Deal struck to integrate breath analysis platform into GSK’s danirixin clinical trial

Diagnostics company, Owlstone Medical, has announced that GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) will incorporate its Breath Biopsy platform into the clinical development programme of danirixin — a novel GSK pipeline drug candidate for respiratory disease.

As a part of this deal, GSK will use the Breath Biopsy platform in a Phase II clinical trial to assess whether the right patient for the right treatment can be identified. Additionally, it will assess the treatment effects of the pipeline drug for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Within the trial the ReCIVA Breath Sampler from Owlstone Medical will be used to collect the breath samples of patients, after which these will be sent to the lab for analysis. The Breath Biopsy platform will be used to capture volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the breath samples.

“We are very pleased to work with GSK as they lead the way in using breath VOC profiling to better understand a new drug’s treatment effects and its mechanism. Our growing precision medicine business not only provides opportunities for near term revenue expansion, but also deepens the pipeline of applications for Breath Biopsy,” commented Billy Boyle, co-founder and CEO at Owlstone Medical. “We believe that the non-invasive Breath Biopsy can rapidly establish a central role in a variety of precision medicine applications such as patient stratification and monitoring treatment response. We intend to work with multiple pharmaceutical partners looking to optimize the health economic impact of their new medicines across a broad range of diseases by providing access to the data needed to ensure that the right therapy is given to the right patient at the right time.”

“As part of our efforts to identify the right patient for the right treatment, we are pleased to include Breath Biopsy for the first time in one of our clinical trials,” added Dr Ruth Tal-Singer, VP, medicine development leader and GSK senior fellow, Respiratory R&D GSK. “We hope that exploration of volatile compounds in breath will provide a tool to identify COPD patients who could benefit most from our medicines. We look forward to analysing the results generated from Breath Biopsy when available.”