RespiQ secures €4 million to accelerate breath diagnostics technology
RespiQ's €4 million grant from the EIC is transforming COPD patient care with their advanced breath diagnostics technology.
In a significant advancement for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patient care, the Dutch healthtech company RespiQ has secured a €4 million grant from the European Innovation Council (EIC). This substantial funding is a pivotal step in RespiQ's mission to revolutionise the well-being of COPD patients through its innovative breath diagnostics technology. The grant, part of the EIC Pathfinder Challenge: “Towards the healthcare continuum”, supports technologies that facilitate a shift from episodic to continuous patient care across Europe.
Mira Gleisberg, CEO of RespiQ, expressed that receiving the EIC Pathfinder grant is a significant milestone for the company and its consortium. It accelerates their cutting-edge breath diagnostics device development, offering hope to thousands of COPD patients who struggle to monitor their disease. The €4 million grant, to be received over the next three and a half years, involves a distinguished international consortium of renowned academic institutions and medical research organisations. This consortium includes King’s Centre for Lung Health, the School of Immunology and Microbial Sciences at King’s College London, the National eHealth Living Lab within the Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC), the Norwegian research organisation Sintef, and the Portuguese technical consulting and research company, uRoboptics.
Professor Mona Bafadhel, Chair of Respiratory Medicine and Director of the King’s Centre for Lung Health at King’s College London, highlighted the potentially game-changing impact of this funding. The development of non-invasive tests like breath tests could mean that in the future, patients living with COPD will be able to monitor their condition safely at home without the need for hospital visits. The funding will expedite the development and miniaturising of RespiQ’s breath diagnostics technology, enhancing non-invasive remote patient monitoring. The company aims to build a sensor device for real-time, at-home patient monitoring, offering an early warning system for impending lung attacks with the potential to transform COPD patient care.
COPD is a prevalent global lung disease affecting nearly 400 million people and is the third leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for six per cent of all deaths. The Leiden-based healthtech startup RespiQ, led by Mira Gleisberg and Jantine Mens, is at the forefront of addressing this challenge. Mira Gleisberg brings considerable healthcare expertise, having worked at Philips and McKinsey, and is a serial entrepreneur with expertise in strategy, healthcare product development, and disease prevention. Jantine Mens has a substantial background in strategic healthcare marketing, having led multiple patient-centric medical device launches at Becton Dickinson, Bayer, and GSK.
RespiQ originated during a founder residency in Amsterdam run by Antler in 2019. During this residency, tech inventors Vitalii Vorkov and Mira Gleisberg developed the strategic concept for their breath diagnostics technology and started building RespiQ. RJ Schuurs, Partner at Antler, expressed delight in supporting RespiQ from the beginning of their growth journey. He acknowledged that this prestigious funding grant is a testament to their long-term growth potential and the potential of their technology to improve the lives of thousands of people worldwide.
For more detailed information, please refer to the original article by Stefano De Marzo on EU-Startups, which can be found here.