Biofortis

What Biofortis does

Biofortis is a France-based Contract Research Organization (CRO) specializing in clinical trials and microbiome analysis for the nutrition, food, biotechnology, pharmaceutical and academic research sectors. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Saint-Herblain (near Nantes) with a secondary clinical investigation unit in Paris, the company was previously part of the Mérieux NutriSciences group before a July 2021 Management Buy-Out transferred majority ownership to its management team, with Institut Mérieux retaining a minority stake.

The company's core offering is an integrated service platform comprising seven capabilities: Clinical Trials (full-service GCP-compliant study management from design to report), Central Lab (in-house sequencing and analytical platform using 16S Metabarcoding and Shotgun Metagenomics), Microbiome Services, Sample Provider (including the HORUS fecal sample program), Biometrics, Data Science and Consulting & Strategic Innovation. Underpinning these services is a proprietary software stack including EasyBioM® for shotgun metagenomics analysis, AnonyMine for GDPR-compliant high-dimensional data anonymization and Patient Profiles for interactive clinical data review. The firm operates under Good Clinical Practice and is accredited by the French Ministry of Research under the Crédit d'Impôt Recherche (CIR) scheme.

Biofortis runs a B2B professional services model with a direct sales motion into enterprise clients across food/agri-food, biotech, pharma and academia. Over 20+ years the company has completed more than 1,000 projects and managed 250 full-service clinical trials in France, Europe and internationally. Following the 2021 MBO, leadership under CEO Benoît Fouchaq has pursued inorganic growth (NEOVIX/TERANGA partnership announced March 2025), productization (EasyBioM® V3 launch in 2021) and ecosystem positioning (Le French Gut, Alliance Promotion Microbiote, ProDigest collaboration).

Name

Biofortis

Legal name

Biofortis SAS

Website

https://biofortis.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Biofortis is a France-based CRO providing nutrition clinical trials, microbiome analysis (16S and shotgun metagenomics), and data science services to food, biotech, pharmaceutical and academic clients across Europe, supported by an in-house lab and proprietary platforms.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Contract Research Organization (Clinical Trials & Microbiome Services)

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Medical Laboratories (621511), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories (6215)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Medical Laboratories (8071)

akta.pro primary industry

Clinical CROs (Phase I–IV) (HLAGAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Central Laboratory & Clinical Trial Testing CROs (HLAGAAAE), Clinical Trial Informatics (EDC/CTMS/eCOA/eTMF) (HLAGAJAM), Specialty Therapeutic-Area CROs (e.g., oncology/rare disease) (HLAGAAAL)

Keywords

• Clinical trial services
• Microbiome analysis
• Nutrition research
• Contract research organization
• Central laboratory services

Headquarters

HQ city

Saint-herblain

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Clinical Trial Services: Full-service clinical trial management from study design to report delivery for nutrition, health, and microbiota products
2. Microbiome Analysis Services: Host-microbiome investigations, sample collection kits, stool collection logistics, sequencing and data analysis services

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Biofortis is a Contract Research Organization (CRO) that delivers full-service clinical trial management, in-house central laboratory and microbiome sequencing services, biometrics, data science, biological sample sourcing, and strategic consulting for the nutrition, food, biotech, pharmaceutical, and academic research sectors. The company operates dedicated clinical investigation units in Saint-Herblain (Nantes) and Paris, and supports studies ranging from efficacy and health-claim trials to host-microbiome investigations using 16S metabarcoding and shotgun metagenomics.

Product overview

Biofortis is a Contract Research Organization (CRO) offering a unified platform of clinical and microbiome services. The core offering consists of seven integrated services: Clinical Trials (full-service trial management), Central Lab (in-house sequencing), Microbiome Services, Sample Provider (biological sourcing), Biometrics, Data Science, and Consulting. Supporting the core services are specialized tools including EasyBioM® for shotgun metagenomics analysis, AnonyMine for GDPR-compliant data anonymization, Patient Profiles for interactive clinical data visualization, and the HORUS fecal sample collection program. The company also publishes scientific booklets on microbiome topics including Skin Flora, Obesity & Microbiome, Infant Microbiome, Human Microbiome Therapeutics, Microbiome & Oncology, Microbiome & Neurology, and Microbiome & Diabetes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• EasyBioM®: Biofortis microbiome analysis platform for shotgun metagenomics.
• AnonyMine
• Horus

Products and services

• Clinical Trials

Quantifiable outcome

• 1000+ projects completed in over 20 years
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor, core and flagship.

