December 14, 2023. The Swiss breath diagnostics start-up, Avelo, announces that they have received a CHF 1.5M Innosuisse Grant to realize a Startup Innovation Project. The grant will drive the development of AveloCollect, a new breath sampling device aimed at improving the diagnosis of lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs).
LRTIs, currently the 4th leading cause of death worldwide, pose a significant global health concern. Accurate pathogen identification is critical for selecting targeted treatments and preventing fatalities. However, current sampling methods fall short, either missing lower tract pathogens, yielding low diagnostic accuracy, or being highly invasive, leaving up to 50% of patients without an accurate diagnosis. Avelo aims to address this issue with AveloCollect, simplifying the collection process for LRTI pathogens with use of a non-invasive breath sampling.
This project, spanning 34-months, leverages Avelo’s ongoing Eurostars project and will focus on clinical development and market readiness for AveloCollect. This device’s compatibility with various respiratory pathogens positions this product as a potential game-changer for roll-out in European markets and offers opportunities for global commercial partnerships.
Tobias Broger, co-founder and CTO of Avelo, commented: “This project represents a key step toward revolutionizing respiratory infection diagnostics and addressing a crucial need in global healthcare. We are very grateful to Innosuisse for supporting us in our mission.”
About Avelo
Avelo, the Swiss breath aerosol diagnostic company, aims to revolutionize the diagnosis of Tuberculosis and lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) causing pneumonia. Their breath collector enables non-invasive collection of pathogens from breath and works in combination with existing PCR tests. The collector is designed for broad utility, similar to other sample collection technologies such as blood tubes. Avelo has a talented team with experience in functional materials, IVD product development, clinical research, molecular diagnostics, and business development working from their R&D facilities in Zurich-Schlieren.
About the Innosuisse Startup Innovation Project grant
Innosuisse promotes SMEs, start-ups, and other Swiss organizations in their R&D activities. The Innosuisse Startup Innovation Project grants support science-based projects of start-ups with significant innovation potential and prepare start-ups for entering the market for the first time.