Epicore Biosystems announces $10M Series A investment for personalized hydration and metabolic health

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Feb. 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Digital health solutions company Epicore Biosystems announced today that it has closed an oversubscribed $10M Series A investment round. The new investment onboards Chevron Technology Ventures, Alumni Ventures and seed investor Joyance Partners, joining Epicore's longstanding list of strategic backers and customers, including PepsiCo, the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, National Institutes of Health, and NextFlex.

This investment is fueled by growing interest in Epicore's wearable microfluidic products and analytic solutions, which have been deployed by leading Fortune 50 companies as demand for personalized hydration and metabolic monitoring intensifies.

Originally spun out of Northwestern University's Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics, Epicore has developed a proprietary wearable "skin-like" microfluidic patch designed to capture eccrine sweat and offer real-time insights through its biochemical-sensing platform. Epicore's products provide a wealth of personalized data, from hydration and stress to glucose levels, for a range of applications including sports performance, industrial safety, battlefield hydration and health management.

"We have been closely collaborating with our customers and clinical partners to capture health insights that go beyond the traditional biometrics – like steps and heart rate and heart rate variability – by tapping into a rich, new source of data gleaned from tiny droplets of sweat," says Dr. Roozbeh Ghaffari CEO and co-founder of Epicore Biosystems. "Onboarding this established group of investors and partners will help propel our efforts to revolutionize personalized recovery and metabolic health management."

PepsiCo Gx Sweat Patch, Chevron hydration monitoring trial
In March 2021, Epicore launched its first commercial sports hydration product with PepsiCo and Gatorade, the Gx Sweat Patch, a first-to-market wearable that pairs with the Gx app to provide personalized, real-time hydration recommendations for athletes to help drive performance.

Epicore also conducted a trial in May 2021 with Chevron Technology Ventures to deploy wireless sweat patches to monitor hydration of workers facing increased risk of heat stress.

"Wearable sensor technology to track dehydration and heat stress in field settings provides real-time health and safety metrics for the workforce. Our recent proof-of-concept field study with Epicore Biosystems helped us evaluate the technology and its potential to transform workplace safety," said Barbara Burger, Vice President of Innovation and President of Technology Ventures for Chevron. "This is the latest investment in our Core Energy Fund, which focuses on operational enhancement, digitalization, and lower carbon business solutions."

Epicore is also actively deploying its first medical product in remote clinical research trials to analyze sweat biomarkers for pharmaceutical, military, sports & fitness, and food & beverage applications. The Epicore Discovery Patch System is registered with the FDA as a Class I device.

"Epicore's wearable products and emerging sensing technologies are poised to change the way we track our hydration and nutrition, building on the growing need for personalization," says Erik Hammer, partner at Alumni Ventures.

Epicore's core technology is the result of research by Northwestern University Prof. John A. Rogers and Dr. Ghaffari. Their findings on "wearable microfluidics" have appeared in multiple peer-reviewed scientific and clinical journals and led to Epicore's initial commercial relationship with PepsiCo. 

Epicore will use the new investment capital to scale its suite of wearable products and expand its analytics and cloud services, as well as to accelerate growth of its customer base internationally. The Series A investment positions Epicore to build on the recent momentum garnered from its first-to-market products to become the commercial leader in personalized hydration and metabolic health in the U.S. and globally.

About Epicore Biosystems
Epicore Biosystems is a privately held digital health solutions company spun out of the Querrey-Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics at Northwestern University. It has established partnerships with Fortune 100 companies, the Department of Defense, and leading research hospitals to drive personalized care with its proprietary wearable microfluidic products. For more information, please visit https://www.epicorebiosystems.com/ .

About Chevron Technology Ventures
Chevron Technology Ventures (CTV) pursues externally developed technologies and new business solutions that have the potential to enhance the way Chevron produces and delivers affordable, reliable, and ever-cleaner energy. For more information, please visit https://www.chevron.com/technology/technology-ventures.  

About Alumni Ventures
Alumni Ventures is a network-powered venture capital firm. Our network is our source of capital ($900M+ capital raised) and differentiation. Our community enables us to access exciting new ventures and add value to our portfolio companies. Our Just Cause is to grow, engage and learn with an inclusive community of stakeholders to create difference-making ventures. For more information, please visit https://www.av.vc/.

SOURCE Epicore Biosystems, Inc.