PKvitality, a French startup specialized in bio wearables, has snapped up €2.25 million via an agreement with Beurer GmBH, the German medical product and well-being company.
PKvitality, founded in 2017, is an advanced bio-wearable start-up currently working on K’Watch, a painless and discreet Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) device in the form of a smartwatch. It will enable a precise and continuous monitoring of systemic glucose level anytime and anywhere. Using the same technology, PKvitality is also working on K’Watch Athlete, a smartwatch that will provide real-time monitoring of their lactic acid – an indicator of muscle fatigue – to significantly improve an athlete’s training and performance.
K’Watch will be the first wearable smartwatch medical device that measures and displays glucose level continuously, effortlessly and painlessly. With K’Watch, diabetes patients will check their glucose level instantly, see the trend and how it evolves over a period of time. Patients will also receive customized automated alerts to prevent hyper & hypoglycaemia episodes for days and nights. Moreover, users have the option of alerting trusted people in case of severe episodes through notifications sent via the PK Application directly on their smartphone.
K’Watch Glucose is equipped with K’apsul, a consumable which is inserted at its back. The core of K’apsul’s concept is the technology SkinTaste, a revolutionary technology based on a sensor composed of biochemicals and an array of micro-points. The micro-points stay in the upper part of the skin, a layer without pain sensation as most of the mechanical nerves are below 1mm. It measures glucose concentration by being in contact with the interstitial fluid rather than with the blood which makes it also a blood-free solution.
Beurer GmbH, founded in 1919, employs more than 900 staff and manufactures and commercialises more than 500 products in Europe, US and Asia, and is one of the major distributors of Blood Glucose Meters in Germany and Austria. Beurer believes that PKvitality’s K’Watch, will become a leading product to measure blood glucose level in real time. Via the recent agreement, Beurer GmBH has acquired exclusive commercialisation rights for Germany, Austria and Italian tenders, agreeing to a sales volume that will contribute significantly to PKvitality’s overall commercial volume.
Luc Pierart, CEO and Founder of PKvitality says: “We are very proud that our technology has been endorsed by Beurer, as the depth of their due diligence and their competencies in health-care technologies are Best in Class. We trust Beurer to be the right partner for us. Their commercial footprint will provide a powerful springboard to promote our unique product, in the large and dynamic market of CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitoring). Beurer’s investment in PKvitality will also enable us to continue our development efforts and to confirm the excellent results currently obtained in our preclinical model, and to reach the First in Man milestone”.
Marco Bühler, Managing Director and 4th generation of company’s founding Family declares: “After extensive technical Due Diligence we are convinced that PKvitality has one of the strongest teams and technology portfolio in the area of future Glucose monitoring applied to Continuous Glucose Monitoring. A highly professional risk management in all key areas has been established and covered with a portfolio of relevant patents. The concept of realizing a CGM in a smartwatch which is basically painfree and non-stigmatizing in combination with a much more cost-efficient sensor patch is convincing. We are looking forward to launching the K’Watch in our key territories, and are convinced that this patient friendly and cost effective device will meet a large success”.
