FUNDING
iPill Dispenser this month closed a $1.5 million seed round led by Chicago’s OCA Ventures. The round will finance the Rowland Heights-based firm’s relocation to Orange County next year.
iPill Dispenser aims to address the opioid epidemic through innovation and technology. It’s developed a smart pill dispenser with two-point biometric authentication, similar to that of an ATM, which only allows a prescribed person access to opioids at their prescribed dose, according to co-founder and CEO of iPill Dispenser Dr. John Hsu. It also automatically destroys contained pills if they go unused or tampered with.
“What’s befuddling to me is that opioids are triple-locked in hospitals and pharmacies, yet the same opioids come home with patients to the kitchen counter,” Hsu told the Business Journal. “It’s a horrible situation that we’re trying to remedy for people.”
Hsu was a practicing anesthesiologist for 28 years. After witnessing how prescribed opiates affected his patients, he retired to focus on developing iPill full-time at Octane.
iPill is also developing what Hsu calls an “FDA breakthrough medical device”—a respiratory biosensor that detects opioid-induced respiratory depression and pairs with a mobile app to dial 911.
Its device will be launched and sold to its customer base of Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) clinics in the first quarter of next year, he said.
HIRING
Irvine’s Moving Analytics is hiring for “at least” six roles; tech-savvy engineers and Spanish-speaking nurses are prioritized, executives announced Sept. 16.
“We’re looking for smart and talented folks who want to help us build the next generation of our platform and increase our access of care,” Chief Executive Harsh Vathsangam told the Business Journal.
Moving Analytics is a telehealth startup launched at Octane in 2013.
It provides virtual cardiac rehabilitation for convalescing heart attack and heart surgery patients – a life-saving service that 3.5 million Americans qualify for, yet only 10% of whom seek it out, according to Vathsangam.
“The reason is one of access. You must visit an on-site facility and there just aren’t many around,” he said. “We’re the only company out there that has clinical evidence to show we can create a safe and quality at-home service.”
In April, Moving Analytics closed a $6 million seed round led by Aphelion Capital; it has raised $9.5 million in total.
With this funding, it aims to improve its platform by making its content more inclusive for non-English speaking, women and minority users.
“Women actually experience heart attacks differently, symptoms and all, but our current content is geared towards only men,” Vathsangam said.
LAUNCH
Irvine-based Prinker announced Sept. 20 the launch of its first digital temporary tattoo printer by the same name.
Prinker, an amalgam of “printer” and “ink,” allows users to draw digital freehand designs and print them as water-resistant temporary tattoos by sliding the device across their skin, the company said. It also offers a catalog of more than 8,000 premade tattoo designs to choose from.
The company also reported that younger children can use built-in design activities on the Prinker content platform, including dot-to-dot puzzles, which can help build their motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and even concentration.
The company wants “to provide a safe alternative for people of all ages, including children, to express themselves while engaging in an activity that can be enjoyed by the entire family,” Prinker Chief Executive Jimmy Lee said in a statement.
The temporary tattoos are “like makeup” and can last for one to three days, the company said.
LAUNCH
Laguna Hills-based Eyedaptic Inc. reported on Sept. 20 the launch of its new and improved smart glasses, the Eye4.
Founded in 2016, Eyedaptic develops smart glasses that simulate natural vision with augmented reality to enhance the vision of patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and other retina-related conditions.
“Eye4 enables my patients to access life-changing technology to enhance their vision,” co-founder and CMO Dr. Mitul Mehta said. “This simple and unique pair of smart glasses contains adaptive proprietary software so one visual aid covers a broad range of uses.”
The Eye4 also features two high-resolution cameras for “superior image quality,” making daily tasks, including grocery shopping or using a computer, five times easier for patients, the company said.
The product, priced around $2,000, was scheduled to be on display at the Vision Expo West Exhibit Hall at the Sands in Las Vegas last week.
EXPANSION
Newport Beach-based Jobot, an AI-powered recruiting firm, reported Sept. 7 it hit $100 million in revenue. It also reported no layoffs amid the pandemic, the company said.
“During the pandemic, many recruiting and staffing firms were laying off recruiters. At Jobot, we don’t believe in layoffs,” founder of Jobot and CEO Heidi Golledge said in a statement. “We stand behind everyone at Jobot and know that the industry is cyclical and there is always a home at Jobot for those willing to put in their best efforts to build something remarkable.”
In 2020, Jobot reported it doubled in size. It says it has quintupled in annual revenue since its launch in 2018.
The company earlier this year moved its headquarters from Irvine to its hybrid office space near the water in Newport Beach.
Golledge is the former founder of CareerBliss, a job searching platform similar to Glassdoor, as well as CyberCoders, a tech-enabled recruitment startup that sold to a staffing firm for $100 million.
EXIT
Syneos Health Inc. (Nasdaq: SYNH), a biopharmaceutical solutions firm from Morrisville, N.C. and valued at nearly $10 billion, announced Sept. 14 the acquisition of the StudyKIK, an Irvine-based platform that recruits patients for clinical trials. Terms of the deal weren’t immediately disclosed.
“StudyKIK’s patient-first focus, combined with their innovative enterprise platform, helps to advance our goal of bringing best-of-breed insights and technology-enabled solutions to biopharma customers, sites and patients,” CEO of Syneos Health Alistair Macdonald said in a statement.
“Together we’ll accelerate product development by improving stakeholder experiences, realizing efficiencies in patient recruitment, engagement, improved access and diversity.”
Since its launch in 2014, StudyKIK reached over 6 million patients and connected over 3.5 million patients to studies across 3,600 research sites in more than 32 countries around the world, the company said.
It also accelerated enrollment timelines in certain clinical trials by up to 94% and reduced enrollment start-up times by up to 75%.
The acquisition boosts Syneos Health’s ability to deliver technology-enabled, insight-powered solutions, and will offer several customer benefits, including accelerated patient enrollment and retention, population-based insights and reduced patient burden, the company said.
