Medtech Occuity to enter Boehringer Ingelheim start-up programme

By Nicky Godding

20 December 2022

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Occuity, the fast-growing Reading-based Medtech has signed a preliminary agreement with world leading research-driven pharmaceutical company, Boehringer Ingelheim, to enter its start-ups acceleration program, to develop exploit Occuity's patented glucose monitoring technology to help animals suffering from diabetes.

Occuity's handheld technology, works by shining a low power beam of light into the eye and detecting the changes in refractive index in the aqueous humour that correlate closely with changes in its glucose concentration.

Currently being developed for use in humans, the technology within the device can take measurements in a few seconds. Since it is completely non-contact, it’s use for supporting the treatment of diabetes in veterinary environments is appealing.

Occuity CEO, Dan Daly, said: “We have long thought about the potential application of our technology in veterinary. Diabetes in dogs and cats can occur at any age – most commonly at older than 6 years of age for cats and usually 4-14 years of age for dogs – just like diabetes in humans, it’s a growing problem.

"I am delighted to have signed this agreement and look forward to progressing the project with the team at Boehringer Ingelheim.”

Boehringer Ingelheim Open innovation digital Director, Frederic Dimur, added: “As part of our startup program Synapse Acceleration® we are delighted to work with Occuity which has been selected for the 6th edition. We are looking forward to exploring both technical feasibility and veterinary usability tackling the challenge of diabetes management in pets.”

By Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe.

After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts.

She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.