US-based glucose monitoring technology developer Biolinq closed a $100m series B round featuring corporates Axa, Ascencia Diabetes Care, Hikma, Taisho Pharmaceuticals, Cirrus Logic, EOFlow and Merck on Tuesday.
Venture capital firm RiverVest Venture Partners led the round and was also joined by Longevity Vision Fund, T&W Medical, Global Health Investment Corporation, Able Partners, The Broe Group, Senvest, JDRF T1D Fund, Falcon Edge Capital and Aphelion Capital.
Pharmaceutical firms Merck and Hikma and invested through their respective corporate venturing units, M Ventures and Hikma Ventures, while insurance provider Axa participated through its alternative investments arm, Axa Investment Management.
Medical care provider Ascencia, pharmaceutical firms Hikma and Taisho, fabless semiconductor producer Cirrus Logic and insulin pump manufacturer EOFlow took part in the round directly.
Biolinq is developing a wearable patch fitted with a microarray of electrochemical biosensors that measure glucose levels beneath the surface of the skin. It claims early feasibility studies show the patch is able to track glucose levels continuously for up to seven days in diabetes patients.
M Ventures led the company’s $10m series A round in 2017, joining Hikma Ventures, Three Leaf Ventures, Grey Sky Venture Partners, LifeSci Venture Partners and undisclosed individual investors.
Biolinq’s chief executive, Rich Yang, said: “We now have an opportunity to expand the sensing category and deliver a new generation of sensing capabilities that can reach millions of lives in the diabetes community and beyond.”
