Fifth Eye Secures $11.5M Series A Funding to Advance Hemodynamic Instability Monitoring Device Toward FDA Approval

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that Fifth Eye recently completed an $11.5 million Series A financing round. The funds will be used to support the company’s research and development of new medical devices, ensure FDA approval for its Hemodynamic Instability Analysis device, and facilitate its commercial launch.

This funding round was led by Arboretum Ventures and Cultivation Capital, with participation from MINTS (Michigan Investment in New Technology Startups), existing investor Invest Michigan, and 35 private angel investors. Upon closing of the transaction, Dr. Tom Shehab, Managing Partner at Arboretum Ventures; Bill Schmidt, Managing Partner at Cultivation Capital; and Mark Salamango, Chief Technology Officer of Fifth Eye, will join the board of directors of Fifth Eye.

Fifth Eye is a medical device company headquartered in Michigan, USA. Founded in 2017, the company is dedicated to providing hospitals with clinical early warning systems based on physiological waveforms, thereby improving care outcomes, helping patients reduce their length of hospital stay, and lowering medical costs. Reportedly, the company completed a $2.4 million seed funding round in 2018, led by Invest Michigan.

Hemodynamic instability is known to be one of the most common causes of clinical deterioration and death in critically ill or injured patients, particularly when it occurs suddenly or goes undetected. Common causes of hemodynamic instability include postoperative hemorrhage, sepsis resulting from severe infections such as pneumonia, myocardial infarction, heart failure, acute pulmonary edema, various forms of acute brain injury, and respiratory distress, among other critical conditions. Hemodynamic monitoring devices are specifically designed for these critically ill patients who require close surveillance of changes in circulatory system function. These devices enable real-time monitoring of patients’ status, assisting physicians in promptly adjusting medication dosages and selecting appropriate treatment strategies.

Jen Baird, CEO of Fifth Eye, stated, “There is no doubt that early hemodynamic detection will have a significant impact on patients. We are delighted to receive strong support from these experienced healthcare investors. We aim to secure FDA clearance for our first AHI monitoring device as soon as possible and deploy it in hospitals within the next two years.”

It is reported that Fifth Eye’s AHI monitoring device utilizes a single existing electrocardiogram (ECG) waveform to continuously detect the onset of hemodynamic instability, predict patient clinical trajectories, and provide early alerts to physicians and nurses regarding impending issues. Furthermore, the device does not require a baseline and can automatically store historical disease trends.

Jen Baird stated that the company will soon conduct human trials at three hospitals in Michigan. If the device trials are successful, it will receive FDA approval for market launch early next year.

Arboretum Ventures is a venture capital firm headquartered in Michigan, USA, focusing on seed-stage, early-stage, mid-stage investments, and growth capital. Since its establishment in 2002, the firm has been dedicated to providing funding for companies in the healthcare sector. To date, it has completed 71 investments and manages a total of $450 million in assets.

Cultivation Capital is a venture capital firm headquartered in Missouri, USA, dedicated to investing in biotechnology companies. Since its establishment in 2012, the firm has provided funding support to more than 100 companies.

MINTS is the venture capital arm of the endowment fund managed by the University of Michigan’s Office of Investments. Since its establishment in 2011, the department has invested in more than 30 companies.

(Compiled by: Feng Yutong)