Owlstone Medical is building a breathalyser-style diagnostic platform that captures and analyses volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath to identify disease-specific biomarkers. Its core Breath Biopsy® platform is powered by the ReCIVA® Breath Sampler and supported by proprietary FAIMS microchip chemical sensor technology and EVOC® probes. The company’s vision is to save 100,000 lives and cut healthcare costs by $1.5 billion through earlier, more precise detection and treatment. Owlstone’s technology is being expanded to cover respiratory and liver diseases, digestive health disorders, and, most prominently, cancer. A newly awarded ARPA-H contract of up to $49.1 million will finance development of a synthetic-sensor multi-cancer early-detection (MCED) test that can identify more than 30 solid tumours at Stage I using breath and urine samples. The program will deliver single-use inhalers containing pan-cancer and tumour-specific sensors, with results uploaded directly to electronic health records for rapid clinical review. Partnerships with MIT, Boston University, Georgia Tech Research Corporation, Qurin B.V., and Planned Systems International will help advance this low-cost, home-usable diagnostic toward commercial deployment.

Total raised

$236M

Funding rounds

10

Latest round

Grant

Latest activity

Oct 2025