An early stage pulmonary medical device company has developed a breath sensor to measure air speed, which helps diagnose lung disease.
The company’s device offers a more cost-effective option to the more expensive technology currently being used by pulmonary medical instruments to measure air flow, according to a company statement. Its FeatherTone Sensor would focus on asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients, a market of more than 19 million people.
Dr. Ned Forbes, the co-founder of Millville, New Jersey-based Feather Sensors, said the company recently signed an agreement with Taiyo Instruments to distribute the device in Japan and projects first-year sales at $100,000. In three years, it expects that number to grow to $2 million. Forbes runs the company with Dr. Robert E. Coifman, an allergist. Forbes spoke to MedCity News at a conference this week on personalized medicine in Princeton, New Jersey, which was hosted by biotechnology industry association BioNJ.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Dr. Ned Forbes of Feather Sensors
