NEW YORK (360Dx) – Seventh Sense Biosystems has received a $2 million investment from Ionis Pharmaceuticals, the drug discovery firm announced on Wednesday.
The investment is part of a Series C financing round that will also include other investors, Ionis said.
Seventh Sense is developing a push-button, blood collection device called Tap, which is being developed to make blood testing more convenient and virtually painless, improving patient compliance. The US Food and Drug Administration cleared Tap in February. Seventh Sense plans to include broader tests and allow for self-collection in the future.
"We believe that our collaboration and strategic investment in [Seventh Sense] will help provide additional resources and expertise to optimize the development of these novel devices," said Ionis Chief Operating Officer Lynne Parshall. "These new devices can improve patients' experience with blood testing by making the whole procedure fast, easy and painless, and is one of several approaches we are pursuing to make platelet monitoring more convenient for patients."
Ionis develops RNA-targeted drugs for patients with high unmet medical needs, including those with severe and rare diseases.