Exclusive: Cardiosense banks $15M Series A to beat heart disease

Hoping to spot and stop heart disease with its wearable technology, Cardiosense has amassed $15.1 million in Series A capital, CEO Amit Gupta tells Erin exclusively.

Why it matters: Heart disease is the nation's leading cause of death, and cardiology care is one of the biggest drivers of health care spending in the country.

• With a massive opportunity to curb costs and deliver superior care, investors are taking notice.
• "Being able to treat people before they move into acute heart failure is a huge area of unmet need," says Cardiosense investor and Portal Innovations CEO John Flavin.

Deal details: Broadview Ventures and Hatteras Ventures led the raise, joined by Laerdal Million Lives Fund, OSF Ventures, UnityPoint Health Ventures and Portal Innovations.

• Chicago-based Cardiosense will use the funds to grow its team, develop new products and run a wider study of its heart failure technology, which includes algorithm-driven software and a multi-sensor device.
• Broadview associate director Daniel Gottlieb and Hatteras partner Jeff Terrell have joined its board of directors.

How it works: The noninvasive device, called CardioTag, incorporates electrical, optical and mechanical sensors.

• Gupta plans to pursue FDA approval for Cardiosense's device and software.

Be smart: Although noninvasive cardiac monitoring underwent rapid transformation fueled by innovations in milder conditions like atrial fibrillation, the sector's new prime movers are focused on severe ailments such as congestive heart failure (CHF), says Greg Chittim, a health care analyst with the firm Health Advances.

State of play: A wide range of virtual cardiac care companies have pulled in significant financing of late, from wearable developers such as Cardiosense to rehabilitation services providers such as Moving Analytics.

• AliveCor, a developer of a remote ECG, in August raised an undisclosed Series F round led by GE Healthcare.

• Moving Analytics, which contracts with health plans to provide its remote cardiac rehab services, in July pulled in $20 million in Series A funding.
• Story Health, a remote patient management startup helping heart failure patients return home without disrupting their care, in February collected $22 million in Series A money.
• Cleerly, a developer of a software overlay that adds AI to coronary CT scans and offers clinician- and patient-facing tools to track heart health, in July scored $192 million in Series C capital.

What's next: Cardiosense is on track to launch a nationwide clinical study next year to validate its early heart failure detection algorithm across a diverse group of 500 people with heart failure, Gupta says.

• Pending those results and FDA clearance, Gupta aims for Cardiosense to eventually enter into value-based contracts with payers supporting virtual care for patients with chronic disease.
• The company likely won't raise again until 2024, Gupta adds.