Owlstone Medical, a diagnostics company developing a breathalyser for disease, has announced the expansion of its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) with the appointment of five experts in a range of high value disciplines as the company expands and drives towards its goal of saving 100,000 lives and saving healthcare providers US$1.5 billion.
Owlstone Medical has been advised by Professor Sir Bruce Ponder, Emeritus Professor of Oncology at the University of Cambridge, since June 2017. In this time, Sir Bruce has played a role supporting the application of Owlstone Medical's Breath Biopsy platform to solve challenging questions in oncology, in particular screening for the early detection of cancer when treatment can be most effective.
Sir Bruce is now being joined by leading experts in areas critical to the development of the business: oncology, personalised medicine, breath testing, biomarker discovery, mass spectrometry and toxicology and pharmacology. Owlstone Medical's SAB will provide support and guide the company on product development, technology platform evolution and clinical program design during its next phase of growth.
Owlstone Medical is in a period of rapid growth and has established a world-class advisory network to help guide it through next phase of growth
Dr Patrick Bossuyt
Dr Bossuyt is Professor of Clinical Epidemiology at the University of Amsterdam and acts as Chair of the Division of Public Health & Clinical Methods in the Academic Medical Center. He leads the Biomarker and Test Evaluation Research program in Amsterdam which aims to appraise and develop methods for evaluating medical tests and biomarkers, and to apply these methods in relevant clinical studies.
Dr Christian Frezza
Dr Frezza is an MRC Programme Leader at the MRC Cancer Unit, University of Cambridge. His research is focused on understanding the role of altered metabolism in cancer, particularly investigating how small molecule metabolites affect the process of tumorigenesis with the goal of to exploit this knowledge to pioneer novel tools for cancer diagnosis and therapy.
Dr Chris A Mayhew
Dr Mayhew is the Director of the Institute for Breath Research at the University of Innsbruck and leads the Molecular Physics Group at the school of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Birmingham. His research involves the use of soft chemical ionisation mass spectrometric techniques in the fields of health science, atmospheric chemistry and homeland security.
Dr Anil Modak
Formerly, Associate Director of Medical Products Research & Development at Cambridge Isotope Laboratories, Dr Modak is an expert in stable isotope breath tests and consultant to leading life sciences and technology companies. He has been involved in the design, research and development of novel noninvasive breath tests for personalized medicine using stable isotope substrates for the monitoring of disease severity/toxicity and the evaluation of drug metabolizing enzyme activity.
Dr Alan Boobis
Dr Boobis is Professor of Toxicology at Imperial College London. He retired from his position at the College as Professor of Biochemical Pharmacology and Director of the Public Health England/ Department of Health-supported Toxicology Unit in June 2017, after over 40 years. His main research interests lie in mechanistic toxicology, drug metabolism, mode of action and chemical risk assessment.
Billy Boyle, co-founder and CEO at Owlstone Medical, commented: "Owlstone Medical is in a period of rapid growth, with an increasing number of pharmaceutical companies partnering with us to identify novel breath biomarkers; several high profile clinical trials underway in the areas of lung, colorectal, and other forms of cancer; and multiple products in development targeted to reach market in the next twelve months. Supported by recent financing activities, we are set to accelerate our development, and so have established a world-class advisory network to help guide us through our next phase of growth. The SAB forms a key strategic resource for the Company and I am very pleased that we have been able to recruit such experienced and well-respected members to join us on our journey."