OptiScan Biomedical Secures $20 Million Series E Funding to Advance Automated Glucose and Lactate Monitoring Systems

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that medical device company OptiScan Biomedical (hereinafter referred to as “OptiScan”) recently secured $20 million in Series E financing. The funds will be used to promote its automated blood glucose monitoring system, while the company will continue to research and develop the system to enable monitoring of analytes beyond glucose.

OptiScan, founded in 1994 and headquartered in California, USA, is a medical device company dedicated to developing novel data monitoring systems. By providing real-time monitoring of physiological changes in ICU patients, it enables physicians to implement timely and effective treatment plans. To date, OptiScan has secured six rounds of financing. In 2005, the company raised $36 million in venture capital led by NGN Capital, and in 2010, it obtained $31.5 million in private equity investment.

The automated blood glucose monitoring system developed by OptiScan, named the OptiScanner 5000, is designed to provide continuous plasma glucose data for patients in surgical intensive care units. The system performs measurements every 15 minutes by extracting plasma samples from the patient’s blood for analysis via an infrared spectrometer, with glucose levels displayed on a screen. Its fully automated operation effectively minimizes errors associated with manual monitoring by healthcare professionals.

Patrick Nugent, Chief Financial Officer of OptiScan, stated, “Up to 60% of ICU (Intensive Care Unit) patients develop diabetes due to temporary spikes in blood glucose levels, while a subset of patients already have diabetes prior to ICU admission. Therefore, real-time blood glucose monitoring is essential for ICU patients.”

In 2017, the OptiScanner 5000 received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and was adopted by select hospitals in the United States and Europe. Moving forward, OptiScan will continue to promote this system. As part of its commercialization strategy, OptiScan has conducted a series of blood glucose monitoring trials focused on ICU patients to gather data on the utilization and efficacy of the OptiScanner 5000, thereby preparing for its large-scale market entry.

Currently, the OptiScanner 5000 supports only blood glucose monitoring. OptiScan will utilize funds from its Series E financing to continue developing the upgraded version, the OptiScanner 6000. The upgraded system can continuously monitor blood glucose, lactate, and central venous oxygen saturation (ScvO2) levels in patients. Lactate levels are a primary factor influencing mortality in sepsis patients, while ScvO2 is a critical oxygen saturation indicator for cardiac patients in the ICU. The OptiScanner 6000 has obtained CE marking and has been submitted for FDA review. OptiScan aims for the upgraded system to become the first FDA-approved automated lactate monitoring system.

(Compiled by Jiao Yanli)