Meet Billy!

Billy Boyle is an engineering graduate from Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge.

Billy co-founded Owlstone Inc, spun out of Cambridge in 2004, with the goal of developing the applications of field asymmetric ion mobility spectroscopy (FAIMS). Billy started to focus on the medical applications of FAIMS technology after his wife, Kate, was diagnosed and later died of colon cancer as a result of a late diagnosis. He worked closely with clinical partners who integrated FAIMS technology across a broad spectrum of research studies. Positive results helped to spin-out, and secure initial funding for, Owlstone Medical. With ongoing clinical and commercial success, Billy led this process and became the founding CEO upon the close of a $7M investment in March 2016.

Billy is also a CEO of Owlstone Medical, a company that has developed Breath Biopsy with the goal of creating non-invasive breath tests to support early detection and precision medicine of diseases including cancer, asthma, COPD and liver disease. The mission of Owlstone Medical is to save 100,000 lives and $1.5B in healthcare costs. The company works with leading academic institutions and industry leaders such as Astra Zeneca, J&J and GSK. As of 2021, the company has secured over $150M of investment. As a CEO, Billiy is helping develop a non-invasive breathalyser to support the early detection of cancer, respiratory and liver diseases, digestive health problems and other conditions.

Moreover, Billy is a judge for the Cancer Research UK (CRUK) Pioneer award and a trustee of the Linacre Institute. He was made a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2020 and an MBE in 2021.

“I am thrilled to be King’s inaugural Entrepreneur-in-Residence. Through my residency, I’ll be available to assist students with their entrepreneurial ideas and projects as well as navigating Cambridge Ecosystem.”