TidalSense has raised £14 million to take on the UK’s third-biggest killer.

The Cambridge firm is aiming to transform respiratory diagnostics, starting with a breath test for COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).

COPD is the UK’s third biggest cause of death, killing around 30,000 people a year and costing the NHS £1.9 billion annually. Over half of NHS regions’ lack the capacity to meet current demand for spirometry testing, and an estimated 1.9 million people are living with the condition — diagnosed and undiagnosed combined. 

It is also the second-leading cause of emergency hospital admissions, while an exacerbation serious enough to require hospital treatment is linked to worse prognosis and higher risk of death.

The funding round will be used to accelerate commercialisation in the UK and support globalisation of the technology, including to the USA. It includes investment from new investor Cross-Border Impact Ventures (a North American health tech impact fund), and returning investors BGF, Airstream Capital and Foresight Group.