SynDIAG: Lyon-Based Consortium, Including Efor’s Data Science Teams, Launches Next-Generation Respiratory Infection Diagnostic Platform

A new public-private consortium led by AXO Science and involving Efor Group through its Data Science specialist (formerly Soladis) teams has officially launched SynDIAG, a €3 million program dedicated to transforming the diagnosis and surveillance of respiratory infections. Selected under the French government’s i-Démo Régionalisé call for projects and endorsed by the Lyonbiopôle competitiveness cluster, SynDIAG is developing a fully automated, near-patient molecular test capable of detecting and quantifying 45 respiratory pathogens and antimicrobial-resistance markers in less than four hours.

Addressing a critical healthcare need

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the deployment of rapid PCR assays but also underscored their limitations: most systems target only one or a handful of pathogens, leaving clinicians without a comprehensive overview of viral and bacterial etiologies. SynDIAG aims to fill this gap. By combining high-multiplex PCR, proprietary microarray technology and advanced artificial-intelligence (AI) algorithms, the platform will deliver a detailed respiratory pathogen profile during the same clinical visit. The resulting data will support rapid therapeutic decisions, limit inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions and strengthen real-time epidemiological surveillance.

Complementary expertise across the value chain

The SynDIAG consortium brings together four organisations whose skills cover every step of product development:

• AXO Science, the project coordinator, leverages 15 years of experience in molecular microarray technologies for healthcare and forensic applications.
• Efor Group, via its Data Science specialists (formerly Soladis), which designs and validates the statistical and AI algorithms that transform raw hybridisation signals into clear diagnostic and epidemiological reports. 
• CIRI – International Centre for Infectious Disease Research (laboratories RESPIVIR and GIMAP; INSERM, CNRS, UCBL and ENS Lyon) provides deep expertise in virology and immunology, ensuring the biological relevance and experimental validation of each target on the test panel.
• CHU Saint-Étienne University Hospital conducts large-scale clinical validation, benchmarking SynDIAG against standard-of-care methods and evaluating its impact on patient management.

Efor Data-Science Leadership: Turning Signals into Clinical Insight

Efor’s data scientists are healthcare data analysis specialists, refining, using, and interpreting data from the SynDiag diagnostic platform. More specifically, Efor’s data scientists provide expertise in data collection and standardization, statistical and predictive analysis, and the design of predictive algorithms capable of quantifying and identifying viral or bacterial load while ensuring the robustness of these algorithms in low-prevalence contexts or in the event of emerging new targets, such as during pandemics. 

Efor’s data scientists then focus on performance validation to guarantee the reliability and clinical relevance of diagnoses (sensitivity, specificity), the development of a clear, fast, and usable automated clinical report for practitioners, adapted to the practices of different healthcare settings, and support for the deployment of the solution, including industrial scaling and ongoing maintenance of the analysis pipeline.

Strategic support from Lyonbiopôle

Winner of the regionalized France2030 plan and managed by Bpifrance, France’s public investment bank, in the region, the SynDIAG program has a budget of €3 million and has received a total grant of €1.9 million from the French government and the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region.

Lyonbiopôle facilitated the formation of the consortium, coordinated the funding strategy and guided preparation of the successful grant application. The cluster’s scientific and economic label, obtained after rigorous assessment, provided a decisive credibility boost with public funders and prospective industrial partners.

Efor would like to thank the French government, the Regional Prefecture, Bpifrance, and the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region for their trust and commitment to this project, as well as the Lyonbiopôle competitiveness cluster and Lyon Ingénierie Projet for their invaluable support and their catalytic role within the healthcare sector.

Long-term vision

SynDIAG builds on the knowledge base established by the preceding SURVIR collaborative research initiative. The consortium plans to extend the pathogen panel to include emerging respiratory agents and additional resistance determinants, ensuring continued relevance in an evolving infectious-disease landscape. 

By uniting AXO Science, Efor’s data science teams, CIRI and CHU Saint-Étienne under the guidance of Lyonbiopôle, SynDIAG exemplifies the strength of France’s regional innovation ecosystems. The project demonstrates how coordinated public-private investment can accelerate the transition from laboratory discovery to frontline medical practice, delivering tools that improve patient outcomes and fortify health-system resilience.