Seventh Sense Biosystems Closes $16-Million Financing

Seventh Sense Biosystems, Inc. (7SBio), the pioneering developer of virtually painless blood collection and diagnostic platforms, recently announced a $16-million Series B financing from a syndicate of global leaders in diagnostic technologies, pharmaceuticals, and clinical diagnostic laboratory services. New investors, the Venture Capital unit of Siemens Financial Services (SFS VC), Novartis, and Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (LabCorp) participated in the financing with existing investors Flagship Ventures and Polaris Partners. 7SBio will use the proceeds from this financing to complete the development of its Touch Activated Phlebotomy (TAP) platform, which is designed to significantly improve the convenience and efficiency of blood collection.

“The addition of world-class strategic partners Siemens, Novartis, and LabCorp provides strong support to the company’s momentum in bringing this revolutionary technology to market,” said Howard Weisman, Chief Executive Officer of 7SBio. “The need for improving blood collection for point-of-care diagnostic testing in hospitals, doctor’s offices, and clinical trials is significant as innovation in pre-analytical sampling methods has not kept pace with improvements in instrumentation and analytical methods. Our TAP products are intended to make diagnostics more comfortable, manageable, and ubiquitous for patients, transforming blood-based testing regardless of geography or setting.”

“We believe strongly that the 7SBio technology will enable the next big wave of point-of-care blood collection and testing,” said Ralf Schnell, General Partner at SFS VC. “The 7SBio management team has demonstrated a deep understanding of market requirements and has the vision and execution capabilities to capitalize on this massive market need. It was this combination of innovative technology and sound business strategy that drove our investment decision. We are excited to join the team and contribute to the company’s success.”

In the past month, 7SBio received notices of allowance for three US patents for its proprietary technology. The company received its first patent in October 2013. When fully commercialized, the TAP platform is expected to incorporate additional capabilities for sample separation as well as dried blood spot and on-board diagnostic abilities.

Touch Activated Phlebotomy (TAP) is a proprietary platform that draws capillary blood in a virtually painless, one-step process without having to access a vein. The TAP system penetrates the uppermost layers of skin through the use of micro-needles, collects capillary blood using a novel microfluidic extraction process, and stabilizes the blood with anticoagulant if required. The device has a visual indicator to confirm that collection is complete. The TAP platform is designed for fully automated, high throughput manufacturing.

Founded in 2008, within Flagship VentureLabs, 7SBio is developing and commercializing an array of products based on the company’s proprietary Touch Activated Phlebotomy (TAP) painless blood collection platform, with an initial focus on enabling important diagnostic testing at the point of care by reducing the discomfort, anxiety and hassle of blood sample collection that can inhibit and sometimes prevent patients from undergoing blood tests and receiving appropriate care. For more information, visit www.7sbio.com.