Beta Bionics Inc., which makes a “bionic pancreas,” has secured $60 million in a Series E funding round led by new investor Wellington Management.
The funding fuels Beta Bionics’ continued development and commercialization of its flagship product, the iLet Bionic Pancreas. The automated insulin delivery system helps people with Type 1 diabetes (T1D) manage their blood sugar levels.
The iLet Bionic Pancreas received Food and Drug Administration clearance in May for use in individuals ages six and older with T1D and was commercially launched in December alongside the Dexcom G7 Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) System.
Beta Bionics said funding from this latest round will support broader commercialization efforts and the advancement of its product pipeline targeting diabetes and other glycemic dysregulation disorders.
This latest round brings the Irvine-based medical device company’s total funding to more than $280 million, following a $100 million Series D raise in August 2023. Other returning investors participating in the latest round include Eventide Asset Management, RTW Investments, Sands Capital, Soleus Capital, Omega Funds, Perceptive Advisors and Marshall Wace.
Wellington Management is one of the world’s largest privately held asset managers with $1 trillion in assets.
Automating Diabetes Management
The iLet Bionic Pancreas aims to simplify the daily challenges of managing diabetes.
It requires only the user’s weight as input and calculates insulin delivery every five minutes based on real-time glucose data from a continuous glucose monitoring system.
Beta Bionics also offers the Bionic Circle app, enabling users to invite up to 10 friends or family members to remotely monitor glucose levels and insulin doses.
The device reached a milestone in August with its 10,000th user, reflecting its impact on reducing the burden of diabetes management for patients and healthcare providers, the company said.
Last month, Beta Bionics launched a partnership with Abbott Laboratories to integrate the iLet with Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre 3 Plus system, making it the first automated insulin delivery integration available for FreeStyle system users in the U.S., according to the company.
Founding Inspired by Son’s Diagnosis
Beta Bionics was co-founded in 2015 by Edward “Ed” Damiano, a biomedical engineering professor at Boston University. Damiano’s son David was born in 1999 and developed T1D at 11 months old. The diagnosis motivated Damiano to develop a solution to improve his son’s life.
In 2022, the company announced Sean Saint as the company’s new chief executive, succeeding Martha Aronson who served as interim for six months prior to his appointment.
Saint is a diabetes device industry veteran experience having worked as an engineer at Dexcom and Tandem Diabetes Care. He was diagnosed with T1D in 2011.
Soon after, he founded Companion Medical. The company manufactures the InPen System, a smart insulin pen that uses Bluetooth to send dose information to a mobile app. It was acquired by Medtronic plc (NYSE: MDT) in 2020.
“Sean has a fierce commitment to improving the lives of people with diabetes and deep roots—both personal and professional—in type 1 diabetes and the diabetes medical technology industry,” Damiano said in a statement.
Beta Bionics also appointed Dr. Steven Russel as chief medical officer last year in preparation of commercial launch.
