Tasso OnDemand

2021: Device announcement

In December 2021, it became known about the release of Tasso OnDemand devices, which can charge blood without the need to visit a doctor. For the commercial implementation of the project, the manufacturer attracted $100 million in investments.

The Series B funding round was led by RA Capital Management with the participation of existing investors Foresite Capital, Hambrecht Ducera Growth Ventures, J2V, Cedars-Sinai and Merck GHIF. Among the new investors were D.E. Shaw group, Senvest, InCube and the SVB fund.

Tasso will use new tools to organize production and operational work, as well as to expand its health testing services.

Tasso was founded in 2011 by CEO Ben Casavant and Technical Director Erwin Berthier. The company's area of ​ ​ activity includes the production of medical, surgical, ophthalmic and veterinary instruments and devices.

Tasso OnDemand Device

Tasso devices work on the forearm, taking blood from a network of capillaries under the skin with one click of a button. People do not need training to collect their own blood, which allows them to exclude visits to medical facilities and the use of special applications to monitor the condition of patients. Startup devices can collect liquid or dried blood samples, data on which can be sent by mail.

With the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, there has been a fundamental shift in how we think about healthcare, and the demand for patient-centered home solutions is greater than ever, said Kasavant.

The Tasso OnDemand device, which collects dried blood samples, in May 2021 received permission in the European Union for non-diagnostic purposes, such as monitoring patients in clinical trials.

In September 2021, researchers at the University of Washington and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center reported the results of a study of a Tasso-SST device for collecting liquid blood. Samples self-collected by patients with COVID-19 retained antibody quality similar to samples collected and analyzed locally by a phlebotomy specialist, even after they were held for several days to mimic delivery time.

The device for liquid blood is designed to collect more blood than the average finger injection - on average, the study gives about 1/3 ml.

We believe the FDA recognizes the clinical diagnostic value of these tests and will open up opportunities for permission, said Erwin Berthier.

The company's path to FDA clearance could also be facilitated by the growth of other companies in the field. Other startups developing devices for self-sampling blood, including Babson Diagnostics, which received $31 million in June 2020, and Harbinger Health.^[1]

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