Scanadu’s Series B Funding Round to Finance Clinical Trials

Medical device maker Scanadu has raised $35 million in Series B funding to move into clinical trials for its Scout device.

Fosun International led the round with participation from new investors such as Tencent Holdings, China Broadband Capital, IGlobe Partners and Sungent BioVenture, according to The Wall Street Journal. Returning backers such as Relay Ventures and AME Cloud Ventures also participated in the round. The company has raised $49.7 million to date.

“Fosun built Fosun Shanghai pharmaceutical’s business from the ground up, and we have long been committed to innovations in healthcare,” said Guao Guanchang, chairman of Fosun International. “When we looked at Scanadu, we saw a company solving a problem that affects virtually everyone. Our investment in Scanadu aligns with our deep interest in leveraging the magic of the mobile Internet to improve ties across the hospital, pharmaceutical and health insurance industries.”

CEO Walter De Brouwer co-founded the Mountain View, Calif.-based startup in 2011 to develop devices to allow users to track and monitor their health on their smartphones with hospital-grade diagnostic tests. The company raised $1.6 million on Indiegogo in 2013 from 8,500 backers for its Scout device, which was a record-breaking campaign for Indiegogo at the time. The device retails for $199.
“We continue to build out our family of products and move down the path to regulatory clearance in the U.S. and China,” said De Brouwer. “Scanadu’s mission has always been to give eight billion people access to quality healthcare via their smartphones.”

The Scout is a sensor users hold to their temples. In less than 10 seconds, the puck-shaped device collects data on vital signs, including pulse, heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, temperature and emotional stress. A mobile app tracks the data collected and offers a personal health feed to identify patterns.

“Advances in health technology are bringing powerful capabilities to understand our bodies via our smart phones.  These trends will revolutionize healthcare over the long-term,” said David Wallerstein, chief exploration officer and senior executive vice president of Tencent Holdings Limited. “Scanadu is leading this trend with innovative and consumer-friendly diagnostic products that deeply leverage the power of smart phone and cloud technologies. We’re excited to join the Scanadu team on this journey.”

The Scout has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an investigational device, meaning it can be used in the context of a study, according to the Journal. The company is also in the midst of human clinical trials for the Scout as a urinalysis device, and has a longer term goal to get the Scout cleared to analyze blood and DNA.

Based at NASA-Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Scanadu is developing mobile and sensor technology to develop a portfolio of FDA-approved, consumer-friendly medical analytics that are palm-sized.