audit-proof Good Manufacturing Practice conformity". The CORDIS report describes user interface work, a move of the software to the NestJS framework, a workflow configurator and blockchain infrastructure for testing, and says a first commercialisation was under way with pilot customers. It names no customers and gives no numbers, and it does not mention the insolvency.
- A working B-LOCS systemDeliveredSoftware developed, per CORDIS.
- Pilot customersPartial"Underway"; none named.
- Market launchMissedCompany liquidated.
- A company that continuesMissedProvisional insolvency administrator, January 2024.
What Has Happened Since the Award
The record
Under a provisional insolvency administrator before its EIC project ended
A provisional insolvency administrator was appointed about five months before the B-LOCS project's official end; the company then went into liquidation.
- Jun 2019ARXUM GmbHRenamed from a shelf company; seat in Kaiserslautern
- Oct 2021EIC Accelerator cut-offB-LOCS: blockchain lab control for GMP compliance
- Jul 2022EIC project startsTamper-proof monitoring of pharma lab software€1.54M grant
- Jan 2024Provisional administratorProvisional insolvency administrator appointed, Trier local courtProvisional
- Apr 2024LiquidationCompany enters liquidation (i. L.)
- Jun 2024EIC project endsFirst commercialisation with pilot customers, per CORDIS
- 2026Domain reusedarxum.com now hosts an unrelated trading blog
CORDIS and German register data via North Data.
The Money
The award was "grant first"; we found no EIC Fund investment. The German register shows ARXUM's share capital at €40,562 in 2021; its investors and accounts were not accessible for this article.
What cannot be checked
How much of the €1.54 million grant was paid out before the insolvency, whether the EU has a claim in the liquidation, who the pilot customers were and what happened to the software are not public.
Why Europe Should Care
Drug makers must be able to prove their lab data are genuine, and B-LOCS aimed at that need. The project's public results speak of commercialisation under way, and a provisional insolvency administrator was appointed before the project ended.
What the project promised
A fully digital, audit-proof blockchain system for GMP-compliant laboratory operations.
What the record shows
Software and pilot talks, then a provisional insolvency administrator before the project ended, liquidation and a lost domain.
The Verdict
Provisional administrator mid-project
B-LOCS built its software, but a provisional insolvency administrator was appointed for ARXUM before the project finished. The CORDIS report does not mention it, and we found no sign the product survives.
ARXUM is in liquidation and could not be asked for comment. This article is based on EU project data and German register information, linked throughout.
Industry
Digital and computingEnterprise software
- Focus
- Business software
- Technologies
- Blockchain
- Keywords
- Pharmaceutical manufacturing
- Data integrity
- Quality control laboratories
- Regulatory compliance