Nutromics raises cash to develop wearable device

Medical wearables device developer Nutromics has raised $5.7 million in new funding to further development of its wearable patch device which continuously monitors key dietary biomarkers, helping patients ensure they receive the correct dosage of the common life-saving antibiotic called vancomycin.

Typically 60 per cent of administered doses of vancomycin are not in the therapeutic range and Nutromics hopes to eliminate preventable complications such as acute kidney injury, and unlock hospital-at-home systems for patients who receive this antibiotic.

The Melbourne company, supported by the Innovative Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre, has now raised $10 million in the past three years, according to co-founder Hitesh Mehta.

A return cornerstone investor to the funding round was venture capital firm, Artesian.

Nutromics continuous Molecular Monitoring (CMM) platform technology is integrated into a wearable smart patch that is small and unobtrusive (pictured below).

Important molecular concentrations are captured continuously by the device, and wirelessly transmitted to a software application.

The company plans to initially launch its devices in Australia and the U.S. before expanding globally.

Manufacturing capabilities to pilot manufacture the device are now under development by Griffith University and manufacturing solutions developer Romar Engineering (main picture).

Mehta said: “This is an absolutely incredible feat and is the result of months of hard work by our team at Nutromics.

“We are also bowled over by the support that we’ve received from clinicians, researchers, patients and investors.

“Thank you for your incredible support in our journey to create a world with zero preventable deaths due to a lack of timely, molecular patient data was developing

According to a media release from the IMCRC a collaborative team led by Nutromics, RMIT University, Griffith University, and manufacturer Romar Engineering developed the required manufacturing capabilities to pilot manufacture the device.

According to RMIT’s Professor Sharath Sriram the smart patch combines a complex sensing platform and stretchable electronics to conform to movements in the skin.

The stretchable electronics are produced by RMIT’s Functional Materials and Microsystems Research Group in its Micro Nano Research facility.

It is envisaged the device can later be adapted to other health monitoring including stress management, sleep health, sports performance and early stage viral detection.

Dr. Sophie Stocker, a leading expert in Therapeutic Drug Monitoring said: “Nutromics’ technology removes many, if not all, of the current barriers to individualising vancomycin dosing.

“It provides real-time personalised information about drug exposure in a patient to inform dosing decisions.

“This enables us to administer the medicine at the right dose and at the right time, every time, to ensure optimal patient outcomes as well as efficiencies in the clinical workflow.”

Pictures: Nutromics/Romar Engineering

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