Owlstone Medical Announces $27 Million USD First Close in Series E Financing Round

Published on: 15 Jan 2025

  • Led by Ventura Capital and joined by other investors including Aviva Ventures, the Gates Foundation and Horizons Ventures
  • Funding will be used to accelerate commercialization and further clinical trials of Breath Biopsy diagnostic tests and point of care devices for lung cancer, liver disease, and digestive disease

 

Cambridge, UK, January 15, 2025: Owlstone Medical (“Owlstone”), the global leader in Breath Biopsy® for applications in early disease detection and precision medicine, today announced a first closing of $27 million (circa £22 million) in its Series E financing round. The fundraise was led by Ventura Capital, joined by Aviva Ventures, Horizons Ventures, and other existing investors. The close also saw completion of the investment from the Gates Foundation1.

The funds will be used to support the ongoing development of Owlstone’s proprietary Breath Biopsy® platform and the development and commercialization of novel diagnostic tests and point of care devices.

These include in-human clinical trials currently underway for a screening test for the early-stage detection of lung cancer2, the most common cancer killer in the world responsible for 1.8 million deaths each year3; further development and launch of the LIBRA® test4 for the primary care and at-home diagnosis of chronic liver diseases, which account for over 2 million deaths worldwide annually5; and commercialization of the OMED Health® Breath Analyzer6, a hand-held, low-cost medical device for the diagnosis and monitoring of digestive diseases that affect 1 billion people globally7.

Mo El Husseiny, Founder and Managing Partner at Ventura Capital, commented: “The enormous potential of breath-based diagnostics is becoming clearer every day, with Owlstone as the main driver of progress in the space. Our initial thesis has been confirmed through Owlstone’s recent partnerships with the U.S. Department of Defence8, the Gates Foundation, and the FDA9. We are pleased to support their ongoing development of Breath Biopsy, which has been proven by the first products approved in market in the US and UK.”

Tom Grant, Head of Venture Investments at Aviva Investors, said: “Owlstone has made tremendous progress since their last fundraise. This includes their proprietary Breath Biopsy platform and VOC Atlas® database10, and in developing diagnostic solutions in high need clinical areas with products now reaching the market. Aviva Ventures has been an early investor in the business, and we remain confident in Owlstone and its future impact on healthcare.”

Billy Boyle, co-founder and CEO at Owlstone Medical, added: “Testament to the power of Breath Biopsy is the continued strong support we continue to enjoy from our investors. The funds closed will enable us to progress our business to the next stage, advancing clinical trials and supporting the launch and commercialization of our pipeline of unique breath tests.”

 

  1. https://www.owlstonemedical.com/about/news/2024/apr/25/owlstonemedical-gatesfoundation/
  2. https://www.owlstonemedical.com/breath-biopsy-tests/evolution/
  3. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cancer
  4. https://www.owlstonemedical.com/libra-liverbreathanalysis/
  5. https://www.journal-of-hepatology.eu/action/showPdf?pii=S0168-8278%2823%2900194-0
  6. https://omedhealth.com/omed-health-breath-analyzer/
  7. https://gutscharity.org.uk/advice-and-information/conditions/irritable-bowel-syndrome/
  8. https://www.owlstonemedical.com/about/news/2023/mar/17/oml-wins-diu-contract/
  9. https://www.owlstonemedical.com/about/news/2024/sep/30/owlstone-fda-research-collaboration-agreement-vocatlas/
  10. https://www.owlstonemedical.com/science-technology/breath-biopsy-voc-atlas/

 

ENDS

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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 including lung cancer, liver disease, and digestive disease. The nature of Breath Biopsy therefore makes it perfectly suited to addressing two of the major challenges of healthcare today: early detection of disease and precision medicine.

 

About Owlstone Medical:

Owlstone Medical’s vision is to save 100,000 lives by realizing the enormous promise of breath-based diagnostics through the development and application of Breath Biopsy®, a unique platform capable of both biomarker discovery and use in routine clinical testing.

The platform includes ReCIVA®, a proprietary sample collection device that can take stable breath samples anywhere, the world’s only commercial-scale Breath Biopsy Laboratory located in Cambridge, U.K., and the Breath Biopsy VOC Atlas, the most extensive catalogue of identified volatile organic compounds (VOCs) commonly found on breath. The Company’s technology is protected by over 160 granted and pending patents and has been used in more 100 research papers.

Owlstone Medical’s Research Products and Services are being deployed at over 100 sites around the world with large pharmaceutical companies including AstraZeneca, Actelion (a J&J company), GlaxoSmithKline, and leading academic institutions. Projects are supported by Breath Biopsy OMNI®, the most advanced solution for reliable end-to-end global breath VOC analysis, which is helping researchers advance biomarker discovery and disease research and maximizing the chances of finding clinically relevant breath biomarkers.

The Company has a portfolio of Breath Biopsy tests in development for the early detection of lung cancer and liver disease, both areas of high unmet clinical need that represent multi-billion dollar market opportunities. In digestive health, under the OMED Health brand, clinical tests for Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth and carbohydrate malabsorption are on market in the U.K., and a handheld device and app for longitudinal monitoring of digestive health is in development.