• Atlanpôle BiothérapiesminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 October 2025Biofortis is member of the organizing committee and Silver Sponsor of the Nutrition & Microbiote Day 2025, with Thomas Carton (Scientific Operations Manager) involved in the program.
• TERANGA Group (Neovix acquisition)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 March 2025Biofortis and Teranga announced strategic partnership with the acquisition of NEOVIX group. A strategic expansion to enhance services in Health & Wellness, strengthening Biofortis Group's service offerings.
• Le French Gut ProjectflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 September 2022Biofortis is part of Le French Gut national project to collect 100,000 fecal samples and accelerate the science of the microbiota. This is a major French initiative contributing to the national microbiome research effort.
• Alliance Promotion MicrobiotecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 March 2021Biofortis is a founding member of the Alliance Promotion Microbiote, launched to promote and advance microbiome research and applications in France.
• ProDigestcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 October 2020Biofortis and ProDigest announced a global collaboration in the field of Gastrointestinal Research. ProDigest specializes in intestinal research, combining in vitro and ex vivo simulation technology with advanced gut microbiome analysis. The collaboration enhances both companies' service offerings in GI research.
• Pharmabiotics ConferenceminorOthers · 10 March 2020Biofortis attended Pharmabiotics 2020, focused on Microbiome Business, Sciences & Regulatory Affairs. Institut Mérieux delivered an award at this event.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Atlantia Food Clinical Trials: Ireland-based CRO specializing in clinical trials for functional foods, nutrition, and health ingredients. Closest direct peer to Biofortis in terms of nutrition focus, study design expertise, and serving food/pharma clients seeking health-claim evidence.
• ProDigest: Belgian GI/microbiome research company combining in vitro gut simulation with microbiome analysis. Already a global co-development partner of Biofortis, and a direct peer in microbiome-focused GI research services.

Broad incumbents

• Mérieux NutriSciences: Global food testing, labeling and clinical research services group (Institut Mérieux ecosystem). Former majority owner of Biofortis and still a minority shareholder, operating in adjacent food safety/labeling and clinical trial services.
• Eurofins Scientific: Global leader in food, pharmaceutical, and clinical laboratory testing with growing clinical trial and microbiome service lines. Direct competitor for large nutrition/pharma lab contracts and central lab work.
• SGS Nutrition & Health: Global testing, inspection and certification group with a sizable nutrition and health clinical research practice. Competes for food and supplement sponsor trials across Europe.
• Charles River Laboratories: Large global CRO offering clinical trial services across many therapeutic areas. Represents the scaled incumbent benchmark for what Biofortis competes against for larger pharma-sponsored microbiome and nutrition programs.
• ICON plc: Top-5 global CRO with extensive clinical operations and central lab capabilities. Competes for mid-to-large clinical trial mandates and could absorb nutrition/microbiome work Biofortis targets.
• IQVIA: Largest global CRO/clinical data services provider, with significant nutrition, consumer health, and emerging microbiome engagements. Sets the upper bound on competitive pressure in the segment.

Others

• Chr. Hansen: Global bioscience company focused on microbial and fermentation technology for food, health, and agriculture. Represents the type of probiotic/microbiome sponsor likely to commission Biofortis's clinical and microbiome services.
• BioGaia: Swedish probiotic R&D and consumer health company that runs clinical trials to substantiate probiotic strain claims. A representative sponsor/potential customer profile for Biofortis's nutrition clinical trial services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/biofortis
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/biofortis-cro
• Instagraminstagram.com/biofortis.recrutement/?hl=fr
• Xx.com/Biofortis_Fr

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Biofortis