Senseonics raises funds for Eversense continuous glucose monitor
Senseonics has raised over $40 million to fund the US launch of its Eversense continuous glucose monitor (CGM).
Most of the funding has come from major shareholder Roche through its subsidiary Roche Finance. It bought over 21 million of company shares at $1.41 each, amounting to around $30 million.
The money will go toward supporting the commercialisation of Senseonics' Eversense platform in the US - a commercial venture that will need plenty of awareness raising among patients and healthcare professionals.
The system comprises a 90-day implantable sensor, a smart transmitter that sits on the skin, and a mobile app.
The sensor, which measures glucose levels in the interstitial fluid, changes its light output based on blood glucose. The transmitter processes this change and passes the data on to the mobile app. The app displays a real-time reading of blood glucose levels, alerting users if levels or too high or low.
Senseonics already has almost $14 million ($13.8 million) to help develop the device thanks to previous funding rounds.
The company hopes for FDA approval for Eversense at some point this year, following pre-market approval filing in October.
Data from the company's PRECISE II trial - studying the safety and effectiveness of the Eversense system - backed up the filing.
Regardless of when the decision comes, Senseonics will be at least a few months behind its biggest and most direct competitor in Abbott whose FreeStyle Libre Pro platform gained FDA approval in September.
Unlike the Eversense system, the FreeStyle Libre Pro features a glucose sensor and transmitter combined as one device. Waving a handheld reader or smartphone then reveals real-time blood glucose levels.
Senseonics is also looking toward the ever-growing artificial pancreas market - CGMs that automatically inject insulin into the blood in response to high glucose levels.
The company recently tied up a deal with diabetes startup TypeZero to combine Eversense with the inControl platform. Blood glucose data will be collected by the Eversense system and processed by inControl algorithms which will then automatically administer insulin to regulate blood glucose levels.
