New Northumbria University spinout to develop world-leading medical device

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 Associate Professor, Dr Sterghios Moschos, has worked in collaboration with graduates Jonathan Brookes and Saqib Ali, supported by Dr Pete Hotten and Dr Huw Edwards to create the first in a series of products, PBM-Hale™. This 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.

Chief Operating Officer and graduate, Jonathan Brookes commented that: “It is nearly twenty years since I graduated from Northumbria, and it's great to be back in Newcastle working on such an innovative piece of med-tech. As an early-stage company our key focus is on developing and commercialising the breath sampling technology and its integration into a range of healthcare settings".

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. 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. Speaking of the emerging technology Saqib said: “Our technology solves key pains in sampling exhaled breath, namely avoiding sample contamination, preventing sample loss and generating highly reproducible data with digital molecular precision. I had a fantastic four years at Northumbria and to now be applying my skills on such an exciting piece of innovation is truly amazing.”

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. To find out more visit www.pulmobiomed.com.