Metyos, a medtech startup on a mission to relieve the burden of chronic kidney disease (CKD) on patients and healthcare systems worldwide, has raised €2.3 million in pre-seed funding. The funding was led by Cenitz with participation from KIMA Ventures, Advans Lab, and Bpifrance alongside doctors, leading health insurance angels, and business leaders from Implicity, Deepmind and Nabla.
Metyos was founded in 2021 to improve the lives, outcomes and costs associated with managing CKD, a disease that affects 10% of the population and is the third fastest-growing cause of death worldwide. Through Metyos’ biowearable sensor and platform, doctors will use real-time readings of biomarkers linked to CKD to monitor a patient’s kidney function – from tracking the impact of diet and medication to spotting warning signs of renal failure and hyperkalemia. While patients will be empowered to take control of their care; implementing recommendations and better understanding their disease. In this way, Metyos’ mission is to help both sides proactively manage symptoms with a view to slowing progression of this costly and debilitating disease.
In the US alone, $87 billion a year is spent treating CKD patients. In Europe, this annual figure rises to €140 billion. Today, more is spent on treating CKD than on diabetes, and cancer and, due to the fact early stages of the diseases are asymptomatic, the majority of patients don’t know they have kidney disease until they reach later stages. Beyond financial impact, a CKD patient can spend 12 hours a week, or almost four weeks a year, undergoing dialysis. They also experience decreasing quality of life, with mobility and pain getting significantly worse as the disease progresses.
At the heart of Metyos’ mission are its founders: CEO Alexandre Boulanger and CTO Olga Chashchina. M. Boulanger is a serial medtech entrepreneur having previously founded and scaled Wandercraft, the makers of the world’s first self-balanced, FDA cleared and CE marked lower limb exoskeleton performing human-like dynamic walking. Dr Chashchina has a PhD in biomedical engineering with particular expertise in biosensors which she combines with her business experience as a former McKinsey consultant and an MBA holder.
Alexandre Boulanger, CEO and Co-founder of Metyos, said: “Our mission at Metyos is to move healthcare away from reactive care towards proactive disease management. A healthcare future where millions of CKD patients are empowered to take control of their health, and where they can access life-saving early detection and personalised interventions. This funding, and the support and belief of the brilliant investors it brings with it, will help make this future a reality and help change the lives of so many patients and medical professionals worldwide.”
Metyos has already been awarded the Embedded Healthcare Trophy at the Association Embedded France awards, and its team was named one of the top world health techpreneurs during the Healthcare Innovation World Cup. The funding will be used to further develop Metyos’ wearable technology, including progressing it through clinical trials ahead of FDA clearance.
Frederic Picq at Cenitz added: “Our investment in Metyos was driven by its impressive founding team, a clear and growing market need, and the life-changing potential of its technology. Alex and Olga bring a blend of entrepreneurial spirit and technical expertise that is rare and invaluable in the medtech space. Their track record and passion for healthcare innovation are evident in the strides Metyos has already made. We see significant opportunity in Metyos not just because of its groundbreaking approach to CKD management, but because it represents the future of healthcare – a future where technology and the human experience come together to offer better, proactive care for all.”
