Pharmaceutical company Otsuka Pharmaceutical provided $88m in equity funding and other payments for US-based digital medicine developer Proteus Digital Health yesterday as part of the expansion of a collaboration agreement.
Proteus has created a system called Proteus Discover which consists of a wearable sensor patch, additional, ingestible sensors and a mobile app that connects to the patient’s healthcare provider, to supply detailed data on a patient’s health and the effectiveness of different medical treatments.
Otsuka and Proteus have collaborated on Abilify MyCite, a pill with an ingestible sensor that treats schizophrenia, bipolar-related episodes and depression. The treatment obtained regulatory approval from the US Food and Drug Administration in November 2017.
The extension of the partnership, which was originally formed in 2012, will involve the companies working together on the development and commercialisation of digital medicines over the next five years.
Kabir Nath, CEO, of Otsuka North America’s pharmaceutical business, said: “We are pleased to continue to focus on opportunities to further integrate digital medicines into healthcare ecosystems to provide value-added outcomes for patients suffering from unmet medical needs in the mental health field.
“Our expanding collaboration with Proteus is a cornerstone of this strategy, and further enables us to serve the mental health community by developing additional innovative technology solutions.”
Proteus had previously accumulated $382m in equity financing according to press releases and regulatory filings.
The company last raised funding in 2016, securing $50m in a series H round that included up to $40m from drug producer Gloria Pharmaceuticals. It had closed a series G round backed by undisclosed investors at $172m two years earlier.
Otsuka, pharmaceutical firm Novartis, computing technology provider Oracle and Sino Portfolio had already provided $62.5m in series F financing for Proetus in 2013.
The company raised $17.5m in 2012 according to a securities filing, after Novartis supplied $24m in equity and upfront cash payments as part of a 2010 collaboration deal, as part of a $25.4m round.
Kaiser Permanente Ventures, the VC arm of care provider Kaiser Permanente, had joined Carlyle Group to invest $6.3m in the company in 2004 following funding from Adams Street Partners, Fletcher Spaght Ventures, Asset Management and Spring Ridge Ventures.
Other Proteus Digital investors include medical device manufacturers Medtronic and St Jude Medical, trading group Itochu and semiconductor producer ON.
Photo courtesy of Proteus Digital Health, Inc.
