OMED Health partners with Aviva to support the digestive health of employees

OMED Health ("OMED"), a UK-based business pioneering non-invasive breath analysis for gut health and part of Owlstone Medical ("Owlstone"), the global leader in Breath Biopsy^® for applications in early disease detection and precision medicine, today announced a pilot as part of its longstanding collaboration with Aviva, the UK's leading diversified insurer.

The pilot, involving 75 Aviva employees, intends to demonstrate the value of the OMED Health solution in a workplace setting by addressing the significant impact of gastrointestinal (GI) conditions on employee health and workplace productivity. The study is expected to be completed within six months.

The pilot group of Aviva employees will receive access to OMED Health Plans, a CQC-registered service that guides individuals through personalized care pathways, including treatments and custom diet plans and supported by consultations with a licensed Owlstone medical doctor, to help them to gain control over their GI symptoms or conditions. Each participant will also receive an OMED Health Breath Analyzer, a handheld medical device that accurately measures gases related to the microbiome, and a linked mobile app which collects vital symptom and dietary data. The Analyzer will be used to track progress through the pilot, and surveys will be provided to participants prior to and following the pilot to determine the direct impact of the Health Plan on their gut health and quality of life.

Functional gut disorders such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO), Intestinal Methanogen Overgrowth (IMO), and food intolerances affect up to 1 in 8 people globally, and in the UK alone 17% of adults have IBS or another form of GI disease. Unfortunately, while there are many potential causes, symptoms can be non-specific and so many suffer for years without a clear resolution, impacting every aspect of normal life at home and at work.

The broader implications of poor digestive health are significant. In the UK, direct costs of IBS alone are estimated at over £2 billion per year with indirect costs twice this amount⁶. Gut health issues are also a leading cause of workplace absenteeism, with sufferers requiring almost twice as many days off work, and even when present average productivity is 30% lower. Addressing these conditions by helping those living with digestive disease to find and fix their specific problems is therefore crucial both to support employees and to reduce the economic impact.

This initiative strongly supports the "Fit for the Future: 10 Year Health Plan for England", which outlines three radical shifts for the NHS: from sickness to prevention, from analogue to digital, and from hospital to community. By improving employee health and reducing absenteeism, adoption of the OMED Health solution has the potential to contribute to the broader NHS ambition of enhancing productivity and supporting economic growth, while reducing the burden on the NHS by decreasing unnecessary visits to traditional healthcare settings through at-home diagnosis and management of disease.

Aviva Ventures, Aviva Investors' venture capital arm, first invested in Owlstone Medical in 2017, with Aviva Investors also having made an additional investment through its dedicated Venture & Growth Capital strategy, reflecting the company's broader commitment to backing innovative technologies that improve health outcomes.

As well as being an investor in Owlstone, Aviva is committed to supporting the wellbeing of our employees and we're pleased to offer this unique opportunity for our colleagues to play a role in medical developments. Digestive health issues can be incredibly disruptive, impacting daily life and professional performance, and so are gaining increased attention as part of employee wellness efforts. Owlstone's innovative approach has the potential to transform how these conditions are understood and managed, and we're excited to support their journey through this pilot initiative."

Ant Barker, Director of Venture Capital, Aviva Investors

Billy Boyle, co-founder and CEO at Owlstone Medical, said: "OMED Health was founded to better the diagnosis and management of digestive health by providing patients and doctors with access to transformational breath-based solutions and clinical care, meaningfully improving patients' quality of life, both at work and at home. We intend for the OMED solution to become part of the standard of care, either from ourselves or through license partners, and are grateful to Aviva for the support and funding provided for this study which will help us to advance towards this goal."