“If you are in respiratory and there is a real opportunity to be part of the solution for COVID, there is a really significant value opportunity right now.”

The chief executive of asthma monitoring startup Respiri, Marjan Mikel, is also hoping to crack the US market. Reflecting on Pfizer’s bid for ResApp, Mikel said his company has had conversations with major pharmaceutical players but has yet to see a compelling offer for collaboration or a takeover.

Respiri offers a smartphone monitoring system called Wheezo which is designed to track a user’s wheezes and log their asthma symptoms for better treatment.

The company is hoping the tech will appeal to doctors in the US, who have only recently transitioned to telehealth systems for patients because of the pandemic. The American healthcare system has clearer reimbursement pathways for the tech, which the company estimates means that a US patient using the tech generates up to five times as much revenue as Australian patients.

“The US is our first, second and third priority,” Mikel said.

There’s still research to be done - while 4DMedical’s platform has a Therapeutic Goods Administration registration, the company is still working through clinical trials to show exactly how its software can be used to track various respiratory diseases.

As international travel reopens, so too does the conference circuit. Fouras said his company is ready to share research findings with industry during upcoming events, including the American Thoracic Society’s annual conference in San Francisco next month.

“It provides us with the perfect opportunity to get those results out.”

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