Intuity Medical Secures $26.3M in Mezzanine Financing to Advance POGO Automated Blood Glucose Monitoring System

VCBeat (WeChat Official Account: vcbeat) has learned that Intuity Medical, a medical device company, recently completed a $26.3 million bridge financing round. The investors in this round were not disclosed. The proceeds will be used to develop Intuity Medical’s flagship product, the POGO Automatic Glucose Monitoring System.

According to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Intuity Medical provided a combination of equity, debt, options, and securities upon the exercise of stock options and warrants. The company aims to raise an additional $10 million in this financing round, which would bring the total capital raised through its mezzanine financing to $36.3 million.

Intuity Medical, formerly known as Rosedale Medical, was founded in Sunnyvale, California, in 2002 and is dedicated to developing blood glucose monitoring systems for diabetes management.

Diabetes is a disease in which the body cannot produce or properly use insulin. Insulin is a protein hormone produced by the pancreas that is essential for converting sugars, starches, and other foods into energy. According to data from the American Diabetes Association, the number of adults with diabetes worldwide has reached 422 million. Diabetes has also become the sixth leading cause of death in the United States.

Clinical trials have demonstrated that frequent glucose monitoring provides significant health benefits to patients. Strict glucose control can reduce the risk of diabetes-related complications, such as blindness, kidney damage, and nerve damage, by up to 76%. The early introduction of intensive diabetes management can lower the risk of heart disease, stroke, and cardiovascular mortality by 57%, thereby offering additional benefits to patients.

The exacerbation of diabetes is primarily attributed to patients' failure to achieve glycemic control in disease management, with the burden associated with blood glucose monitoring being one of the contributing factors to poor glycemic control. In a study by Yankelovich Partners, 69% of patients with diabetes stated that they would test their blood glucose more frequently if the testing process were simpler, thereby achieving better glycemic control.

The POGO Automatic Blood Glucose Monitoring System is the world’s first blood glucose meter and multi-test cartridge that integrates automatic testing, blood collection, and analysis. The system comprises a meter device and an automated cartridge, eliminating the need for patients to carry and use separate testing supplies, thereby simplifying the testing process. The POGO System consolidates all necessary blood glucose testing supplies into 10 individual test cartridges, providing assistance to millions of patients who require regular blood glucose monitoring as part of their diabetes management.

To perform a test, the patient simply presses the POGO test button. The device automatically scans the finger, collects a blood sample, and displays the result after a 4-second countdown. The instrument requires only a 0.25-microliter blood sample to analyze the patient’s glucose level. After testing, the patient merely needs to properly store the cartridge containing the used test strip. This eliminates the biohazard risks previously associated with disposing of used test strips in public areas. The system features a USB port for rapidly uploading test data to the Patterns website.

Patterns is a secure, web-based data management platform designed to work with the POGO glucose monitoring system. The platform enables patients to quickly upload and view their results, easily identify trends in their condition, and adjust their diabetes management accordingly.

Connect the POGO blood glucose monitoring system to the Patterns website, which features automatic meter recognition and one-step upload capabilities for rapid pattern analysis. Patients can remotely access and share data, as well as view graphs and reports. Notably, on April 26, 2016, the POGO fully automated blood glucose monitoring system received FDA approval.

Steve Edelman, MD, Professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of California, San Diego, and Founder of Taking Control Of Your Diabetes (TCOYD), commented, “By simplifying the steps and supplies required for blood glucose monitoring, POGO addresses some common barriers to testing and offers patients a new way to check their blood sugar. For patients, a simpler testing method is essential to their diabetes care.”

(Compiled by: Li Chengping)