Leiden-based RespiQ, a health tech startup, announced on Monday, November 20, that it has been awarded a €4M grant from the European Innovation Council (EIC).
The grant is part of the EIC Pathfinder Challenge, “Towards the healthcare continuum,” designed to support innovative technologies that facilitate the transition from episodic to continuous patient care across Europe.
The Dutch company will receive €4M grant over the next three and a half years alongside a distinguished international consortium of renowned academic institutions and medical research organisations, which includes:
- King’s Centre for Lung Health,
- School of Immunology and Microbial Sciences at King’s College London
- National eHealth Living Lab within the Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC),
- the Norwegian research organisation Sintef,
- the Portuguese technical consulting and research company uRoboptics.
RespiQ will use the funds to accelerate the development and miniaturisation of its breath diagnostics technology, enhancing non-invasive remote patient monitoring.
Mira Gleisberg, CEO of RespiQ, says, “Receiving the EIC Pathfinder grant marks a significant milestone for our company and consortium, as it enables us to accelerate the development of our cutting-edge breath diagnostics device, bringing hope to thousands of COPD patients struggling to monitor their disease.”
RespiQ: Providing cost-effective health testing at home
Mira Gleisberg and Vitalii Vorkov founded RespiQ in 2019 during founder residency in Amsterdam, run by Antler.
During the residency, the founding duo developed the strategic concept for their breath diagnostics technology and started to build RespiQ.
Currently, led by Mira Gleisberg and Jantine Mens, RespiQ is developing a breath diagnostics device for disease biomarkers analysis in the breath.
The company aims to improve patients’ health by providing affordable, non-invasive technology for the early detection of health issues, starting with COPD, the 3rd leading cause of death worldwide.
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COPD affects nearly 400 million people and ranks as the third leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for six per cent of all deaths.
The device is powered by AI-enhanced plasma technology and offers real-time, non-invasive at-home health monitoring.
The proprietary algorithm will analyse breath data to create personal insight, providing early warning of impending health issues, even before symptoms occur.
Professor Mona Bafadhel, Chair of Respiratory Medicine and Director of the King’s Centre for Lung Health at King’s College London, comments: “The impact of this funding will be potentially game-changing. Ways to diagnose the onset of deterioration in COPD are urgently warranted. A non-invasive test like a breath test could mean that in the future, patients living with COPD can safely monitor their condition without needing a trip to the hospital. As the clinical partner for this project, we look forward to the advancements this funding will allow our research to achieve for COPD patients in the future.”
The LUMC team says, ‘We are thrilled to engage in this project where, together with the patient and healthcare provider, we will co-create an optimal workflow for seamless integration of this cutting-edge technology into existing COPD healthcare management. Our ultimate goal is to enhance patient care and outcomes and make a significant impact with this wonderful consortium.’
Elizaveta Vereshchagina, Senior Research Scientist at SINTEF Digital, says, This EIC Pathfinder project is an exhilarating milestone for us at SINTEF MiNaLab. Given our passion for medical technology and its societal impact, we are extremely honoured to have the opportunity to collaborate with an exceptional consortium that shares our vision.
