Start-up from Forchheim develops prevention breath test - and wins innovation award

07.05.2025

A head start through breath analysis: VOC-Advanced Breath Diagnostics GmbH wants to redefine colon cancer screening with an innovative test procedure. Success in the Upper Franconian innovation competition could be just the beginning.

The healthcare industry is on the brink of change - and a young company from Forchheim is right in the middle of it: VOC-Advanced Breath Diagnostics GmbH was awarded the "Show us your innovation" innovation prize in the healthcare category for its "Indicator breath test for individual colon cancer risk". The competition, organized by Oberfranken Offensiv and sponsored by the Bavarian State Ministry of Finance and Regional Identity, makes pioneering projects from the region visible and offers them a stage for national attention.

The start-up, founded in 2022 by Prof. Dr. med. Wieland Voigt, focuses on prevention rather than intervention with its patented breath test method. The technology measures the concentration of hydrogen sulphide in the breath - a biomarker that is associated with an unhealthy diet and therefore an increased risk of colon cancer. The aim is to identify people at risk at an early stage, motivate them to take preventative health measures and encourage them to adopt a more conscious lifestyle - without any invasive interventions.

"With our method, we not only want to improve diagnoses, but above all prevent the disease from developing in the first place," explains Voigt. "The breath provides us with astonishingly precise information about the state of the body - and that's exactly what we use to contribute to modern preventive medicine."

Success in the competition not only brings VOC-Advanced Breath Diagnostics GmbH recognition, but also new opportunities: as the winner in the health category, the start-up will have the opportunity to present itself at the prestigious nationwide "Innovator of the Year" competition organized by the German Business Network (DDW). The award ceremony will take place in Berlin in November 2025.

Henry Schramm, District President and Chairman of Oberfranken Offensiv, is also impressed: "VOC-Advanced Breath Diagnostics GmbH demonstrates the potential of Upper Franconian innovations. This project is a model of how high-tech, medical research and entrepreneurship can be combined - right in the heart of our region."

The young company has an excellent network in the medical and scientific environment in northern Bavaria: With locations in Erlangen and Forchheim, VOC-Advanced Breath Diagnostics GmbH benefits from its proximity to the Faculty of Medicine at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, the renowned medical technology industry in the region and a strong start-up ecosystem. The company develops and markets breath-based test procedures that are also intended to be used for other gastrointestinal and metabolic diseases in the future.

With the planned marketing campaign by Oberfranken Offensiv, a broad media presence and participation in the nationwide innovation competition, the start-up is now facing the next big step: market penetration and scaling of the technology. For Voigt and his team, the innovation prize is therefore not the goal - but the beginning of a path on which modern medical progress, regional strength and social benefits go hand in hand.

As a partner in the Bayern Innovativ healthcare network, the company demonstrates with its technology that Bavaria is fertile ground for innovation. Together we are shaping the future of the healthcare sector and VOC-Advanced Breath Diagnostics GmbH shows that it works.

Further information can be found here