Broncus Announces Strategic Partnership with Olympus (Europe) to Enhance Early Diagnosis of Peripheral Lung Cancer

Broncus, a leader in precision interventional therapies for lung diseases, recently announced a strategic partnership with Olympus (Europe) (hereinafter referred to as “Olympus”). Under this agreement, Olympus has been granted exclusive distribution rights for Broncus’s Archimedes® Planner (pathway planning system) and Archimedes Lite VBN (bronchoscopy navigation system) products in multiple European countries. This collaboration aims to provide comprehensive solutions for the diagnosis of peripheral lung cancer in the region, addressing the growing demand for peripheral airway biopsies. Both parties will also explore further opportunities for in-depth cooperation in product licensing, development, and market expansion, jointly driving the rapid growth of the global respiratory intervention market.

The strategic partnership between the two companies marks a significant step toward improving the diagnosis of peripheral pulmonary nodules, enabling early detection of lung cancer to enhance patient survival rates, and will greatly support the implementation of early lung cancer screening programs in European countries. As a global leader in the high-end endoscopy sector, Olympus has consolidated its leadership position in endoscopic lung cancer diagnosis through this strategic collaboration with Kunbo Medical. For Kunbo Medical, this partnership represents a crucial milestone in achieving global brand and technology penetration, laying a solid foundation for the impending era of global commercialization in interventional pulmonology.

The World Health Organization (WHO) stated in its 2018 Global Cancer Report that lung cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide, accounting for 11.6% of all new cancer cases that year and exhibiting explosive growth. The five-year survival rate for patients is only 15.6%. The fundamental reason lies in the fact that traditional technologies can detect only a small number of early-stage lung cancers, often resulting in missed opportunities for optimal treatment. In contrast, the five-year survival rate for lung cancer patients who are diagnosed and treated at an early stage can be as high as 73%.

The recently published Nelson trial (December 2018) showed that more than 73% of lesions are located in the outermost peripheral regions of the lungs (accounting for approximately one-third of lung volume). Consequently, there is a growing need for physicians to accurately reach, identify, and confirm peripheral pulmonary lesions. Lung cancer screening data from the United States and Europe indicate that the average nodule size detected during screening is 1.3 cm. For small peripheral pulmonary nodules (<2 cm), the diagnostic yield of bronchoscopy alone for biopsy is only 33%.

Kunbo Medical’s proprietary pulmonary navigation technology enables access to any region of the lungs, achieving an 83% reach rate. It significantly improves the diagnostic yield for small pulmonary nodules, particularly those with a diameter of less than 2 cm, positioning Kunbo as a pioneer in the field of lung cancer diagnostics. The Olympus ultra-thin bronchoscopy system allows physicians to easily reach lesions. Its complementarity with the Kunbo navigation platform greatly enhances the accuracy and success rate of bronchoscopic lesion targeting, providing a comprehensive solution for the diagnosis of peripheral lung cancer.

Dr. Harald Dremel, Head of Olympus’s European Medical Endoscopy Business, stated: “Path planning and real-time navigation, combined with Olympus’s proprietary peripheral lung cancer diagnostic portfolio, can help physicians significantly increase the volume of early-stage lung cancer detections and the accuracy of precise diagnoses, offering hope for a cure to lung cancer patients.”

“Using Kunbo’s navigation system has helped us perform bronchoscopies more effectively and complete biopsies more quickly than before,” said Professor Felix JF Herth, Executive Director and Medical Director of the Thoraxklinik at Heidelberg University Hospital. “The learning curve for accurate and rapid diagnosis of peripheral pulmonary nodules is steep. The integration of navigation with Olympus’s series of devices provides us with a comprehensive solution, instilling greater confidence and reducing the time required for biopsies.”

Kunbo Medical owns three R&D and manufacturing enterprises: U.S.-based Broncus Medical, Inc., Uptake Medical Technology, Inc., and Hangzhou Kunbo Biological Technology Co., Ltd. Since 2012, under the controlling stake and leadership of China-based capital led by Denuo Capital, Kunbo has advanced alongside industry giants, achieving leapfrog development. It has established high-quality R&D centers in China and the United States, comprehensively rolling out the development and sales of interventional diagnostic and therapeutic products for lung cancer and emphysema, thereby becoming a global leader in minimally invasive interventional treatment for pulmonary diseases.

Zhao Yiwei, Chairman of Kunbo Medical, stated: “The strategic partnership between Kunbo and Olympus strengthens the early detection and diagnosis of solitary pulmonary nodules, which ideally can significantly reduce mortality from advanced-stage lung cancer. This collaboration further validates the leading position of Kunbo’s navigation technology and will solidify our pioneering status in the global interventional pulmonology field. As early as 2018, we entered into a strategic partnership with Intuitive Surgical, becoming one of the few Chinese companies to export key technologies to international giants. We believe this strategic cooperation will accelerate the global adoption of Kunbo’s leading navigation technology in a shorter timeframe, benefiting millions of lung cancer patients worldwide. Our vision is a world where people no longer fear lung cancer, and this partnership marks another solid step toward achieving that goal.”