Owlstone Medical Files for IPO Following $132.9M in Funding to Advance Breath Biopsy Platform

On December 7, Owlstone Medical announced the launch of Breath Biopsy^®VOC Atlas, a validated and quantified catalog of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Integrating VOC Atlas into Owlstone’sBreath Biopsy^®OMNIThe platform can better discover biomarkers and identify volatile organic compounds in breath, helping researchers and clinicians further enhance their understanding of fundamental biology and validate non-invasive biomarkers.

Owlstone Medical was founded in 2015 and has completed seven rounds of financing, raising a total of $132.9 million. Its most recent funding round occurred on September 7, 2021, when it raised £42 million in Series D financing led by Horizons Ventures, the private investment fund under Li Ka-shing.

Figure 1: Data Related to Owlstone Medical's Financing

Image source: Crunchbase

Owlstone Medical aims to develop and apply Breath Biopsy®^®Enable breath-based early diagnosis to help more patients detect early signs of disease, reduce healthcare costs, and save more lives.

Breathing is an activity people engage in every moment; it is not only a symbol of vitality but also contains various important information related to human health.In Traditional Chinese Medicine’s four diagnostic methods—inspection, auscultation and olfaction, inquiry, and palpation—“auscultation and olfaction” involves assessing a patient’s health by listening to sounds and detecting odors. Similarly, Hippocrates taught his students to seek clues to disease through the smell of patients’ breath.

In today’s era of continuous advancement in modern medicine, breath analysis has become increasingly important and represents a field with significant growth potential. With each breath, volatile organic compounds are exhaled; breath biopsy identifies and diagnoses diseases by analyzing these substances.Breath Biopsy: A Non-Invasive Testing Method That Detects Changes in Human Health Without Invading the Body, which is convenient and efficient on one hand, while also alleviating patients' suffering and reducing their resistance to disease screening on the other.

Billy Boyle is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Owlstone Medical. He graduated from the University of Cambridge with a degree in Engineering. Owlstone Inc. was spun out of Cambridge in 2004, with the aim of developing applications for Field Asymmetric Ion Mobility Spectrometry (FAIMS).

His wife, Kate, passed away from colon cancer after being misdiagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) during the initial stages of her condition. Following her late-stage diagnosis of colon cancer, Billy began to focus on the medical applications of FAIMS technology, recognizing that breath biopsy could reduce the likelihood of early misdiagnosis, and he dedicated himself to advancing this field. He stated, “Although my wife’s late diagnosis was a personal experience, cancer affects many families, and there are numerous challenges to overcome in the diagnostic and treatment process. Early breath analysis can help change the landscape of misdiagnosis.”

Figure 2: Billy Boyle, Co-Founder and CEO of Owlstone Medical

Image source: Owlstone Medical official website

Owlstone Medical boasts a professional team comprising engineers, chemists, biochemists, physicians, project managers, and various functional support staff.

David Ruiz-Alonso is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer. He co-founded the company in 2004 withBilly BoyleCo-founded Owlstone Inc., where he spent over 12 years managing operations, developing, manufacturing, and commercializing products for the defense, industrial, and scientific instrumentation markets. Following the establishment of Owlstone Medical, he was responsible for its day-to-day operations.

Max is the Chief Scientific Officer at Owlstone Medical, with over 15 years of experience in developing trace chemical detection technologies. He has developed sensor technologies for various applications, including personal safety, food contamination, and environmental monitoring. At Owlstone, he oversees the technical development of breath capture devices and the analytical technologies underpinning biomarker identification. He pioneered the development and application of Owlstone’s proprietary technology to detect trace chemicals in complex matrices and at lower concentrations.quality.

Professionals with Different Responsibilities Focus on Their Respective Business Segments，Guided by Expertise and Trusted LeadershipOwlstone MedicalDeeply Rooted in the Field of Respiratory Biopsy，This is also the secret to the company's rapid growth.。

Owlstone Medical is dedicated to the field of breath biopsy, having developed a comprehensive suite of technologies for the collection, processing, and analysis of respiratory biomarkers, thereby establishing itself as a pioneer in breath biopsy.

Figure 3: Owlstone Medical’s Products

Image source: Owlstone Medical official website

Breath Biopsy^®Collection Station provides a comprehensive toolkit for the collection of respiratory biopsy samples, including devices for sample collectionThe ReCIVA Breath Sampler, the CASPER Portable Air Supply for excluding background contaminants from samples, and the Breath Biopsy Collection Software, which enables reliable collection and reporting of sampling data and provides feedback on sampling progress.

ReCIVA^®The Breath Sampler can collect volatile organic compounds and respiratory droplet samples from exhaled breath; it performs simple, non-invasive sampling during human respiration, with optional targeted fractional breath analysis. Owlstone Medical continues to design and optimizeReCIVA Breath Sampler to enhance patient safety and comfort during use.

