UPDATED 5/3/12
A startup hoping to redefine “all-in-one glucose meter” is looking for a $3 million boost for its one-click diabetes testing device that combines a lancing device with nanotechnology sensors that measure blood glucose.
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Pepex Biomedical Inc.’s blood glucose meter, the Trio, combines all of the diabetes testing materials in one device and replaces test strips with disposable, miniaturized enzymatic-based biosensors. The advantage, according to the company, is that it requires no handling of sharps and reduces environmental and user-induced error by eliminating test strips. The device doesn’t actually draw blood, according to CFO Joseph Driver. Rather, it tests the blood at the tissue source.
The biosensors are manufactured as single strands of fiber – Pepex’s proprietary Conductive Composite Monofilaments (CCM) – which are about the diameter of a human hair and can detect blood glucose levels from a low-volume blood sample. Molded glucose test chips consolidate the lancet and CCM technology, and up to a week’s supply of the chips can be loaded into a disposable smart cartridge that slides into the side of the meter.
The company worked with Phillips Plastics to design the Trio prototype in 2009 and announced earlier this year that it had inked a seven-year deal with The Tech Group, a division of West Pharmaceutical Services, to manufacture the meters. Driver said the company was preparing for an FDA submission but declined to reveal details of when the device might be available.
So far, Pepex has raised $201,000 of a planned $3 million round, according to a recent SEC filing.
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Pepex isn’t the only company developing an all-in-one glucose meter that contains a lancet. Intuity Medical is awaiting 501(k) clearance on its Pogo system following a $76 million series D last year. If it beats Pepex to market, the price point and accuracy of the nanosensor technology will be crucial Pepex’s success.
But there’s also more promising technology in Pepex’s pipeline — including the Trio Total, which adds a micro reservoir/pump containing up to 200 units of insulin to the meter, enabling it to deliver a dosage of insulin based on the reading. Its technology could also be used in other products that could potentially measure many different enzymes associated with metabolism at the cellular level, the company says.
Founded in 2009, Pepex is a tenant at Center for Emerging Technologies in St. Louis.
[Photo from www.pepex.com]