We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress
Sign In
Advertise with Us

Download Mobile App




Novel Breath-Based Diagnostics Could Indicate Early Rejection of Organs in Lung Transplant Patients

By HospiMedica International staff writers
Posted on 26 Jan 2022
Print article
Image: BreathBiopsy Collection Station (Photo courtesy of Owlstone Medical)
Image: BreathBiopsy Collection Station (Photo courtesy of Owlstone Medical)

SQI Diagnostics Inc. (Ontario, Canada) and Owlstone Medical (Cambridge, UK) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to work together on the discovery, development and commercialization of breath-based biomarkers relating to invasive aspergillus lung infection and lung transplant rejection.

SQI develops and manufactures respiratory health and precision medicine tests while Owlstone is a global leader in Breath Biopsy for applications in early disease detection and precision medicine. Fungal lung infection is a large risk for certain vulnerable people such as transplant patients, where one-year survival rates for invasive aspergillosis following lung transplant is only 59%. This is largely because antifungal therapies are not appropriate for patients who are on immunosuppressants, and so early and reliable diagnosis of fungal infection is critical.

The current gold-standard diagnostic procedures for lung transplant rejection require the regular collection of tissue samples from the lung, which is invasive, expensive and can lead to serious complications. Hence, there is a clear need for a better solution. Owlstone’s non-invasive Breath Biopsy platform represents a better approach to current methods, which alongside SQI's deep experience in lung transplant diagnostics will be used to identify and deploy novel breath-based biomarkers that can indicate early rejection of organs in lung transplant patients.

Owlstone is conducting independent clinical trials to validate breath-based volatile organic compounds to diagnose Invasive Aspergillosis with high levels of performance. SQI and Owlstone will agree on the most appropriate regulatory strategy for the tests and, as necessary, liaise with the appropriate regulatory authorities to seek approval of the breath collector as a medical device and/or the approval of the lung transplant rejection in vitro diagnostic test (IVD). Owlstone will own and patent any inventions arising from the lung transplant rejection discoveries and offer an exclusive, worldwide license to SQI to commercialize the biomarkers for clinical use. SQI will undertake reasonable commercial efforts to develop and commercialize the lung transplant rejection test.

"With SQI's strategic interest in lung transplant biomarkers, we're excited to collaborate with Owlstone in applying the discovery, development and commercialization of biomarkers of acute cellular rejection and perhaps chronic rejection," said Andrew Morris, President and CEO of SQI Diagnostics. "This MOU can help further establish SQI's leadership in commercializing diagnostic testing for healthcare professionals and patients as we extend SQI's diagnostics across the continuum of care for organ transplant patients."

Related Links:
SQI Diagnostics Inc. 
Owlstone Medical

Gold Member
Solid State Kv/Dose Multi-Sensor
AGMS-DM+
Gold Member
POC Blood Gas Analyzer
Stat Profile Prime Plus
Silver Member
Compact 14-Day Uninterrupted Holter ECG
NR-314P
New
Medical Oxygen Analyzer
MAXO2+AE

Print article

Channels

Critical Care

view channel
Image: The permeable wearable electronics developed for long-term biosignal monitoring (Photo courtesy of CityUHK)

Super Permeable Wearable Electronics Enable Long-Term Biosignal Monitoring

Wearable electronics have become integral to enhancing health and fitness by offering continuous tracking of physiological signals over extended periods. This monitoring is crucial for understanding an... Read more

Surgical Techniques

view channel
Image: NTT and Olympus have begun the world\'s first joint demonstration experiment of a cloud endoscopy system (Photo courtesy of Olympus)

Cloud Endoscopy System Enables Real-Time Image Processing on the Cloud

Endoscopes, which are flexible tubes inserted into the body's natural openings for internal examination and biopsy collection, are becoming increasingly vital in medical diagnostics. Their minimal invasiveness... Read more

Patient Care

view channel
Image: The newly-launched solution can transform operating room scheduling and boost utilization rates (Photo courtesy of Fujitsu)

Surgical Capacity Optimization Solution Helps Hospitals Boost OR Utilization

An innovative solution has the capability to transform surgical capacity utilization by targeting the root cause of surgical block time inefficiencies. Fujitsu Limited’s (Tokyo, Japan) Surgical Capacity... Read more

Health IT

view channel
Image: First ever institution-specific model provides significant performance advantage over current population-derived models (Photo courtesy of Mount Sinai)

Machine Learning Model Improves Mortality Risk Prediction for Cardiac Surgery Patients

Machine learning algorithms have been deployed to create predictive models in various medical fields, with some demonstrating improved outcomes compared to their standard-of-care counterparts.... Read more

Point of Care

view channel
Image: The PATHFAST hs-cTnI-II high-sensitivity troponin assay has been developed for the PATHFAST Biomarker Analyzer (Photo courtesy of Polymedco)

POC Myocardial Infarction Test Delivers Results in 17 Minutes

Chest pain is the second leading cause of emergency department (ED) visits by adults in the United States, generating over 7 million visits annually. In the event of a suspected heart attack, physicians... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2024 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.