Updated 9/23 with comment from the company
After nearly three years out of the public eye, SafeShot Technologies announced today that it secured $6 million in financing from undisclosed investors, following up a $3 million angel round last fall.
The sleepy medical device company appears to have undergone some changes since 2010, when it was granted patents for an autoretractable, prefilled syringe and launched an awareness campaign around needlestick injury issues. Its Facebook and Twitter accounts and website have been dormant since that time.
According to its announcement today, the company will use the proceeds from the financing to execute a new business strategy, which it describes this way:
Compounding pharmacies troubled by quality concerns and product recalls have left hospitals and pharmacies in short supply of much needed medications. SafeShot will address this need by building a highest-quality, fully compliant, syringe filling capability, leveraging its technology and focusing on underserved points of care.
Previously, the company had focused its marketing on a safety product that addressed needlesticks, re-used needles, downstream injuries and biohazardous waste. Its single-use safety syringe, Epiphany Ultra, included vacuum technology that pulled a syringe’s needle back into the body after use.
In conjunction with the financing, the company has expanded its management team, adding a chief operating officer and a chief commercial officer, and joined the Reprise Technologies incubator in Menlo Park.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
“Hospitals are facing drug shortages so patients can’t get the meds they need; this issue is heightened as half-full vials are discarded due to reuse concerns,” said SafeShot’s director, colorectal surgeon Dr. Robert Beart, in a statement. “Nursing time and staff resources are used preparing an injection and the process is more susceptible to medication error and contamination than pre-filled medications. These problems can be addressed by SafeShot.”
Chief Commercial Officer John Merhige said that the company’s strategy looks different on the surface, but the overall goal of improving safety for patients and reducing liability at hospitals has not changed. Merhige declined to say when the company might have a product ready for market.
