Company behind "patch" insulin pump closes €65m financing round

ViCentra, the company behind Kaleido, a small and light wearable insulin pump (“patch pump”), has closed a €65 million Series C financing. 

The investment round was led by new investor Partners in Equity BV, the Amsterdam based Venture Capital firm with a long-term focus. Existing investors LSP, INKEF Capital and Health Innovations also participated in the investment.

Frans Cromme, CEO of ViCentra said: “This new equity round enables us to further accelerate our commercial rollout, scale our manufacturing operations and prepare for FDA filing. The commercial launch of the Kaleido system will focus on the Netherlands, France, Germany and the UK, with additional regions targeted in due course.”

In addition, the company announces it has commercially launched the next generation of its Kaleido system which fits the DBLG1 System, Diabeloop’s advanced closed loop automated insulin delivery (“AID”) solution. By further strengthening its collaboration with Diabeloop, Kaleido will be available to operate with the DBLG1 handset and proprietary algorithm. This will bring the first AID system with a wearable pump to Europe, combining the world’s smallest pump with the advanced dosing algorithm and intuitive user interface developed by Diabeloop.

Cromme added: “We are excited to be further expanding our product offering with a closed loop system and to be introducing this product to new EU markets. The system is simple and easy to use, bringing a significant improvement in quality of life to people with type 1 Diabetes. This is in line with ViCentra’s philosophy to design brilliantly engineered healthcare products that truly put people first. We don’t design for patients – we design for people.”

The World Health Organisation estimates that there are about 422 million people with diabetes across the globe, with numbers expected to grow as the global population ages. As both patients and providers rely more and more on virtual care, this provides a tremendous opportunity for technology to help improve the quality of life for diabetes sufferers.