Bayer (ETR:BAYN) led a $40 million Series B round for glucose monitor maker One Drop, licensed its platform for treating conditions beyond diabetes and put its pharma president on the One Drop board.
New York City-based One Drop developed a compact blood glucose monitor, pairing it with an app designed to provide behavioral cues and one-on-one coaching. The system integrates with the Apple (NSDQ:AAPL) HealthKit, CareKit, Health Records and Siri Shortcuts and the Apple Watch (Apple stores began carrying the One Drop system in June); the Google Fit offering for Android and with Fitbit and Dexcom offerings via iPhone or Android, the company said.
Bayer plans to adapt the One Drop platform “across a broad array of therapeutic areas,” according to a press release. Bayer Pharmaceuticals president Stefan Oelrich is slated to join One Drop’s board.
“With today’s global digital infrastructure, there should be nothing that prevents us from delivering quality care to everyone who needs it. One Drop is leveraging this infrastructure to provide evidence-based, hyper-personalized diabetes support to millions of people each day,” founder & CEO Jeff Dachis said in prepared remarks. “As a new investor and commercial partner, Bayer is validating One Drop’s superior user experience, modular and extensible product offering, and ability to bring affordable, accessible healthcare to millions of people worldwide.”
“As part of our strategy to shape the future of healthcare and build new businesses in digital health, we are investing in integrated digital solutions to improve health outcomes through data driven solutions,” Oelrich added. “This collaboration allows us to obtain access to a world leading self-care platform for disease management beyond the boundaries of medicines with strong artificial intelligence-driven capabilities that could lead to better healthcare outcomes for people with chronic conditions.”
