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Avelo, VIVOLTA, and BLINK win €1.5M Eurostars grant to develop new solution for diagnosing lower respiratory tract infections

Avelo, VIVOLTA, and BLINK win €1.5M Eurostars grant to develop new solution for diagnosing lower respiratory tract infections

• The BreathCounts project focuses on developing a disposable breath collection device and a high-throughput diagnostic assay capable of screening multiple pathogens at the point-of-need
• Project to span two years and lay the foundation for market launch in 2027
• Using the new system, clinicians will be able to distinguish between viral and bacterial infections within 30 minutes of collecting the patient’s breath sample
• The solution will be the world’s first breath-based system capable of fast, accurate, and specific diagnosis of lower respiratory tract infections

Waalre, The Netherlands, October 26, 2023 – Avelo, VIVOLTA, and BLINK today announced they have won a €1.5M Eurostars grant to develop a new solution for diagnosing lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs).

The three companies, based in Switzerland, the Netherlands and Germany – are joining forces in the BreathCounts consortium to create an innovative, non-invasive system to diagnose lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) using a patient’s breath as sample material. LRTIs are currently the fourth most lethal disease worldwide, causing more than 2.5 million deaths annually, and insufficient diagnostic methods for these infections is a major problem.

The companies will aim at developing a disposable breath collection device, incorporating an electrospun filter, as well as a high-throughput diagnostic assay capable of screening multiple pathogens at the point-of-need. The project will span two years and lay the foundation for market launch in 2027.

The solution will be the world’s first breath-based system capable of fast, accurate, and specific diagnosis of LRTIs, and will be simple-to-use for maximum adoption around the world. Using this system, clinicians will be able to distinguish between viral and bacterial infections, specifying the underlying cause of infection and drug resistance genes, thus informing the best possible treatment. Particularly, as bacterial resistance from the overuse and misuse of antibiotics for non-bacterial infections grows in significance, providing an accurate, fast, and specific diagnosis will help clinicians prescribe the right medication and help combat this major global health problem.