Press release +

Prothea Technologies is pleased to announce the enrolment of the first patient in the Precision Lung clinical study (ISRCTN15093468).

The study is co-sponsored by ACCORD, the joint research office between the University of Edinburgh and NHS Lothian. Prothea has provided technology as part of a collaboration agreement with the University of Edinburgh.

Up to 40 patients will be recruited at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh where the study will evaluate a novel bronchoscopy system in patients requiring a biopsy, with abnormal lung lesions per CT scan. Endpoints include safety and procedural success, as well as biopsy yield.

The technology combines innovative microscopic optical fibres, next generation fluorescence imaging and biopsy instruments to deliver adjacent image capture and tissue characterisation at the molecular level.

This approach has been designed to differentiate normal from abnormal tissue in vivo, to ensure that the biopsy sample is sufficient – whether for diagnostic purposes or for obtaining the molecular data essential for guiding gold-standard therapies.

Artificial Intelligence algorithms currently under development will be applied to the anonymised imaging data sets acquired in the study and incorporated in future software upgrades, to address well documented challenges in the current patient journey.

Dr Adam Marshall, Principal Investigator in the Precision Lung clinical investigation and Consultant Physician in Respiratory Medicine, NHS Lothian, commented: “Despite the introduction of many new technologies in recent years there are still patients around the world whose biopsies don’t provide sufficient tissue for the pathology they require. This novel technology clearly offers something different and I hope that this study will prove to be a satisfactory basis for further clinical investigations.”

For further information, please contact:

Dr. Anne Moore, COO
Email: [email protected]

About Prothea

Prothea Technologies is a private medical technology company with a vision to offer lung cancer biopsy and treatment in a single hospital visit. Lung cancer is the third most common form of cancer in the U.S. and annually claims more lives than breast, prostate and colon cancer combined. Screening programmes aim to facilitate the early detection of suspicious lesions, but delivering value from these initiatives requires a significant increase in biopsy performance, presenting a challenge for hospitals already grappling with low biopsy yields and false negatives.

Prothea Technologies, a spin-out company from the Universities of Edinburgh and Bath, in-licensed several patents from these institutions as part of a Series A financing in 2024. Prothea’s novel bronchoscopy system is initially focused on patients requiring a biopsy, with abnormal lung lesions per CT scan. The technology combines innovative microscopic optical fibres, next generation fluorescence imaging and biopsy instruments to deliver adjacent image capture and tissue characterisation at the molecular level.

A laser ablation catheter is in development for the treatment of lesions immediately following visualisation and biopsy. The integration of these two systems (real-time imaging and ablation) will streamline biopsy and treatment into a single hospital visit, reducing time-to-treat from weeks to minutes, thereby relieving hospital pressures and improving patient outcomes.

The Prothea Imaging and Biopsy system and the Ablation system are in development and are not currently cleared for use in any country.

The Company’s clinical pipeline also includes a well-advanced program supported by Wellcome, for the early identification of specific lung infections in intensive care patients, enabling earlier selection of optimal drug therapy.