‌Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is one of the healthcare and research communities’ most concerning respiratory illnesses. It is commonly misdiagnosed in about half of the 6 million people worldwide that have the disease. In 7 years, COPD is expected to rank third among the most common causes of death, and fifth among causes of disability. There is still no cure and no reliable means to diagnose the disease early on, when respiratory failure is still avoidable.

Swansea’s College of Medicine was able to develop a new, non-invasive technique using infrared spectroscopy for COPD diagnostics. Glyconics will be collaborating with Swansea University in developing a portable, laboratory-based diagnostic test for the disease.

Berwyn Clarke, CEO of Glyconics said:

“With this license secured, we can move ahead to launch our technology into areas of unmet clinical need where there is very little genuine competition. Given the global significance of COPD as a major clinical problem we will be looking to rapidly identify commercial partners who can assist in the deployment of our devices into the major global markets. Importantly we are also continuing to work very closely with Swansea University to build a development pipeline around other signatures for other diseases.”