MicroCHIPS drums up another $16.5 million and a new investor

MicroCHIPS Inc. corraled a group of existing investors and roped in a new backer into the fold, adding $16.5 million to its coffers as it works toward bringing its platform monitoring and treatment implant technology to market.

Existing backers Polaris Venture Partners, Novartis Venture Fund, Flybridge Capital Partners, Medtronic (NYSE:MDT), Saints Capital, Intersouth Partners, Care Capital and CSK Venture Capital all upped their investment in the Bedford, Mass.-based company. New backer InterWest Partners also chipped in.

MicroCHIPS said it expects its implantable diabetes monitoring and therapy device to enter clinical trials this year. The device is designed for long-term implantation to monitor blood glucose levels in real time. The company is also working on a similar device to treat osteoporosis, designed to automatically deliver precisely calibrated doses of an anabolic bone-building drug.

The company is also aiming at other diabetes and cardiology applications, such as severe hypoglycemia or heart attack.

In April, 2007, MicroCHIPS raised $13.4 million from a group of equity backers, led by the Novartis VC fund and including Polaris, Intersouth, CSK, Medtronic, IDG Ventures, Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE:BSX) and the Boston University Community Technology Fund.