Ascensia Leads $36M Series B for Sava

Ascensia Diabetes Care led a $36 million Series B round in London-based glucose sensor maker Sava Technologies on Friday. The financing follows an exclusive commercialization and distribution agreement that gives Ascensia rights to sell the device in Europe. Ascensia is a subsidiary of Tokyo’s PHC Holdings, which also made a strategic equity investment in the startup.

Tech and Trial Plans

Sava is developing a wearable sensor that measures glucose in the interstitial fluid just beneath the skin. The company claims its microsensors are about 10 times shorter than filaments used in most devices, which may reduce skin disruption. Sava plans to start a key trial this year and launch the device in Europe after receiving a CE mark in the next two years. The company intends for the sensor to be approved for non-adjunctive use, meaning it could support insulin dosing decisions without routine fingersticks.

The company plans to apply the capital toward expanding its production capacity and getting ready for its inaugural product launch. Following the latest funding, Sava’s cumulative financing now totals $68 million. Participants in this round also comprise Balderton Capital, Norrsken VC, Simplyhealth Ventures, JamJar Investments and Pentland Ventures. Sava believes its sensor will add alternatives for users of continuous glucose monitors in a sector presently led by Abbott and Dexcom.

Ascensia has also entered an exclusive sales partnership with Sava, which is developing a wearable that continuously tracks glucose and additional biomarkers. Ascensia, a provider of diabetes tools such as blood-glucose meters, test strips and lancets, disclosed a strategic equity stake in Sava and noted that the microsensor platform could eventually support health monitoring beyond glucose.

Sava reports that roughly 12 million individuals currently rely on CGM devices, representing only a small portion of the worldwide adult diabetic population. In the past, Ascensia signed a distribution deal with another CGM producer, Senseonics, whose implants can remain under the skin for as long as a year. More recently, Senseonics agreed with Ascensia to internalize its commercial functions, covering sales and marketing. While the sector continues to expand, Sava noted in a statement that with only two dominant manufacturers, demand is outstripping the variety available to distributors, healthcare professionals and patients.