Respiro Diagnostics secures £1m pre-seed funding to advance breath-based lung cancer diagnostics

British health technology startup Respiro Diagnostics has raised £1 million in pre-seed funding to accelerate the development of a breath-based liquid biopsy platform designed to improve the early detection of lung cancer.

The financing round was led by Zinc Venture Capital and SFC Capital, with participation from Amadeus Capital Partners, the Conception X Angel Syndicate, KQ Labs, a group of strategic angel investors, and grant funding from Innovate UK.

The company intends to use the proceeds to expand its clinical research programme and further develop both its proprietary breath collection device and laboratory processes.

Lung cancer remains the world’s deadliest form of cancer, accounting for almost one in five cancer-related deaths. Diagnosis continues to rely largely on tissue biopsies, which are invasive procedures that can carry significant risks and do not always yield sufficient material for molecular analysis. Blood-based liquid biopsies offer a less invasive alternative but may fail to detect tumours that release only small quantities of circulating DNA.

Respiro Diagnostics is pursuing a different approach. Its patent-pending technology captures a liquid sample directly from exhaled breath in a matter of minutes before analysing its DNA, RNA and protein content. The company believes the method could provide clinicians with a non-invasive means of detecting disease earlier while supporting more precise treatment decisions.

Initial proof-of-concept work has been completed in patients with mesothelioma. The company’s first clinical study in lung cancer is scheduled to begin in September 2026 at Aalborg University Hospital in Denmark. Beyond oncology, Respiro is also investigating applications in respiratory conditions including pulmonary hypertension and asthma.

The technology builds on research conducted by co-founder Dr Theo Issitt during his doctoral studies in breath diagnostics at the University of York and subsequent work with Cancer Research UK and Imperial College London. The company has also participated in the KQ Labs accelerator, supported by Cancer Research Horizons.

“We’re building Respiro alongside the clinicians who will ultimately use it,” said Alison Quinn, the company’s co-founder and chief executive. “Our first clinical study is designed to demonstrate that a breath sample can help detect lung cancer and inform treatment decisions.”

For Natalie Pankova, Partner at Zinc Venture Capital, the company combines scientific expertise with commercial ambition in a platform that could reshape the diagnosis of respiratory disease. “There is potential here to change how lung cancer is detected, before patients are diagnosed too late to be treated,” she said.