Information for Investors
ABOUT OWLSTONE MEDICAL
About Owlstone Medical
Founded in 2016, Owlstone Medical’s goal is to save 100,000 lives by realizing the enormous promise of breath-based diagnostics through the development and application of Breath Biopsy®.
The key challenges we are working to address, and where breath can have the greatest impact, are in the early detection of disease, which can have a profound impact on long-term survival rates; and in precision medicine where we seek to better understand the progression of disease and to predict which therapies are likely to be most effective for patients on an individual basis.
OPPORTUNITY
The Opportunity
Health care systems are under immense strain, with almost 10% of global GDP spent on healthcare. Massive efforts are underway to address this problem, which include the development of powerful new diagnostic tools. The scope of need is such that the liquid biopsy market (tests done on blood samples to look pieces of DNA from tumor cells or for circulating intact cancer cells) in the United States alone is worth between $30-$130B per year, and companies in the space such as Grail (recently acquired by Illumina for $8B) and Thrive (acquired by Exact Sciences for $2.15B) are enjoying high valuations.
Through Breath Biopsy, Owlstone Medical is seeking to address this challenge, but via a sample type and collection method that is far better suited to the early detection of disease.
BREATH BIOPSY
What is Breath Biopsy?
Breath Biopsy represents an entirely new way to determine the chemical makeup of breath by measuring volatile organic compounds (VOCs), gaseous molecules that can be sampled quickly and non-invasively. VOCs originate from all parts of the body as the end product of metabolic processes, making Breath Biopsy applicable to a wide range of diseases. Breath also contains exhaled aerosols and respiratory droplets from the lungs and airways, which can contain a wide range of biomarkers including viruses such as coronavirus.
WHY BREATH?
Why Breath?
- Breath VOCs can originate from anywhere in the body for a wide range of clinical applications.
- Uniquely, can be pre-enriched by taking a longer sample, making it particularly well suited for early detection.
- Non-invasive and samples can be collected ‘anytime, anyplace’ including at home.
- EVOC® Probes can be introduced from outside the body as targeted probes for disease processes.
OUR PLATFORM
The Breath Biopsy platform
In order to capitalize on the scientific and commercial potential of breath, Owlstone Medical has developed a unique platform in Breath Biopsy capable of both biomarker discovery and use in routine testing. The platform has been adopted at well over 100 sites worldwide and is protected by more than 100 granted and pending patents and a substantial number of trade secrets.
Breath collection is carried out using Owlstone Medical’s ReCIVA® Breath Sampler, which ensures reliable, reproducible collection of VOCs that can be taken anywhere. Samples of exhaled breath are captured and stabilized on Breath Biopsy Cartridges, which can then be shipped to the world’s only commercial Breath Biopsy Laboratory located at Owlstone Medical’s Headquarters in Cambridge, UK, for analysis using Mass Spectrometry or FAIMS. OMNI, the most advanced solution for reliable global breath biomarker analysis is then used to pinpoint the VOCs of interest. Owlstone Medical is also developing a proprietary range of Probes to directly investigate the function of metabolic pathways on breath, Exogenous Volatile Organic Compound (EVOC) Probes, to directly investigate the function of metabolic pathways on breath.
CREATING AN INDUSTRY
Creating an Industry, Dominating the Value Chain
Owlstone Medical provides high value Breath Biopsy Products and Services to pharmaceutical and academic clients including Cleveland Clinic, AstraZeneca, Actelion Pharmaceuticals (a J&J company), and GSK, where we support their biomarker discovery or disease research projects. This part of the business generates not just revenue, but is also an important source of biomarkers for inclusion in our Test Development Pipeline.
Owlstone Medical has an active portfolio of Breath Biopsy Tests and RUO Panels in development. Our focus is on areas of high clinical need in multi-billion dollar markets for the early detection of disease including lung cancer and liver disease, and for precision medicine in areas such as respiratory disease and digestive health.
Both our Breath Biopsy Products and Services and Test and Panel development support the development of our Digital Breath Biobank, the world’s largest database of breath profiles linked to patient phenotype.
RECENT MILESTONES
Recent milestones:
- An important publication on the principle of using EVOC Probes in liver disease published October 2021
- Close of an oversubscribed $58M D round of financing in September 2021
- In May 2021 we announced our entry into digestive health testing through Collaborations with Functional Gut Diagnostics and Functional Gut Clinic
- Our first Panel, the Respiratory Diseases Research Use Only Panel was launched in January 2021
Visit our Press Coverage page for a list of mainstream media articles and programmes featuring Owlstone Medical and Breath Biopsy.
To learn more about Owlstone Medical and to discuss investment opportunities, please contact us.
