Proteus Digital Health
has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, noting that its efforts to raise money or sell the company fell victim to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Redwood City, Calif.-based company missed a $100 million funding target in December. Once valued at $1.5 billion, Proteus previously raised $420 million from investors including Novartis Venture Fund and Kaiser Permanente Ventures, according to an April report by Forbes.
Proteus’ products combine oral medications with an ingestible sensor. The sensor-embedded pill was approved by the FDA in November 2017. Otsuka Pharmaceutical (TYO:4578) and Proteus developed the Abilify MyCite pill to treat schizophrenia, manic and mixed episodes linked with bipolar I disorder and depression in adults. Otsuka and Proteus signed an $88 million deal in 2018 in which Proteus would help Otsuka develop more digital medicines while commercializing the smart pill technology.
