Smartphone blood lab startup 1Drop Diagnostics (not to be confused with other very similarly-named startup 1Drop or One Drop) has raised $4.25 million in a Series A financing round, the company announced today. The funding was led by investor Christian Wildmoser, with additional backing and support by Swiss Startup Group investor Dr. Hans-Peter Strebel, Beat Schillig of IFJ Institute for Young Entrepreneurs, Jean-Philippe de Toledo of Pharmacie Principale and VentureLab.
The Boston and Neuchatel, Switzerland-based company’s main product is a diagnostic panel housed on a biochip that is able to deliver a test result within 15 minutes from a single drop of blood. With the new funding, the company said that is looking to conduct clinical studies exploring the platform’s viability, pursue regulatory approvals, develop EHR integration and machine learning capabilities, explore potential new panels and commercialize the platform.
What’s the impact
By escaping the clinical lab, 1Drop Diagnostics’ portable platform promises blood draws that are less invasive and personalized medical diagnoses in new settings.
"Providing diagnostic results where and when they are needed is an enormous opportunity to improve healthcare," Dr. Luc Gervais, 1Drop Diagnostics’ founder and CEO, said in a statement. "1Drop eliminates inefficiencies in the healthcare system: the large volume of blood from a venipuncture of the arm, transport of the sample to the laboratory, labor to analyze the sample, long waiting times, phone and email with the doctor, and a second doctor’s visit for results and corresponding treatment.”
What’s the trend
Various takes on portable blood testing have been drawing investors’ attention over the past few years. Switzerland’s DBS System, for instance, raised $2.5 million last year for a microsampling platform that can be used at home. Others like Seventh Sense Biosystems, Everlywell and myLabBox are also looking to reinvent home blood draws and testing, while startups like inui Health and Mira have also suggested that their urine testing platforms could be repurposed for consumer blood testing in the future.
On the record
"The diagnostics industry is on the verge of a quantum leap,” Strebel said in a statement. “1Drop is in pole position to transform not only medical diagnostics but the practice of precision medicine. We're proud to partner with a company that is committed to the scientific method and providing rapid and accurate health and diagnostic data.”
