Capitainer, a Stockholm-based medtech firm, has raised SEK34M (around $3.5M) in a round led by Sciety which is a Nordic VC. Existing and new industry specialised investors, as well as numerous board members and the CEO, took part.
Capitanier says the cash would be used to capitalise on the increased interest in home sampling with its innovative qDBS dried blood spot testing device.
Addressing issues
With its technology, the Swedish company claims to be addressing a rapidly developing industry in which more than a million therapeutic drug monitoring samples are collected each year in Sweden alone. The company claims that the new disposable kit can be used by non-healthcare professionals at home and reduces the possibility of human mistake.
The new disposable sampling chip can accurately detect and record blood volume, allowing for quantitative measurements that have hitherto been impossible. Patients can leave samples at their convenience and mail them to a laboratory for analysis, eliminating the need for refrigeration or specialised packing.
Capitainer, which was founded in 2016 by Olof Beck, has invented a volumetric blood collection equipment that allows patients to collect the exact amount of blood, plasma, or urine they require and then save the samples in dried form.
Ernst Westman, Capitainer Chairman said: “Once again we are delighted to have secured such strong support from experienced medtech and diagnostics industry investors. COVID-19 presented us with an unexpected obstacle, but also a welcomed opportunity to prove the utility of our products. This success has generated unprecedented interest worldwide and the new funding will enable us to accelerate both our product development and commercialisation efforts.”
Tech at play
Independent of haematocrit, the proprietary technology ensures precise sample quantities of 10l with negligible CV. One drop of capillary blood from a finger prick is applied to the inlet port on the qDBS card, which automatically fills a microchannel with the needed amount and discards any surplus.
Following that, the blood volume contained in the microchannel automatically transfers to the specimen collection disc, generating a high-quality dried blood spot sample that can be quantified.
According to Capitainer, its technology will decrease the need for travel and save healthcare resources spent on blood sampling.
Christopher Aulin, CEO added, “Our home-sampling products have generated interest across the whole spectrum of diagnostic testing. From drugs of abuse to metabolic disorders, we are being contacted by leading specialists in Europe and the US interested in exploring different applications for qDBS. However, this is only half the story, as we will also use this new funding to accelerate our product development to broaden our product platform to include plasma and urine sample collection.”
Capitainer competes with startups such as IRRAS AB, Trimb healthcare, Etac Sverige and more
