RE: Interest16 Mar 2021 10:13
PulmoBioMed - to develop world-leading medical device 16th March 2021
Scientists at Northumbria University have worked with the institution’s Research and Innovation Services to launch a medtech spinout company whose lead product for collecting breath samples could revolutionise diagnosis of a range of diseases, including Covid-19.
Northumbria’s Associate Professor Dr Sterghios Moschos, founder and PulmoBioMed’s Chief Scientific Officer, is supported by Chief Executive Officer Dr Pete Hotten, 20 years Board level management experience, Chief Operating Officer Jonathan Brookes, a Northumbria University alumnus with 15 years working in the medical device industry, and Chair, Dr Huw Edwards, with over 30 years of global experience in emerging diagnostic technologies.
Taking disruptive technology to market
The first of a series of products, PBM-Hale™ is a hand-held aerosol collecting device that allows sampling of the lung in a non-invasive way - by patients simply breathing into it.
To date, all products used for collecting breath samples have issues relating to contamination, sample loss and variability. The PBM-Hale™ technology resolves these issues, with devices currently being trialled in clinical centres across Europe.
Professor George Marston, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation) at Northumbria University, said: “This technology has the potential to deliver huge impact in healthcare on a global scale. We are a university ambitious to get our innovations out to the market to make a difference, and we encourage and support that process. This new business reflects the hard work of our entrepreneurial staff and the pioneering research we are doing at Northumbria University.”
The process of taking academic technology to create PulmoBioMed was made possible by support from Northern Accelerator, a collaboration between Northumbria, Durham, Newcastle and Sunderland Universities to commercialise research and boost the region’s economy.
Northern Accelerator’s ‘Proof-of-Concept’ funding supported the development of a first functional prototype. Northumbria graduate, Saqib Ali, was appointed as a Design Engineer at PulmoBioMed and carried out the rapid prototyping of PBM-HALE™ using 3D printers within the University’s engineering labs.
A second Northern Accelerator initiative, ‘Executives into Business’, supported the onboarding of the executive team, and a third programme of support, ‘Future Founders’, provided business training.
PulmoBioMed also benefitted from North by Northwest Partner’s ‘Innovation to the Commercialisation of University Research’ (ICURe) programme, which helped validate the market for the spinout’s technology. The company has additionally won funding from Innovate UK to support the first 18 months of business development activities.
PulmoBioMed is now seeking to close a £2.5m initial equity capital raise.