• An estimated two million people in the UK are living with undiagnosed Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) – with the disease being the second most common cause of emergency hospital admissions.^1,2
• Among common health conditions*, COPD has the largest mortality gap between the most and least deprived areas in the UK, with socioeconomic inequalities driving both higher prevalence and poorer patient outcomes.^3,4,5
• Chiesi is providing access for NHS primary and community care organisations to Clario’s ArtiQ.Spiro, an AI-enabled spirometry decision support software, to increase diagnosis capacity. 

Manchester, UK – 06 October 2026 – Chiesi UK and Ireland today announced a new programme to help transform COPD diagnosis across the UK by providing NHS primary and community care organisations with access to Clario's ArtiQ.Spiro, an AI-enabled spirometry decision support software. The Chiesi ‘COSMIC (COPD Spirometry Management Supported by AI in a Community Setting)’ programme will provide access to ArtiQ.Spiro through collaborative working projects and donations and will focus on increasing NHS access to high-quality spirometry to strengthen the workforce’s diagnostic capacity and support patients with access to timely diagnosis.

Despite being one of the UK's most common respiratory conditions, COPD remains significantly underdiagnosed, with an estimated two million people living with the disease without a diagnosis.^1,2 Delayed diagnosis can lead to avoidable disease progression and an increased risk of exacerbations, with COPD being the second most common cause of emergency hospital admissions in the UK.^1,6,7 The burden of COPD falls unevenly across society – with socioeconomic deprivation associated with higher prevalence, poorer patient outcomes and higher mortality.^3,4,8  

Claire Adams, Respiratory Clinical Lead, North-East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board, said: "Spirometry services were significantly disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic, with many areas across the country still working to restore capacity. Alongside this, workforce challenges exist, and there are limited numbers of accredited clinicians and often low confidence in interpreting results, which continue to widen the COPD diagnosis gap. Accelerating access to ArtiQ.Spiro - an AI-enabled diagnostic tool - has real potential to address underdiagnosis in COPD, helping to reduce backlogs, reach more patients, and give healthcare professionals greater confidence to support their clinical decision making."

Spirometry, a test which measures lung function, is the primary means to diagnose COPD.⁹ Yet workforce pressures, the need for accreditation and issues performing the test and interpreting results continue to affect timely diagnosis and consistent access to respiratory services.¹⁰

ArtiQ.Spiro supports healthcare professionals to confidently use spirometry by offering assessment of spirometry test quality (prompting reassessment while the patient is still present to correct poor quality readings), guideline aligned interpretation delivered in seconds and disease probability outputs to support clinical judgement. It is already being used in parts of the NHS, and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has issued guidance to enable the NHS to use ArtiQ.Spiro during a 3-year evidence generation period.¹¹ 

Shish Patel, Senior Director, Medical Affairs, Chiesi UK, said: "By bringing together Chiesi's respiratory expertise and AI-enabled diagnostic technology, we have an opportunity to transform how COPD is identified and diagnosed, particularly for communities where the unmet need is greatest. Our ambition is to support NHS primary and community care organisations in the diagnosis of COPD patients, enabling timely intervention and better patient outcomes. With AI increasingly being used in healthcare, it is our hope that this programme will not only accelerate diagnosis, but help address the inequalities that mean some communities face poorer health outcomes than others.”

To find out more, please visit bit.ly/3SxMLet 

ENDS

* This was the largest gap observed among common health conditions analysed by the Office for National Statistics (excluding musculoskeletal disorders and mental health): cancers, cardiovascular diseases, chronic kidney disease, dementia (including Alzheimer’s disease), diabetes and respiratory diseases.

Clario is a third-party technology provider working with Chiesi to deliver the COSMIC programme. Neither Chiesi nor ArtiQ.Spiro will influence, direct, or seek to influence clinical decision-making, prescribing behaviour, or treatment decisions.

About Chiesi Group  
 
Chiesi is a research-oriented international biopharmaceutical group that develops and markets innovative therapeutic solutions in respiratory health, rare diseases, and specialty care. The company’s mission is to improve people’s quality of life and act responsibly towards both the community and the environment.

By changing its legal status to a Benefit Corporation in Italy, the US, France and Colombia, Chiesi’s commitment to creating shared value for society as a whole is legally binding and central to company-wide decision-making. As a certified B Corp since 2019, Chiesi is part of a global community of businesses that meet verified standards for social and environmental business practices. The company aims to reach Net-Zero greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions by 2035.

With 90 years of experience, Chiesi is headquartered in Parma (Italy), with 31 affiliates worldwide, and counts more than 7,900 employees. The Group’s research and development centre in Parma works alongside 6 other important R&D hubs in France, the US, Canada, China, the UK, and Sweden.

For further information please visit https://www.chiesi.uk.com 

Chiesi media contact
Yasmin Ghariani, Chiesi UK
Head of Communications
Phone: (+44) 161 488 5555
Email: y.ghariani@chiesi.com

UK-RES-2601640
September 2026

References

  1 NICE Clinical Knowledge Summaries. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: How common is it? 2025. https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/chronic-obstructive-pulmonary-disease/background-information/prevalence-incidence/
  2 Asthma and Lung UK (2022). COPD in the UK: Delayed diagnosis and unequal care. Executive summary and recommendations. https://www.asthmaandlung.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-03/delayed-diagnosis-unequal-care.pdf 
  3 Office for National Statistics (2023). Inequalities in mortality involving common physical health conditions, England: 21 March to 31 January 2023. https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/healthinequalities/bulletins/inequalitiesinmortalityinvolvingcommonphysicalhealthconditionsengland/latest
  4 Parliament.UK (2026). Health Bill. Written evidence submitted by Asthma + Lung UK (HB30). https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5902/cmpublic/Health/memo/HB30.htm
  5 Philip K, Gaduzo S, Rogers J, et al. 2019. Patient experience of COPD care: outcomes from the British Lung Foundation Patient Passport. BMJ Open Respir Res. 
  6 Welte T, Vogelmeier C, Papi A. COPD: early diagnosis and treatment to slow disease progression. Int J Clin Pract. 2015 Mar;69(3):336-49. doi: 10.1111/ijcp.12522. Epub 2014 Oct 31. PMID: 25363328.
  7 Kostikas K, Loefroth E, Fogel R, et al. 2019. Clinical consequences of late chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) diagnosis compared to early diagnosis in UK primary care. European Respiratory Journal. 54(Suppl 63): PA2497.
  8 Asthma and Lung UK. Briefing: health inequalities and lung disease. https://www.asthmaandlung.org.uk/sites/default/files/British%20Lung%20Foundation%20-%20Lung%20disease%20and%20health%20inequalities%20briefing.pdf
  9 Asthma and Lung UK (2026). Diagnosing COPD. https://www.asthmaandlung.org.uk/healthcare-professionals/copd/diagnosing-copd
  10 Asthma and Lung UK (2025). ICS respiratory review – spirometry. https://www.asthmaandlung.org.uk/healthcare-professionals/ics-respiratory-review/spirometry
  11 Recommendations | Digital technologies for applying algorithms to spirometry to support asthma and COPD diagnosis in primary care and community diagnostic centres: early-use assessment | Guidance | NICE. Nice.org.uk. NICE; 2026. Available at: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/htg776/chapter/1-Recommendations