This post has been updated from an earlier version.
Kit Check, a company that uses RFID technology to automate the error-prone process of manually taking inventory for drug and operating room supplies, raised a $15 million Series C round. The fundraise follows a milestone the health IT business reached, claiming that 10 million medications have been tracked by hospital pharmacies using its cloud software and Internet of Things-based solution.
Baxter Ventures led the round, and new investor Black Granite Capital also participated. Returning investors that took part in the round included Kaiser Permanente Ventures, Rex Health Ventures, New Leaf Venture Partners, Easton Capital Investment Group, LionBird Venture Capital, and Sands Capital Ventures.
It previously raised $12 million in a Series B round in January last year. In October, it added its 200th hospital customer. Last summer it ramped up its sales team with six staff.
In a phone interview with Kit Check Chief Marketing Officer Bret Kinsella, he said it is in nearly 300 hospitals at this point. Last year, it added an analytics tool and a product to help hospitals audit and track the controlled substances they use in the operating room — how much they ordered, what they administered and what they returned. There’s a lot of documentation required to manage this process, leaving plenty of opportunities to make mistakes. Its technology is designed to reduce the number of steps to enter this information and integrate with patients’ electronic medical records.
Kinsella said it would use the funds to expand its sales, marketing and product development teams. It currently employs just under 80 staff.
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.
Although several companies apply automated tracking to medical equipment and medical devices, such as MEPS Real-Time, Emanate Wireless, and Logi-D, it doesn’t really see any direct competitors.
“From what I can tell, this is the largest Internet of Things solution ever implemented,” Kinsella shared. “Who else has tracked 13 million items [of medication] thus far? We’re growing quickly. The reason we’re growing quickly in many ways is because we are tracking drugs …directly applicable to the patient care cycle. We created a way that makes doing that affordable” and brings hospitals ROI.
