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Owlstone Medical - Exogenous Volatile Organic Compound (EVOC) Probes
Exogenous Volatile Organic Compound (EVOC) Probes for targeted assessment of biological pathways. Endogenous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are produced as a result of metabolic processes within the body, meaning that underlying changes in metabolic activity, including those from your gut microbiome, can produce patterns of VOCs characteristic of specific diseases. As disease has an immediate effect on metabolism, the pattern of VOCs exhaled will change, making Breath Biopsy® an excellent tool with the potential to enable earlier disease diagnosis and precision medicine applications.
Over 1,000 VOCs have been detected in breath, making it a rich source of information regarding the overall health status of individuals. However, it can be challenging to identify and validate breath biomarkers associated with a specific disease using an untargeted approach, and indeed suitable endogenous VOC biomarkers may not always be identifiable or present.
We are developing our EVOC Probe method as a reliable and high-sensitivity alternative to untargeted biomarker discovery. This approach offers the advantage that compounds not normally found at significant levels in breath can be introduced into the body (individually or as a cocktail), to explore how they are absorbed, metabolized or excreted.
The concept involves exogenous VOC (EVOC) Probes, which are safe compounds that when administered undergo metabolism in the body and are excreted via breath, offering a readout of metabolism by enzymes and organs. This approach could permit high levels of compounds to be administered, substantially improving signal-to-noise ratios compared to signals from endogenous sources and thus greatly improving reliability of detection.