Developing breath-based tests for respiratory infections
Diagnosing lower respiratory infections can require sputum or samples collected through invasive procedures. Obtaining good-quality samples is difficult, and without rapid diagnosis clinicians face challenges in choosing appropriate treatment and managing antibiotic use.
Exhalon is developing breath-based tests that combine mass spectrometry and AI to identify respiratory infections. It analyses molecules in exhaled air to support rapid, non-invasive diagnosis and offers breath-biomarker discovery services.
What stands out about Exhalon
Received a US$1 million CARB-X grant to develop breath-based diagnostics for respiratory infections.
Source ↗Achieved 98% sensitivity and 74% specificity for COVID-19 screening with breath analysis plus clinical data in a cross-validated founding study published in 2023.
Source ↗Spun out of the Infection and Inflammation Laboratory at Université Paris-Saclay, Inserm and UVSQ in 2025.
Source ↗Co-founded by Stanislas Grassin-Delyle, a professor of pharmacology and hospital practitioner at Foch Hospital.
Source ↗Co-founded by Cécile Chevalier, who previously co-founded diagnostics company Diagante in 2020.
Source ↗Supported by IncubAlliance Paris-Saclay, the public deeptech incubator serving the Paris-Saclay research ecosystem.
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