Seventh Sense raises $10m in Series C

Seventh Sense Biosystems said  today it raised $10 million in a Series C funding round to support its Tap push-button blood collection device, as well as new product development and increasing production capacity.

Joining the round are existing investors Novartis, Laboratory Corp of America Holdings, Polaris Partners and Flagship Ventures.

“We’re bolstered by the confidence our investors and board have in Seventh Sense and excited for patients to finally have a truly better blood collection option. Our momentum continues to grow and we believe TAP will become the trusted brand for innovation in blood collection,” CEO Howard Weisman said in a press release.

As part of the funding round, Novartis strategic venture capital & pharma equities head Mar Cuelemans and former Good Start Genetics CEO Don Hardison have joined the company’s board of directors.

The company claims its device eliminates the need for tourniquets, large needles, tubes and standard blood-drawing equipment, making it more efficient than current techniques. The Tap device is designed to be positioned on the patient’s upper arm and draw blood upon pressing a single button.

The company launched a pivotal trial of its device in April, looking to enroll 120 patients at 3 hospitals in the Northeast U.S. with an expected finish date in April, 2107 and a hopeful premarket notification submission to the FDA by May.

The Tap device development will pit Seventh Sense against a floundering Theranos, who’s main product is the Capillary Tube Nanotainer, 1 of 2 kinds of tiny vials used to collect blood from patients.

The company, which has a valuation of $9 billion, promises to shake up medical testing by conducting a wide range of tests with 1 drop of blood from a finger-stick using its Nanotainers, rather than the large vial typically collected.

Last October, the FDA flagged quality issues Theranos’ manufacturing plant in Newark, Calif., after inspections in August and September.

In a Form 483 issued after the inspections and released today, the FDA said that quality audits had not been performed at the Newark facility and that the company failed to document internal quality audit schedule.

The post Seventh Sense raises $10m in Series C appeared first on MassDevice.

from MassDevice http://ift.tt/2eOZXYb