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.

Owlstone Medical’s Research Products and Services are being deployed at over 100 sites around the world with large pharmaceutical companies and leading academic institutions, and the company has partnered with the Gates Foundation, the U.S. Department of Defense, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and the FDA. Owlstone also 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.

Our main focus at DOC is our is our solution in digestive health.

Digestive health represents a large unmet clinical need as ~1bn people worldwide suffer from digestive issues and in the US alone 42 million people suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), 31% of whom have Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO). Despite this, overlapping symptoms and a lack of good diagnostic options makes diagnosis challenging and so many patients suffer for years (6.6 years on average from onset of symptoms) without a treatment plan to help them. This drives an enormous healthcare and societal cost. Overall annual healthcare expenditures for gastrointestinal disease total $136 billion – more than that for heart disease, trauma, or mental health.

Fortunately, breath provides hope of a solution. OMED Health is the patient-facing brand of Owlstone Medical that offers patients and GI experts access to breath-based analysis, point-of-care devices, therapeutics and clinical support for digestive disease. The core of the offering is the proprietary OMED Health Breath Analyzer (listed with the FDA as a class 1 medical device), which measures gases derived from microbiome fermentation in exhaled breath. The multi-use handheld device allows routine monitoring anytime, anywhere, with no incremental cost per measurement, and the associated app allows for regular tracking of diet and lifestyle factors.

The offering has now expanded in Great Britain to include Quality Care Commission certified OMED Health Plans. These include the diagnosis of Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) and Intestinal Methanogen Overgrowth (IMO) through at-home breath testing and substrate tests supporting the push to move care from hospitals to communities; clinician-led care pathways including nutritional protocols such as FODMAP and therapeutic interventions; and 1:1 clinical consultation with OMED’s in-house clinicians for ongoing expert support.

At the Lab, we will also be discussing Owlstone’s other offerings. These include LIBRA®, a non-invasive breath test for liver disease currently in clinical trials that enables healthcare professionals to detect liver cirrhosis earlier in primary care settings; and Inside Insights, a snapshot of your gut health, liver health, and pollution exposure through chemical markers found in your breath.