Biospectal concludes a $4.3M seed investment round

According to the CDC, hypertension affects nearly 46% (100M) of US adults, and the World Health Organization estimates 1.13Bn people worldwide suffer from the disease. Dubbed the "silent killer," only one in five people afflicted with hypertension has it under control. Swiss startup Biospectal developed OptiBP to make it easier and faster for anyone to monitor their blood pressure.

OptiBP medical-grade app uses a smartphone camera's optical lens to easily measure and record a user's blood pressure flow via their fingertip. Biospectal's proprietary algorithms and optical signal capture methods transform the captured data into blood pressure values in approximately 20 seconds — half the time of a typical blood pressure cuff (video https://youtu.be/6RcCMR1wbRM). OptiBP's data also connects seamlessly with clinicians to support treatment regimens that help improve health and quality of life. Biospectal's patented OptiBP technology replaces the antiquated, impractical traditional blood pressure cuff and brings medical-grade blood pressure measurement to the 'point of patient' without the need for yet another wearable device or additional bulky hardware that can break or needs to be replaced.

Founded in 2017 and supported by grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Grand Challenges Canada and Innosuisse, Biospectal's patented technology was developed and validated in partnership with the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM) and represents 10+ years of non-invasive optical biosensing R&D. A recent large-scale, third-party clinical research study published by Scientific Reports in Nature validated the OptiBP app's ability to measure blood pressure as accurately as a standard cuff. Additionally in May 2021, Biospectal announced two independent global research and validation studies funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Global Grand Challenges Canada's Saving Lives at Birth initiative. These studies further Biospectal's ability to transform the global network of smartphones into a connected, clinical-grade blood pressure monitoring platform — democratizing access and bringing the power of remote patient monitoring to people and communities worldwide.

Fresh capital to scale worldwide
The startup yesterday announced the closing of a $4.3M (€3.7M Euros) seed financing funding led by digital health investor, SeedLink, with additional funding from LabCorp, Athensmed, Privilege Ventures and other European and US investors. Biospectal CEO and co-founder, Eliott Jones said: “The funding will accelerate Biospectal's growth trajectory.” The startup will leverage the new funds to scale its OptiBP smartphone blood pressure monitoring application and data platform technology worldwide. Biospectal OptiBP for Android launched in public beta in January 2021. The iOS version is currently in alpha and is planned for a public beta launch in the second half of 2021.

New board members for Biospectal
In line with the investment round the startup made new board appointments: Silicon Valley-based, interventional cardiologist and influential serial healthcare innovator, Fred St. Goar; Tim Juergens, General Manager and co-founder of SeedLink; William Hanlon from LabCorp and Kustaa Piha, successful Health Tech Entrepreneur and Investor from Athensmed joined the Biospectal Board of Directors.

(Press release)