BLOOD TEST MACHINE DEVELOPER TRUVIAN GETS $105M
San Diego startup’s desktop analyzer performs 36 tests
Truvian Sciences, a San Diego startup that’s developing a benchtop blood testing machine to bring rapid, point-of-care health screening to local pharmacies, medical clinics and corporate wellness centers, has raised $105 million in a third round of venture capital funding.
The influx of capital will enable the company to pursue U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of its automated blood testing technology by the end of this year, said Chief Executive Jeff Hawkins.
“It is a tremendous round for the company,” said Hawkins, a former Illumina executive. “Not only was it oversubscribed, but it was quite a bit above what we had gone out looking to raise. And key highlights beyond the dollar amount that people
tend to focus on are the investors come with deep domain expertise in health care, in retail, in consumer technology and in consumer products.”
Truvian aims to tap into two emerging health care trends: Consumers demanding more direct access and control of their health; and retailers, pharmacies and corporations offering outpatient health/ wellness services for customers and employees.
The company’s compact analyzer resembles a squat desktop computer. It uses optical sensing systems to deliver clinical chemistries, immunoassays and hematology assays all in one instrument.
Its initial blood test panel would target standard wellness markers, such as cholesterol and glucose levels, complete blood cell count, and liver and thyroid functions. The company says it can deliver results at lower costs and with significantly less blood than is typically drawn for samples shipped to centralized labs.
Results are available in roughly 20 minutes, compared with up to a week turnaround time for similar tests shipped off for processing at big labs.
According to the company, there is no other single, on-site diagnostic platform that covers the 36 common wellness blood tests that Truvian plans to offer in its first assay panel.
There is skepticism around point-of-care blood testing. Truvian’s business model is akin to that of Theranos, the notorious Silicon
Valley firm that promised more than 200 tests with just a finger prick of blood before collapsing in a scandal.
Truvian is attempting to break through the skepticism by being
transparent about its technology, pursuing regulatory approval, teaming with top medical laboratory leaders to validate the science, and setting a high bar for test accuracy. It plans to submit data on its technology to at least one peer-reviewed medical journal for publication this spring.
Founded six years ago, Truvian employs 87 today, mostly in San Diego. With the new funding, it expects to have about 170 workers by yearend, said Hawkins.
This latest funding round was led by TYH Ventures, Glen Tullman of 7wireVentures and Wittington Ventures, which is the venture capital arm of the largest pharmacy operator in Canada.
Additional investors include GreatPoint Ventures, General Catalyst, DNS Capital and Wasson Enterprise.
The round brings the total amount raised by Truvian since its inception to $150 million.
“As we move to a more consumer-directed system of health care, 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’s office will be a game-changer,” said Tullman, managing partner at 7wireVentures. “New rapid diagnostic tools are essential to provide health consumers with more information earlier in the process and equip clinicians with the information they need to provide high-quality care.”