San Diego startup Skylit Medical is developing a phototherapy device for private home use to treat conditions like psoriasis, eczema and vitiligo. It’s one of those necessity’s the mother of inventionish stories – founder Martyn Gross himself has eczema and psoriasis.
“We are a frustrated group, because this is an inflammatory condition for which there is no cure – so we spend $10 billion per year to solve this problem,” Gross said, adding that most of these dollars go to systemic and biologic drugs, which are costly out-of-pocket for patients.
Indeed, one common therapy for these autoimmune skin conditions is UVB therapy – but the problem for many patients, Gross said, is that it takes a significant time investment to regularly go to a phototherapy clinic.
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Skylit’s concept is to develop its handheld device, setting up an out-of-pocket subscription service for patients to essentially lease it and use it at home. The patient would receive a prescription from a dermatologist, and then the doctor-programmed device would do the rest of the work. It’d turn on the UVB light in, say, 30-second increments – whatever and whenever the doctor orders – and then automatically shut off once the day’s sufficient therapy has been administered.
The goal is ultimately to build a camera into the device, so that the skin conditions’ progression can be tracked by a derm. In the near-term, the device will at least have WiFi and Bluetooth capabilities to transmit prescription data from the doc to the patient, Gross said.
Phototherapy has, by the way, a range of benefits for skin conditions, according to the National Eczema Association – reducing itch, working as an anti-inflammatory agent, increasing vitamin D production and increasing bacteria-fighting systems in the skin. For psoriasis and even vitiligo, it shows similar benefits.
Skylit isn’t the only device, it should be noted, that is working in the at-home phototherapy business. But the company’s in the midst of a $2 million seed round, having raised about $150,000 by the end of July, according to a regulatory filing. Gross said it hopes to raise $3.4 million, however, in its Series A round.
“The goal with the Skylit device was to make it as easy as possible,” Gross said.
