Friday, December 16, 2011

Seventh Sense Biosystems lands $3M Gates Foundation award

By Michelle Lang

Seventh Sense Biosystems Inc., the Cambridge maker of a blood collection and diagnostics device, has won a $3.28 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as part of the Grand Challenges in Global Health initiative, a program aimed at supporting ideas that bring diagnostics to the developing world.

The company develops its Touch Activated Phlebotomy (TAP) platform, which is designed for one-step blood sampling. Seventh Sense said in a news release that it plans to use the grant to support an enhanced TAP device for higher volume blood collection. The company also plans to make the TAP platform eventually with a disposable sampling feature, cutting down on contamination risk, and with the ability to operate directly with handheld or benchtop instruments.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awarded more than 20 diagnostic grants associated with the Grand Challenges initiative.

Founded in 2008, Seventh Sense Biosystems previously garnered a Grand Challenges Exploration grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2009. That grant – the amount of which was not disclosed – supported the startup’s global malaria infection monitoring project. The company is backed by Flagship Ventures, Polaris Venture Partners and Third Rock Ventures. In May, it secured $4.5 million of a two-tranche $10 million Series A financing extension.  Seventh Sense’s first funding round in 2008 brought in $4.18 million to the company.