A medication management startup that’s created sensors for injectable medication has raised $6.6 million as part of a Series A round. The funding will be used to speed up manufacturing and commercialization of Common Sensing’s signature product Gocap.
Behavioral Health, Interoperability and eConsent: Meeting the Demands of CMS Final Rule Compliance
In a webinar on April 16 at 1pm ET, Aneesh Chopra will moderate a discussion with executives from DocuSign, Velatura, and behavioral health providers on eConsent, health information exchange and compliance with the CMS Final Rule on interoperability.
Waterline Ventures led the round with support from returning investors New World Health, Royal Philips, and Haselmeier.
The sensor in Gocap automatically transmits the time, amount, and kind of insulin used after the insulin pen is used.
Although diabetes management through insulin has been a focus of the company, it is also developing tools to support other injectable medication such as fertility drugs and growth hormones.
One of the challenges Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Common Sensing has sought to address with Gocap for insulin pens is how to give clinicians greater insights into patients’ insulin use between office visits. At least 45 percent of patients with type 2 diabetes fail to achieve adequate glycemic control. One contributing factor is poor medication adherence. When it comes to injecting insulin, needle phobia is one cause but there are many other reasons as well. One use for Gocap is assessing the data to generate more insights on adherence and how physicians can use that information to improve interaction with their patients.
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.
Since the company was cofounded in 2013, by MIT graduates James White co-founded Common Sensing with Richard Whalley, it has sought partnerships with pharma companies. Last year, Common Sensing joined a pilot program by Sanofi and Innovation Health — an insurance company that’s a joint venture between Inova and Aetna.
Earlier this year Common Sensing sourced its COO Kevin Schmid from drug delivery business Insulet Corp. He had also served on the board of Common Sensing for the past three years. At Insulet, he helped develop and commercialize wearable, smart drug delivery pumps, such as the Omnipod Diabetes Management System, the Amgen Neulasta On Body Injector, and the Ferring Pharmaceutical LutrePulse System.
