- The round was led by Eventide Asset Management
- Other institutional investors in Series B include RTW Investments
- Corporate strategic partner and Series A investor, Novo Nordisk, has also participated in Series B
- Corporate strategic partner, Zealand Pharm, previously committed $5m to Series B in December 2017
BOSTON, Sept. 17, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Beta Bionics, Inc. – a medical technology company leveraging lifelong machine learning, artificial intelligence to develop and commercialize the world’s first autonomous bionic pancreas – today announced that the company has so far raised $50m of a Series B equity financing. The round was led by Eventide Asset Management, LLC the advisor to Eventide Mutual Funds. Eventide was founded in 2008 with a vision to provide high performance, value-based investments that are socially responsible. RTW Investments, LP also participated, along with Series A investor, Novo Nordisk A/S. Strategic partner Zealand Pharma A/S, developer of a stable and pump compatible glucagon analog, called dasiglucagon, previously committed $5 million to the round. Funds will be used to support ongoing product development of the Beta Bionics commercial-generation bionic pancreas technology for use in its insulin-only, glucagon-only, and bihormonal configurations.
Beta Bionics is developer of the iLet Bionic Pancreas System, which is currently deployed in home-use clinical trials in adults and children with type 1 diabetes (T1D), as previously announced in May and July 2018. The iLet consists of a dual-chamber, autonomous, infusion system that mimics a biological pancreas. Embedded in the system are clinically tested mathematical dosing algorithms driven by lifelong machine learning to autonomously calculate and dose insulin and/or glucagon as needed, based on data from a continuous glucose monitor. Designed with simplicity of use, the iLet requires only body weight for initialization and then proceeds to autonomously control the individual’s blood-glucose levels, and to continuously adapt to the individual’s ever-changing insulin needs.
“From the outset the Damiano Lab, and now Beta Bionics, have been committed to demonstrating meaningful clinical-outcomes data through rigorous clinical trials in collaboration with Dr. Steven Russell of the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Dr. Bruce Buckingham of Stanford University, and other clinical investigators. We take great satisfaction in Eventide and RTW's appreciation for our clinical data, and support of our technological vision, commercial ambitions, public benefit corporation structure, and certified B Corp status,” said Ed Damiano, founder and CEO of Beta Bionics.
Piper Jaffray acted as financial advisor and placement agent to the Company.
About the iLet
The iLet bionic pancreas system is a pocket-sized, wearable medical device that autonomously controls blood-sugar levels in people with diabetes. The mathematical dosing algorithms integrated into the iLet were licensed by Beta Bionics from Boston University and were refined over years of clinical research to incorporate lifelong machine learning technology that adapts continuously to each person’s unique insulin requirements. In previous home-use and outpatient studies in adults and children with T1D, these algorithms demonstrated dramatic improvements in glycemic control relative to the standard of care. These improvements included significant reductions in blood-glucose levels, in hypoglycemia, and in intersubject and intrasubject glycemic variability (New England Journal of Medicine. 2014, 371:313-25; Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology. 2016, 4:233-43; Lancet. 2016, 389:369-80).
The iLet is initialized by entering body weight only and does not require the patient to count carbohydrates, set insulin delivery rates or deliver bolus insulin for meals or corrections. The iLet is effectively three medical devices in one. It can be configured as an insulin-only bionic pancreas, a glucagon-only bionic pancreas, or a dual-hormone bionic pancreas. The glucagon-only configuration may be helpful in rare, chronic, low-blood-sugar conditions, such as congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI) and insulinoma syndrome. Beta Bionics is committed to obtaining regulatory approval and commercializing all three iLet configurations.
About Beta Bionics
Beta Bionics is a for-profit Massachusetts public benefit corporation founded in 2015 to commercialize the iLet, a revolutionary bionic pancreas that is driven by mathematical dosing algorithms to autonomously control glycemia in people with diabetes. These algorithms were developed and refined in the Damiano Lab at Boston University based on results from years of clinical research in adults and children with T1D. Beta Bionics is a Certified B Corporation™ whose founders—in addition to Ed Damiano—include other parents of children with type 1 diabetes. Beta Bionics is committed to acting in the best interests of the diabetes community and to profoundly disrupting the diabetes medical device industry by bringing the iLet to market as expeditiously and responsibly as possible. Beta Bionics is pursuing regulatory approval of its insulin-only bionic pancreas, which will be followed by its dual-hormone system that will also administer a glucagon analog in order to raise blood-sugar levels without the need to consume carbohydrates.
Beta Bionics is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts with certain operations in Irvine, California. For further information, please visit www.betabionics.com or follow Beta Bionics Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter @BetaBionics.
Company Contacts
Ed Damiano
edamiano@betabionics.com
Ed Raskin
eraskin@betabionics.com
Investor Relations Contact
Jeremy Feffer
jeremy@lifesciadvisors.com