EDX Medical to Collaborate With NHS on Rapid Pneumonia Test

EDX Medical Group is teaming up with the National Health Service in the United Kingdom to develop a new pneumonia test for critically ill patients.

Specifically, EDX Medical will partner with the Intensive Care Unit at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to further advance a highly precise test that identifies the DNA or RNA of the microbes that cause lung infection in pneumonia. Once the test is completed, the results will be read using digital technology and made available to ICU doctors in 60 seconds, removing the wait time for a manual test result.

“This is a massively important project which will result in a test that will demonstrate the immediate impact of new clinical diagnostics in frontline NHS hospitals, saving both lives and resources,” EDX Medical Founder Professor Sir Chris Evans said.

This public-private partnership, which also involves the University of Cambridge, the U.K. Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and Cambridge Enterprise, should develop the test in time to make it available for NHS patients this year.

The work, backed in the early stages by Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust (ACT), supports the U.K. government’s 10-year strategic plan for the NHS by deploying digital technology to bedside care to treat patients better and earlier.

EDX Medical has licensed the intellectual property and clinical research for the test from Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH) and Cambridge Enterprise and will undertake validation and further development work before supplying the completed test to Addenbrooke’s Hospital and other hospitals within the CUH’s catchment area. Subject to validation, CUH has also entered into a service agreement with EDX Medical to provide the assay for its critically ill patients for the next four years.

“It’s a great privilege to collaborate with the leading experts at Addenbrooke’s and Cambridge University to make this test available as soon as possible for NHS patients in the U.K.,” EDX Medical CEO Dr. Mike Hudson stated.

Community-acquired pneumonias (CAP) and hospital-acquired pneumonias (HAP) are common major life-threatening diseases that require rapid and accurate testing coupled to precision treatment. HAPs alone cost the NHS an estimated £1.5 billion per year and take nearly 1 million bed days from service, much of which can be avoided by early detections. CAP is the most common infectious reason for patients to be admitted to intensive care, and hospitalized cases are estimated to cost the NHS £731 million annually. Pandemic respiratory infections also occur on a cyclical basis, and the ability to detect known pathogens and rapidly adapt assays to deal with emerging pathogens was critical during the COVID-19 pandemic. This rapid test capability will better equip the ICU for any future pandemics.

NHS England estimates suggest that in England alone each year 72,542 people develop HAP, leading to 15,072 deaths and the avoidable loss of 459,755 hospital bed days annually. About 83,000 patients are estimated to develop CAP every year, with hospitalized cases accounting for 95% of the costs of this condition.

EDX Medical will, under an existing collaboration with Thermo Fisher Scientific, also develop and validate a kit version of the test that can be provided to other hospital and laboratories in the U.K. and Europe, subject to regulatory approval.

“As well as treating patients in Addenbrooke’s Hospital, the CUH–EDX partnership will significantly improve the care of critically ill ICU patients across the U.K. and Europe,” commented Dr. Vilas Navapurkar, consultant in intensive care medicine and anaesthesia at Cambridge University Hospitals. “Building on our existing partnerships with the University of Cambridge and UKHSA demonstrates why Cambridge is uniquely positioned to advance healthcare in the future.”

EDX Medical develops and deploys digitally-enabled diagnostic products and services to identify disease risk, improve clinical decision-making, and accelerate the development of new medicines for cancer, heart disease, and infectious diseases. The company is listed on the Aquis Stock Exchange in London and since its formation has acquired two companies, Hutano Diagnostics Ltd., and Torax Biosciences Ltd. to broaden its capabilities. By translating clinical insights into pragmatic solutions, EDX Medical seeks to enable better outcomes for patients through the personalized disease management.