NovioSense said today that it closed a 4th financing round to support the upcoming clinical validation phase of its smartphone-based tear glucose sensor device.
The round included existing investors such as Health Innovations, Fraunhofer Ventures and NovioTech, as well as 2 new U.S.-based investors, NovioSense said.
The flexible, miniature tear glucose sensor rests on the lower eyelid and continuously monitors glucose levels, sending the measurements directly to a smartphone. Noviosense touts the device as a “1st-of-its-kind eye-wearable.”
The company expects to report Phase II clinical data in the 1st half of 2017, in hopes of market clearance in 2019.
“Our device will deliver pain-free continuous glucose monitoring to all individuals with diabetes at an affordable price,” CEO Christopher Wilson said in prepared remarks. “By utilizing NFC technology found in most smartphones, our pain-free non-invasive sensor platform is employed by users to continuously monitor glucose readings, an effective component to any glucose management system.”
NovioSense also said it named Harry Mitchell, a long-time senior executive in medical devices and diabetes, as its executive VP of business development.
“Through his finance and C-Level experience, Mr. Mitchell is a leading business developer in the medical device and diabetes space, and was recently co-founder of Joslin Institute for Technology Translation at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston,” Wilson said. “Throughout his career, Harry has focused on building companies through M&A and publicly traded initiatives. We are excited to have Harry on board as we continue to grow and explore several product opportunities using our analyte-sensing portfolio.”
“I am looking forward to continuing my work with the NovioSense team and pursuing opportunities to introduce technologies and solutions developed by the company that will have a commercial impact in diabetes and related fields in the US and other key markets,” Mitchell said.