Proteus Digital Health said today that it is restructuring, reportedly because it failed to close a $100 million funding round.
A report by CNBC said the Redwood City, Calif.-based company missed the funding target. Once valued at $1.5 billion, the company previously raised $420 million from investors including Novartis Venture Fund and Kaiser Permanente Ventures, according to an April report by Forbes.
Proteus’ products combine combines oral medications with an ingestible sensor. The first cancer patients were treated using its digital oncology therapy in January 2019. At the time, company had also launched a digital oral oncolytic medication registry to gather real-world data from cancer patients using digital medicines. In October 2018, the company raised $88 million from Otsuka Pharmaceuticals (TYO:4578) to fund Abilify Mycite, aripiprazole tablets with sensor to treat mental health conditions including depression.
Proteus did not respond to questions about its latest effort at fundraising but told MassDevice in an email that it is “conducting an operational review and restructuring our business to optimize effectiveness.
“Driving change in healthcare takes persistence and Proteus is committed to ensuring that patients get access to technologies that can significantly improve their care, the company added. “Our goal is to refocus the organization on the most valuable near-term opportunities to deliver the promise of digital medicines with Proteus Discover, for patients and their care teams. We are taking into consideration the impact of our restructuring on employees, patients, customers, partners and investors…
“In 2017 Proteus began focusing its programs in infectious disease and oncology,” the company continued. “Our evidence suggests that these applications show great promise to transform patient care and enable contracting for expensive therapies that tie payments to actual use of drug.”
The first pill to be embedded with a sensor was approved by the FDA in November of 2017. Abilify MyCite, developed by Otsuka Pharmaceutical (TYO:4578) and Proteus, is designed to treat schizophrenia, manic and mixed episodes linked with bipolar I disorder and depression in adults.
“Proteus has created a new category of therapy, digital medicines,” said CEO Andrew Thompson. “Peer-reviewed studies have shown repeatedly that digital medicines improve the quality and cost effectiveness of care, especially for patients who have the most difficulty succeeding with drug therapy. This extensive body of clinical evidence includes hepatitis C, tuberculosis and cardiometabolic syndrome. Many of these patients were older, low income and had a mental health secondary diagnosis. Proteus remains committed to bringing these solutions to patients and providers to support medication treatment and improve clinical outcomes.”