Eli Lilly leads Series B for startup with connected insulin pen, smartphone app combo

Eli Lilly ($LLY) has led a Series B round for San Diego, CA-based startup Companion Medical. The financing is expected to enable the completion of testing and 510(k) submission for its Bluetooth-enabled insulin pen and accompanying smartphone app. The amount of the financing was undisclosed.

The news comes just ahead of a planned update by Eli Lilly regarding its diabetes business strategy, which is slated for June 7 during the American Diabetes Association conference in Boston, MA. It also comes just after an announcement earlier this month that Lilly is building a new drug delivery and device focused R&D center in Cambridge, MA.

About half of Lilly's current pipeline candidates are biologics that require injection; it expects to double revenues from device-enabled products by 2020.

Sean Saint

"Lilly is a global leader in insulin, as well as other medicines and devices in the international diabetes space, and we look forward to their involvement in potentially bringing our device to market," said Companion Medical President and CEO Sean Saint in a statement. He was previously Director of Advanced Technology and Mechanical Engineer at Tandem Diabetes Care; he has also worked for diabetes device players DexCom and Medtronic.

The startup is focused on making insulin pumps more available to the majority of people with diabetes who don't use a pump. Details on its products are limited--but the financing is expected to be sufficient to get an insulin pen/app combo through FDA.

"Lilly is focused on delivering the broadest portfolio of diabetes treatments in the industry, including innovative delivery methods to advance the treatment of diabetes," summed up Divakar Ramakrishnan, Lilly VP for Delivery and Device Research and Development, in a statement. "Companion's smart pen and app represent innovation that could one day fill a gap for millions of people with diabetes."

- here is the release