Breath Biopsy® Kits are accessories for the ReCIVA® Breath Sampler, comprising Breath Biopsy cassettes for collecting breath samples and enhancing detection sensitivity, as well as disposable Breath Biopsy mouthpieces. Exhaled breath samples are captured and stabilized on the Breath Biopsy cassettes, then shipped to the commercial Breath Biopsy laboratory at Owlstone Medical’s headquarters in Cambridge, UK, for analysis using mass spectrometry or FAIMS.

CASPER^® Portable Air Supply is an auxiliary device for breath sampling. CASPER is equipped with an air pump that draws in ambient air, filters it through an air filter, and then delivers it to the ReCIVA via plastic tubing. By inhaling the filtered air, subjects can reduce impurities and contaminants in the collected samples, thereby enhancing the accuracy of the results.

In addition to technical products for the collection and analysis of endogenous biomarkers, Owlstone Medical has also developed EVOC Probes, a novel method for measuring exogenous volatile organic compounds in breath.These probes were developed as an further extension of the breath biopsy platform. Prior to the launch of EVOC Probes, Owlstone Medical focused on endogenous or internally generated biomarkers. EVOC Probes enable scientists to use small doses of safe volatile organic compounds (such as terpenes) as probes, and then measure the concentration of reaction products involving these compounds to assess liver function or drug metabolism. The emergence and application of EVOC Probes have demonstrated the value of breath testing in areas with high clinical demand.

Breath Biopsy^® OMNI^®provides comprehensive respiratory VOC analysis for subjects, including expertise in study design and optimized sample collection, as well as in the use of analytical and interpretive procedures.

Owlstone Medical's recently launchedBreath Biopsy^®VOC Atlas was developed to conduct detailed analysis of breath samples from individuals of diverse ages and ethnic backgrounds, enabling the identification and quantification of common breath-derived chemicals. Breath Biopsy^®VOC Atlas is a substantial and ever-expanding database comprising over 150 chemicals, featuring identified respiratory VOCs, their normal levels, and biological interpretations.

Currently, breath biopsy is still in its early stages of development. To improve the accuracy of breath biopsy, it is necessary to collect a large number of breath samples while taking into account various factors such as gender, age, habits, and geographic region, which constitute the key challenges in this field. As a pioneer in the breath biopsy sector, Owlstone Medical boasts portable devices capable of stably collecting breath samples, operates the world’s only commercial breath biopsy laboratory, and maintains the world’s largest digital breath biobank matched with patient phenotypes, all of which lay a solid foundation for the advancement of breath biopsy.

A Professional Technical Team and Products Dedicated to the Field of Breath Biopsy，This is their key tool for overcoming major challenges in the field of respiratory biopsy.，It is also key to achieving its commercial development.。

Owlstone Medical’s technologies and products serve over 100 locations worldwide, including major pharmaceutical companies such as AstraZeneca, Actelion (a Johnson & Johnson company), and GlaxoSmithKline. The company engages in clinical collaborations with numerous universities and hospitals in the United States and the United Kingdom to develop more advanced breath biopsy products and enhance related technical capabilities. In terms of commercialization, Owlstone has launched a variety of cancer screening and diagnostic products and services, including its first commercially available breath biopsy mask, which can differentiate among various chronic inflammatory airway diseases, such as asthma, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Owlstone Medical has also partnered with Functional Gut Clinic (“FGC”) and Functional Gut Diagnostics (“FGD”) to explore the correlation between breath biopsy and the diagnosis of gut health issues, provide clinical testing for small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) and food intolerances, strive to deliver efficient, high-quality home breath tests to more patients, and accelerate the development of future respiratory tests for digestive disorders.

Based on the characteristics of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), Owlstone Medical conducted relevant research. Respiratory droplets and aerosols are the most common transmission routes for SARS-CoV-2, and masks are highly effective in preventing its spread. This also indicates that viral particles are retained on the mask surface, thereby providing a convenient and non-invasive sampling method for subsequent diagnostic testing. To explore this, Owlstone Medical applied its expertise in breath-based diagnostics and Breath Biopsy® technology to develop a system that generates controlled small aerosol particles, enabling the measurement of the limit of detection for viral capture on filters.Integrating the COVID-19 Pandemic with Research，while maintainingOwlstone MedicalAdvanced Nature，It also demonstrates the company’s sense of social responsibility.。

Nearly all leading global R&D teams in breath biopsy are striving to miniaturize and portabilize their devices. Only by achieving device miniaturization can the application scenarios of breath biopsy be expanded, thereby making this technology accessible to a broader population.

Owlstone Medical is no exception.，It has always been dedicated toRespiratory BiopsyCareer，Continuous In-depth Research，To develop a complete equipment line and technology platform，Optimize its breath biopsy device，"Enable more people to conduct respiratory analysis and testing anytime, anywhere."；Simultaneously accelerate the commercialization process，Bringing Technology and Products into Hospitals and Homes，Save More Lives。