San Diego startup GlySens says its implantable continuous glucose monitor is in the homestretch: It has a few more developmental tweaks to finish on its diabetes-tracking device, and just closed a $12 million Series C that’ll help get it market-ready.
GlySens’ device is meant to work, subcutaneously, for about a year. It’s made up of two parts: the implanted sensor and an external receiver with a monitor that shows what’s going on in a diabetics’ bloodstream.
“We liked the approach because it can meaningfully streamline the footprint of healthcare for patients struggling with diabetes – and in the process, it saves money and time,” said Joe Smith, chief medical and science officer of West Health – an early investor in GlySens.
Continuous glucose monitors are in hot demand from diabetics: Even the most diligent finger sticking doesn’t give patients a complete picture of how their blood sugar peaks and valleys. But current models of CGMs involve an externally-worn device that is permanently fixed to a sensor inside the skin – a bulky and unwieldy thing for a patient to carry around.
“The proceeds from this investment will enable us to address final product development tasks and bring the GlySens ICGM system to an advanced state of commercial readiness on the path to market introduction,” GlySens President and CEO Joseph Lucisano said in a statement.
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.
“As we conduct the upcoming human clinical trial involving our second generation receiver and fully implantable continuous glucose sensor, this additional funding will enable us to address the remaining elements needed to bring all aspects of the ICGM system to a fully commercial configuration,” Lucisano continued.
GlySens’ biggest competitor is likely Senseonics, a Maryland-based device company that last year closed a $20 million financing round. Its device, too, has a miniature implantable sensor that, rather than a separate device, can wireless transmit glucose levels to a smartphone. It’s in the midst of a number of European clinical trials.
