A Global Leader in Interventional Pulmonology, Planning Tools, and Treatments for Obstructive Lung Disease
Based in Redwood City, California, and Neuchâtel, Switzerland, Pulmonx is the maker of the Zephyr® Valve. The Zephyr Valve was granted breakthrough status and approved by the FDA in June 2018, because according to the FDA it “represents a breakthrough technology as the device offers bronchoscopic lung volume reduction without surgery and its associated risks. This device offers a significant, clinically meaningful advantage over the current standard of care and therefore, its availability is also in the best interest of patients.”20
The company’s commercially available portfolio includes the Zephyr Valve. More than 100 scientific articles have been published on the clinical benefits of Zephyr Valves, including multiple meta-analyses, review articles, cost-effectiveness analyses and risk-benefit analyses. It also includes:
The Zephyr Valve
The Zephyr Endobronchial Valve is an implantable device used to occlude all airways feeding the hyperinflated lobe of a lung that is most diseased with emphysema.
StratX® Lung Analysis Reports
A cloud-based quantitative computed tomography (CT) analysis service that provides information on emphysema destruction, fissure completeness, and lobar volume to help identify target lobes for the Zephyr Valve treatment.
The Chartis® Pulmonary Assessment System
A proprietary balloon catheter and console provides precise flow and pressure readings for specific lobes in the lung to assess absence of collateral ventilation.
This combination of assessment tools and therapeutics enables physicians to successfully predict outcomes and provide optimal treatment for each individual patient.
Meeting an Unmet Need
COPD refers to a group of lung diseases characterized by obstruction of airflow that interferes with normal breathing.
- In 2015, it affected approximately 175 million patients and was responsible for 3.2 million deaths globally.26
- In the United States, COPD is the third leading cause of death and affected approximately 16 million Americans as of 2013.27
- COPD was expected to be associated with approximately $49 billion in direct medical costs in 2020.28
- Emphysema, a form of COPD, is a debilitating and life-threatening disease that progressively destroys lung tissue, resulting in a diminishing ability to breathe and engage in the most basic daily activities, leading to a high mortality rate.29
- The lung damage caused by emphysema is irreversible.29
- As of 2018, approximately 3.8 million patients in the United States were diagnosed with emphysema,31 of which roughly 1.5 million have severe emphysema.32
Clinically Proven Results
Used together, these technologies have been clinically proven to improve pulmonary function, exercise capacity, and quality of life in emphysema patients across multiple randomized controlled trials. More than 40,000 patients have been treated worldwide since 2007.
The Zephyr Valve treatment is included in emphysema treatment guidance documents issued by leading health organizations worldwide, including the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD)9-10 and the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).11
The company is invested in building further clinical evidence across patient phenotypes to support the use of its technologies.
Pulmonx products are commercially available in Europe, United States, Australia, Asia, Latin America, and other countries worldwide.
Mission and Values
Mission
To be the global leader and trusted partner in assessment and treatment of severe lung disease by innovating and commercializing evidence-based solutions to improve patients’ breathing and quality of life.
Values
- Patient focus: We put the best interest of our patients at the center of our decisions, and seek to delight our customers as we partner to serve patients.
- Innovation: We adapt quickly, and continuously seek new ways to create value for our customers, employees, and shareholders.
- Science: We take a data-driven approach to decision making, clinical strategy, and commercial execution.
- Global Collaboration: We seek diverse perspectives and teams that work respectfully across geographies and functions to bring our innovations to patients around the world.
- Accountability: We deliver on our commitments with integrity, transparency, sound judgement, and a sense of urgency.
Pulmonx Gives Diverse Students Opportunity
to Explore Pathways in Health Technology
Pulmonx mentored a diverse cohort of students selected from 10 Bay Area community colleges to help prepare them for future careers in the medical technology industry. It was the first-ever Pathways in Health Technology Program, created by the nonprofit Diversity by Doing (DxD) HealthTech.
“As someone who started as an international student in the US, I am indebted to the mentors I have met over the years, who have helped shape the course of my medical device career. The DxD program is a remarkable effort in outreach and education, and it has been a rewarding experience in sharing our collective knowledge with an incredibly talented group of students. We hope that this program will inspire one or all of them to a career in helping patients in need,” says Sri Radhakrishnan, Chief Technology Officer, Pulmonx.
Of the 27 students in the inaugural cohort 81% were women and 41% were from groups that have been historically underrepresented in science and technology. The program met eight times between January 20 and April 15, 2023, with the final session including student presentations and a certificate ceremony.
We hope that these students can be the future of health technology innovation, bringing more diverse perspectives that make medtech more equitable, accessible, and trusted.
