CHF 500’000 for AMF Medical Insulin Pump

In general, humans need a hormone called insulin for the body to properly absorb blood sugar. Among people with diabetes, this hormone is either absent or insufficient, which causes the blood sugar levels to be too high. Currently, the treatments available are insulin injections by pen or pump. More difficult to manage for diabetics, pen injections are punctual and carried out several times a day to meet the fluctuant needs of the patient, which depend in particular on meals or activities. The external insulin pump consists of a small box worn on the belt and generally connected to the stomach with a tube of approximately 60 cm, and allows continuous infusion, therefore more physiologically adapted to the patient’s insulin needs. Despite its precision and efficiency, the external pump remains rather cumbersome.

To make life easier for diabetes patients, AMF Medical has developed a next generation patch pump that is worn directly onto the patient’s skin and which can function in a closed-loop with a third-party continuous glucose monitor and insulin dosing algorithm. Smaller and lighter than conventional pumps, the Sigi™ patch pump is used with standard pre-filled insulin cartridges and is controlled directly from the user’s personal smartphone. As soon as the patient wants to start treatment, he or she simply inserts the cartridge into the pump, which then administers the pre-configured dosage. This solution avoids redundant maneuvers and makes daily life much simpler for diabetics. In order to be environmentally friendly, each user receives two rechargeable pumps, which avoids wasting batteries and other electronics.

Targeting diabetes type 1 patients first

AMF Medical and its eleven employees are initially targeting people with type 1 diabetes with their solution. The team has received support from several institutions such as InnoSuisse, the European Union and the Canton of Vaud. In addition, the company won the IMD Startup Competition 2021 and the Advanced Technologies and Treatments for Diabetes Tech Fair Grant 2021. In total, the team has raised CHF 11 million since its creation and is planning to launch a Series A round fundraising estimated at CHF 15 to 20 million by the end of 2021.

AMF Medical aims to complete its industrial prototype as well as to validate the performance of its product in external laboratories by the end of 2021 and plans on launching the first-in-human clinical trials by 2022. The FIT Tech Growth loan will contribute to these next stages of product development.

(Press release)