HAGAR, which develops a GWave (Glucose Wave) Technology, a sensor-enabled wearable blood glucose monitoring system, announced an $11.7 million Series B funding round led by a returning investor, Columbia Pacific.
The latest investment brings the company’s total funding to $17.1 million, following the $4.4 million Series A funding in March.
According to the company, the latest funding will be used for Federal Drug Administration approval trials and for completing international patents.
GWave is a sensor-enabled glucose monitoring system integrated into a smartwatch. According to the company, it connects to the GWave smartphone application that sends glucose readings to the user via a smartphone app that can easily be shared with their healthcare provider.
“The global diabetes care devices market size is expected to reach $4.3 billion by 2025, driven largely by an increasing focus on technological innovations. GWave technology can disrupt the market and become a champion for affordable and quality diabetes monitoring to people worldwide. We are excited to partner with HAGAR on this essential journey and to help bring GWave’s technology to the masses,” said John Bratrud, Portfolio Manager of the Columbia Pacific Opportunity Fund.
The GWave technology can also be used for preventive care, as it can measure glucose levels that are elevated but not high enough for diagnosis. According to the company, those early measures can help prevent type 2 diabetes, which constitutes most of the diabetes cases in the world.
General Guy Zur, CEO, and co-founder of HAGAR, said, “With 8.3 percent of the U.S. population living with diabetes today, that number is projected to rise to 1 in 3 adults by 2050. Finding a way to monitor glucose levels in the blood – continuously, painlessly, and easily – is life-changing for those living with diabetes, and we are thrilled that our partners at Columbia Pacific are helping us in this journey.”
Wearable sensors companies raised $675 million in the first half of the 2021, according to Mercom’s 1H 2021 Digital Health Funding & M&A Report.
