With its eyes set on securing an FDA clearance for its automated bench top blood testing system, Truvian Sciences has raised more than $105 million in new financing for the final steps of its development.
The series C round will also help scale up the company’s commercialization teams in preparation for launch—alongside several new appointments to its C-suite and board of directors.
Jay Srinivasan, former vice president of automation and informatics at Abbott, joined as its new chief product officer, while Dean Kamen—known as the inventor of the Segway as well as medical devices including portable dialysis machines and insulin and infusion pumps—was named Truvian’s senior technology adviser.
The oversubscribed round—bringing the company’s total funding to over $150 million to date—was led by TYH Ventures with additional backing from Wittington Ventures and 7wireVentures managing partner Glen Tullman, the former chief of Livongo Health, Allscripts and Enterprise Systems.
Tullman will be joining Truvian’s board along with Greg Wasson, former CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance, and Wittington partner Megh Gupta, who previously led global strategy and corporate development at Element AI.
“The global pandemic has further demonstrated that consumers want more control over their personal healthcare journeys,” Truvian President and CEO Jeff Hawkins said. “Today’s announcement signifies tremendous confidence in Truvian’s goal of decentralizing healthcare by bringing point-of-care diagnostic testing to a highly complex, distributed market.”
Truvian’s system aims to combine chemistry tests, immunoassays and hematology diagnostics into a single device to provide a large menu of blood screening options similar to a centralized laboratory. It plans to offer a comprehensive panel that will cover the most commonly ordered tests, such as complete blood cell counts plus lipid and metabolic panels.
“As we move to a more consumer-directed system of healthcare, providing easy, convenient access to a full suite of high-quality blood tests at a local pharmacy, an on-site clinic at work or a physician office will be a game changer,” Tullman said.
Meanwhile, Truvian acquired an emergency authorization from the FDA last year for a rapid COVID-19 antibody test, built into a compact lateral flow device for healthcare professionals.