Melbourne medtech startup Nutromics has raised A$7.5 million in a new funding round, bringing its total funding to about A$60 million.
The company is creating a wearable “lab-on-a-patch” device that uses DNA biosensors and tiny microneedles to track molecular data in real time.
“Our world first clinical study, completed in 2024, showed successful results”, said Nutromics CEO and co-founder Peter Vranes. “We’re now conducting ICU trials, a global first for this class of wearable diagnostics.
“We’ve significantly de-risked our first product, and this latest raise reflects growing investor confidence in our execution.”
Nutromics plans to build a modern facility, preferably in Australia. The company says it could create over 100 skilled jobs and generate up to US$1.5 billion in yearly exports. The final location will depend on support from both government and private partners.
“Australia is uniquely positioned to lead in advanced medical device development and export,” said Hitesh Mehta COO and co-founder of Nutromics. “We attract elite talent, our clinical trial ecosystem is unrivalled, and several life-changing technologies have been born here.”
MTPConnect CEO Stuart Dignam says Australia should support growing medtech companies locally instead of letting advanced manufacturing move overseas.
“Australia can’t afford to treat advanced manufacturing as secondary to discovery,” he said.
“Nutromics is a promising MedTech company emerging from Australia’s R&D pipeline with the potential to scale into global markets from here.
“We have lost too many companies that were built on Australian science but scaled offshore. Backing this facility now is an opportunity where public and industry co-investment can unlock significant economic, clinical, and strategic value and help move our life sciences sector from innovation to industry.”
Nutromics has a strong leadership team. Its board is chaired by Dr Chris Roberts AO, former CEO of Cochlear and director at ResMed, who brings valuable U.S. commercial experience to help the company grow.
The startup is preparing to commercialize its device for monitoring vancomycin, a difficult-to-dose antibiotic often used in critical care.
Alongside this, Nutromics is also working with pharma companies to provide research-only wearable devices to support drug development. This approach is expected to bring in early revenue while the regulated version of the product moves forward.
In 2022, Dexcom Ventures led a US$14 million (A$20.5m) funding round, and Nutromics was also selected for LaunchVic’s 30×30 program, which supports startups with unicorn potential by 2030.
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