Breakthrough new diagnostic for irritable bowel syndrome

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a very common condition across the world that has a huge impact on those that suffer from it, yet there is no diagnostic test for the condition. Established in 2019, Nidor Dx is a spin-out addressing this major diagnostic challenge.

With no diagnostic test for IBS, patients frequently face extensive testing to rule out other conditions, which delays getting the right treatments.

Nidor Dx is a joint spin-out company addressing this IBS diagnostic challenge that was established in 2019. The founding shareholders are the University of Liverpool, the University of West England Bristol (UWE Bristol), the University of Bristol and The Wellcome Trust.

The company is developing a diagnostic device that analyses the volatile organic compounds in patient’s stool samples. People who suffer from IBS show different gas patterns to those with healthy bowels, and this provides the mechanism to create a new diagnostic that will be the first to be able to positively diagnose IBS.

Chris Probert, Professor of Gastroenterology at the Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology is co-inventor of the technology along with Ben De Lacy Costello, Associate Professor of Biosensing and Diagnostics at UWE Bristol and Kevin Whelan, Professor of Dietetics at King’s College London.

In its first three years, Nidor Dx received £75,500 funding from the Liverpool City Region Future Innovation Fund, which enabled the development of the sensor system. This underwent laboratory validation with Agilent Instruments early in 2022.

In addition, through their 2021 seed investment round the company hope to raise £1 M, which will enable the team to deliver a final design that will be bench tested and ready for clinical validation and further sample trialling.

Nidor Dx highlights:

  • Sector: Medical diagnostics
  • £75K from Liverpool City Region Future Innovation Fund
  • Partnership with Agilent Instruments

Irritable bowel syndrome is common, but it can be challenging to diagnose, and treat. This is the first test for IBS, rather than a test that helps rule out other conditions. We were excited to see that, in a subset of the patients, the gas pattern could be used to predict response to dietary treatment of IBS. Thus, one stool sample will help make the diagnosis and determine the best treatment strategy. This should be a game-change for the 10% of the population who have IBS.

Professor Chris Probert, Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology

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