In 2015, when Cequr closed a $100m venture round – at the time an exceptionally high amount – its wearable insulin pump, PaQ, was two years away from US approval. That deadline has come and gone with no further news of the product – no clinical trial data, no FDA submission, and certainly no approval. Now, in what might be an admission that PaQ isn’t going anywhere, Cequr has licensed OneTouch Via, a different wearable insulin delivery device, from the J&J subsidiary Calibra Medical. Cequr plans to launch the product next year under a different name. Management describes the Calibra device as “a perfect complement to PaQ”, suggesting the product is still on sale in Europe – a first-generation form was CE marked in 2012 – even if its US development has stalled. The two devices are indeed very similar: both are designed to deliver on-demand bolus doses of insulin and to be worn for three days. OneTouch Via gained US clearance last year. Cequr’s backers, including Woodford Investment Management and Endeavour Vision, will doubtless be relieved to find the Swiss group finally has a device on sale in the world’s largest market.
Date | Round | Investment ($m) | Investors |
---|---|---|---|
September 1, 2015 | Series C | 100.0 | Arthurian Life Sciences, Woodford Investment Management, Endeavour Vision, Schroder Ventures Life Sciences, VI Partners |
September 9, 2013 | Series B | 27.0 | Undisclosed |
January 5, 2009 | Series A | 29.6 | BMC Ventures, Endeavour Vision, Schroders, Venture Incubator |
Total | 156.6 | ||
Source: EvaluateMedTech |