Respiro Diagnostics raises £1m from Zinc Venture Capital and SFC Capital
This article covers Respiro Diagnostics, a healthtech startup, raising £1m in a pre-seed funding round to advance a breath-based liquid biopsy platform for earlier, non-invasive detection of lung cancer and other respiratory diseases. The funding will support clinical research and further development of its sampling device and laboratory processes to enable earlier diagnosis and molecular profiling for patients and clinicians.
Respiro Diagnostics, a healthtech startup, has raised £1 million in a pre-seed funding round to advance a breath-based liquid biopsy platform intended for earlier, non-invasive detection of lung cancer and other respiratory diseases. The capital will be used to support clinical research and continued development of the company’s device and laboratory processes as it prepares for patient studies.
Why it matters
Lung cancer remains the deadliest cancer, accounting for nearly one in five cancer deaths worldwide. Current diagnostic paths often force a trade-off: invasive tissue biopsies that carry procedural risk and can yield insufficient material, or blood-based tests that miss tumours that shed little circulating tumour DNA. As a result, more than half of patients are diagnosed at Stage IV, when five-year survival rates fall below 10% and many never receive molecular profiling that could guide targeted therapies.
A non-invasive, rapid test that captures biological material directly from the lung could narrow that diagnostic gap and increase the proportion of patients eligible for effective treatments. Respiro’s approach aims to position itself between high-risk tissue sampling and low-sensitivity blood tests.
Inside the product
Respiro’s system uses a patent-pending device to collect a liquid breath sample in minutes. Rather than measuring volatile gases, the company says the device captures the biological material exhaled from the lung and a proprietary lab process profiles DNA, RNA and protein within the sample. That multi-omic readout is intended to support earlier detection and molecular profiling that informs treatment choice.
Proof of concept has been demonstrated in initial testing with mesothelioma patients. Respiro plans to start its first clinical study in lung cancer patients in September 2026 at Aalborg University Hospital in Denmark. The team is also exploring applications beyond cancer, including pulmonary hypertension and asthma.
Who are the investors?
The round was led by Zinc Venture Capital and SFC Capital, with participation from Amadeus Capital Partners, the Conception X Angel Syndicate, KQ Labs and strategic angel investors. Respiro also received grant funding from a UK public research agency to support development and trials.
The funding is earmarked for clinical studies and to refine both the collection device and the laboratory workflows that translate breath samples into actionable molecular information.
In the announcement, Natalie Pankova, Partner at Zinc Venture Capital, said:
Respiro Diagnostics is exactly the type of businesses we back and help build in our Science-for-Impact portfolio. High calibre Founders with a commercial and scientific complementarity, and a platform that extends across respiratory disease for a multi-billion-dollar diagnostics opportunity. There is potential here to change how lung cancer is detected, before patients are diagnosed too late to be treated.
In the announcement, Adam Beveridge, Investor at SFC Capital, said:
We're glad to back Theo and Alison. Theo built the product out of his own research, and Alison knows how to take health products from the lab into hospitals. Between them they combine the science and route to market, and we're looking forward to what comes next.
If you're researching potential backers in this space:
- Explore our list of healthtech venture capital firms in the UK
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Founder perspective
Respiro was co-founded by Dr Theo Issitt and Alison Quinn. Issitt’s work on breath diagnostics began during a PhD at the University of York and continued in postdoctoral research with Cancer Research UK and Imperial College London.
In the announcement, Alison Quinn, Co-founder & CEO at Respiro Diagnostics, said:
We're building Respiro hand in hand with the clinicians who will use it, because the best science means nothing if it doesn't hold up in a busy clinic. Our first study is designed to show that we can detect lung cancer and guide treatment decisions, and from there we'll progress towards other respiratory diseases. Our vision is simple: that one day, a breath sample is all it takes to know what's happening in your lungs - early, while there's still time to act.
In the announcement, Theo Issitt, Co-founder at Respiro Diagnostics, said:
The deeper I went into breath research, the more I kept hitting the same wall: the field was measuring the volatile gases the lung gives off, its by-products, when the lung is actually exhaling the biological material itself - the DNA, RNA and protein that reveal what's really happening. We decided to stop chasing the by-products and go after the source.
The bigger picture
Respiro’s funding and upcoming clinical study reflect two broader trends in healthtech: a push toward non-invasive diagnostics that can be deployed in routine clinical settings, and an emphasis on multi-omic approaches that combine genetic and proteomic signals to improve sensitivity. Moving from academic research into regulated clinical studies is a resource-intensive step, and the pre-seed funding is intended to bridge that gap.
The planned Denmark study also highlights the cross-border nature of clinical validation for UK-based teams aiming for wider European adoption.
The round underscores how a mix of private investment and public research support is being used to move UK healthtech projects from lab prototypes toward clinical evidence and potential deployment across Europe.
They've invested in Respiro Diagnostics
Get to know these healthtech investors
| Investors | Investment Focus | Startup Investments | Round Size | Connect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Zinc Venture Capital( ) | ||||
 SFC Capital( ) SFC Capital is a venture capital firm that focuses on investing in early-stage t... London  | ||||
 Amadeus Capital Partners( ) Amadeus Capital Partners is a deep tech venture capital firm, investing since 19... London | ||||
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