Boston-based Beta Bionics said this week that it closed a $63 million Series B round to support the development of its iLet bionic pancreas system for people with Type 1 diabetes.
The company’s iLet device features an autonomous, dual-chamber infusion pump that is powered by dosing algorithms. Using machine learning and data from a continuous glucose monitor, the algorithms calculate and dose insulin and/or glucagon as needed.
Beta Bionics plans to use its newly-acquired funds for Phase III trials of iLet and to fund its PMA submission to the FDA.
The company’s Series B round was led by Eventide Asset Management. New investors joined the round, including Beta Bionics’ strategic partner, Dexcom, and funds managed by ArrowMark Partners and LifeSci Venture Partners.
Beta Bionics also landed financial support from Zealand Pharma, which makes a stable glucagon analog, and RTW Investments.
“We are delighted to have completed our first institutional financing of Beta Bionics,” founder & CEO Ed Damiano said in prepared remarks. “This is an historic [sic] milestone for Beta Bionics for sure, but it is also a noteworthy precedent for the medical technology industry and investment community, as well. As the first and only public benefit corporation and Certified B Corp in the medical technology industry, Beta Bionics is a force for public good; and this commitment has resonated with the strong syndicate of supportive and visionary investors we have assembled alongside our strategic investors, including Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, Zealand Pharma and Dexcom.
“The enthusiastic reception that we were met with from the investment community in 2018 led to a larger-than-anticipated Series B financing, which has put us in a strong position going into 2019 to advance our ambitious mission of bringing to market the world’s first, fully autonomous, bionic pancreas,” Damiano added.
