Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

Background

COPD is the persistent obstruction of the airways occurring with emphysema and/or chronic bronchitis. COPD will be the third leading cause of death worldwide by 2020 due to an increase in smoking rates.

Problem

Acute exacerbations of COPD in existing suffers are a common occurrence, often caused by infections or air pollutants/ allergens.

Solution

NHSIL has funded clinicians at a London Trust to develop a COPD diagnostic test that will provide quantitative data to identify the top 20 causative agents of COPD exacerbation. This will enable clinicians to treat COPD exacerbations quickly and more effectively in an outpatient setting. It will support the use of disease specific antibiotics as opposed to broad spectrum treatments.

Market Potential

It is the fourth largest cause of death worldwide. There are currently no diagnostic tests on the market capable of detecting multiple causation agents for a single exacerbation of COPD. There are 13 million GP/hospital visits a year due to acute exacerbation of COPD. The estimated US market value for an effective test is approximately $130 million.

This product is currently available to license from NHSIL.