Food & Health Angels backs Persperion’s sweat-based glucose monitoring device

The US Food & Health (FH) Angels network has made its first investment in Persperion Diagnostics, which is developing a non-invasive glucose monitoring device. The medical device company says its flagship product, the ConTAQ Sweat Glucose Monitor, is a simple and affordable alternative to continuous glucose monitors and traditional options that require “painful finger pricks multiple times a day.” 

This alternative monitor utilizes patented sensor chemistry and a structure designed to analyze low sweat volumes. Persperion Diagnostics explains that users only need to press a finger to a reusable sensor strip for 30 seconds to receive an accurate reading. 

FH Angels was established to support and invest in early-stage US companies like Persperion Diagnostics that focus on science, data, and technology to improve metabolic performance, health, and longevity. 

Kim Fisher, the founding director of FH Angels, tells Nutrition Insight that the investor network does not solely aim to drive new food development. 

“There’s great food out there. It’s just that we don’t know what our bodies need, and everybody is a little different. One person can eat a very sweet mango and be fine, whereas people with type 1 diabetes can eat the same food and their blood sugar will spike.”

She notes that new sensors and technology can help people understand these individual differences. 

Fisher says new biosensor technology can help reveal individual nutritional needs.“We have new ways of sensing biomarkers in humans,” Fisher adds. “Everybody’s familiar with continuous glucose monitors, but we’re looking at continuous ketone monitors and different ways to sense different proteins and biomarkers. There’s a lot happening in sensing technology that’s going to enable us to know what we need in terms of food.”

Biosensor research

Persperion Diagnostics’ new tool is the culmination of more than 10 years of advanced biosensor research, notes the company. It aimed to find an alternative tool for the approximate 853 million people who live with diabetes worldwide, of whom 40 million live in the US. 

While continuous glucose monitors offer an alternative for patients needing to monitor their glucose levels, the company says their high cost and reliance on implanted sensors make them inaccessible for many people. 

Lu Yin, Ph.D., co-founder and CEO of Persperion Diagnostics, says that the partnership with FH Angels provides the company with a financial runway. The collaboration also aligns it with the FH Angels’ network of strategic investors who “deeply understand the clinical stakes of metabolic disease.”

“This capital will directly fund our key 12-month milestones, including product delivery, a 50-subject pilot clinical trial, and our initial US FDA submission,” he adds. “FH Angels’ deep roots in health science make them the perfect partners to help us bring this vital device to people who rely on daily glucose monitoring for their health."

Scalable innovations

FH Angels focuses its investments on commercially scalable innovations that deliver “measurable human benefits and strong clinical outcomes.” The network was born out of the University of California (UC) Davis, US, and includes members from the health care, food, longevity, and investment industries. 

Yin says the investment funds a 50-subject pilot trial on Persperion Diagnostics’ alternative to conventional glucose monitors.“We have people who understand metabolic disease, the market for food, and whether a company might get acquired by a large company,” says Fisher, who is also the director of programs at UC Davis’ Innovation Institute for Food and Health. 

“It’s all of these people wrapping around the due diligence process and deciding what companies we invest in, but also, once we make investments, being able to accelerate the growth and success of companies that can solve the problems in the food system.”

Fisher notes that the investor network aims to solve problems in the US food system by addressing gaps in solutions.

“We spend US$1.1 trillion fixing the problems that our food causes, which is equivalent to the cost of producing and consuming our food, and 92% of Americans are metabolically unhealthy.” 

She adds that many of the people in the investor network dream of putting those resources into prevention, instead of mitigating or curing diseases linked to food. The FH Angels team can help scale companies and position them for acquisition. 

“We’re not going to do that alone, but if we can work with start-ups that then maybe get acquired by larger food companies, I’m hoping that’s where we’ll have a tremendous impact,” Fisher concludes.