PExA signs its first rental and data-sharing agreement in Australia

• News, Press Releases

PExA AB is pleased to announce that The Prince Charles Hospital Foundation (TPCHF) in Brisbane, Australia, has signed a 12-month rental agreement for the PExA 2.1 research instrument.

The agreement, which includes both rental and formalized data sharing, follows an earlier evaluation phase during which the technology was used to collect samples in lung disease studies. This marks an important milestone in PExA’s expansion into the Asia–Pacific region.

At the Queensland Lung Transplant Service (QLTS), based at The Prince Charles Hospital, a new study is now underway to explore whether proteomic analysis of exhaled air can serve as a less invasive alternative to bronchoscopy – in particular bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), which has so far been the only established method for sampling from the distal lung.

• A recent rise in silicosis cases has highlighted the need for better strategies to diagnose and monitor this and other interstitial lung diseases (ILDs), said Dr Simon Apte, Chief Scientist at the QLTS Laboratory. – This study will be the first to directly compare matched samples from BAL, blood serum, and particles in exhaled air (PEx), with the goal of validating PEx as a minimally invasive tool for early diagnosis and disease monitoring.

Click here or at the image to watch Dr Simon Apte, Chief Scientist at the Queensland Lung Transplant Service Research Centre, express his enthusiasm about its potential impact: “It can measure particles coming out of the lung, but what we can do with this machine is capture proteins coming from the very deepest part of the lung, so this is going to revolutionise the way that we can take samples from the lung and also do diagnosis.”

The study is supported by The Common Good – the research initiative of The Prince Charles Hospital Foundation – which funds medical research in areas such as heart and lung disease, with the aim of improving health outcomes for both current and future generations.

It includes both ILD patients undergoing all three sampling methods, and individuals with silicosis from whom only PEx samples are collected. By analysing how biomarkers in exhaled air correlate with conventional BAL results, the goal is to demonstrate that PEx can serve as a safer and more repeatable alternative for assessing the alveolar region – where many interstitial diseases originate.

The biomarker analysis focuses on proteins in exhaled air and may contribute to new approaches for earlier identification and monitoring of disease activity in ILD and silicosis.

Tomas Gustafsson, CEO of PExA AB, commented:

• We are pleased to see this collaboration move from evaluation to formal use, and proud to contribute to a groundbreaking study that explores how PEx may complement – and in some cases replace – more invasive procedures like bronchoscopy. Since BAL is resource-intensive, there is strong clinical interest in more scalable, repeatable, and patient-friendly alternatives.

The global bronchoscopy equipment market is currently valued at over USD 3 billion annually, with BAL playing a significant role in clinical practice. Through partnerships like this, PExA aims to support the development of new, less invasive diagnostic strategies.

As part of the agreement, anonymized technical data from the study will be shared with PExA, contributing to the company’s growing Small Airway Atlas™ – a data-driven foundation for future diagnostic innovation.

The agreement also includes the right for PExA to refer to the collaboration in communications and to access insights and results from the research – in line with the company’s strategy to build closer relationships with its users and create value through data-enabled partnerships.

For further information, please contact:
Tomas Gustafsson, CEO, info@pexa.se

About PExA AB:

PExA AB PExA AB (556956-9246) has developed the PExA 2.1, a patented research instrument that helps researchers intelligently collect biological samples from the smallest airways through a simple exhalation maneuver. PExA’s technology is currently used by prominent research groups in several different countries and research with the instrument has resulted in approximately 50 scientific publications, which serve as reference material for PExA’s method. The company’s long-term goal is to market and sell diagnostic instruments for popular diseases (e.g. lung cancer and COPD) to be used globally for diagnosis or general screening at facilities where care is offered. The company intends at the time it is relevant to sell to clinics to have developed more patient-friendly, flexible and commercial products, which means that PExA addresses a significantly wider market, which today includes several million patients globally.

PExA’s B share is listed on the Spotlight Stock Market.