First Stage Investor

New Pick: This Medtech Startup is Ahead of Its Time

New Pick: This Medtech Startup is Ahead of Its Time
By Andy Gordon
Date March 4, 2021
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Deal Details
Startup: InnaMed
Security type: Future Equity Agreement (SAFE)
Valuation (cap): $20 million (to increase to $25 million)
Minimum investment: $100
Where to invest: Wefunder
Deadline: April 30, 2021 (or when the max raise of $1.07 million is reached)


I believe in InnaMed. I believed it was an outstanding investment opportunity when I recommended it two years ago. I believe even more in it now. And because I do, I’m sending you this urgent recommendation. For the next few days, you’ll be eligible to invest at a 20% discount. InnaMed has set its valuation at $25 million. But for the first $500,000 invested, the valuation is set at $20 million instead.

I strongly suggest you go on the Wefunder raise page and invest as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the less chance you have of getting the discount. And if you put it off for more than a couple of days, you might miss out on the discounted price. 

That would be a shame. InnaMed is a great opportunity at $25 million. It’s an irresistible one at $20 million. We’re giving you a chance to invest literally within hours of InnaMed’s raise going public. You will be ahead of the crowd — among the first to know of this opportunity. And unlike everybody else reading about it on the Wefunder page, you get an in-depth analysis to boot. 

InnaMed is months away from getting FDA clearance for its at-home blood-testing devices. It couldn’t come at a better time. The coronavirus pandemic has reminded us of what matters most to us. Without a doubt, it’s our health and our home.

I haven’t lost anybody to Covid. But a good friend of mine who was suffering from diabetes didn’t get the care he needed because hospital resources were stretched thin. He succumbed to the disease a couple of months ago. Another good friend recently spent a week in the hospital fighting for her life. She was just released last week. 

I worry everyday about my friends and family members, especially my older relatives. I hope I never take good health for granted again.

During these trying days, our home has taken up a more central place in our lives than ever before. It’s not only where we eat and sleep. It’s also where we now work, play and school our kids. Our home is our refuge. Yes, it offers protection. But it also requires our protection. 

Though InnaMed predates the pandemic, it’s made for the world the pandemic has created. Its blood testing device allows the home to become the key place where people manage their health needs. And it allows us to be less reliant on the doctor’s office or hospital. 

I readily admit that a couple of years ago, InnaMed was probably a little ahead of its time. I recommended it anyway. It was clear to me that InnaMed represented the future. 

Its focus on preventive healthcare, convenience, real-time results and the home played into several emerging but growing trends. InnaMed was among the first companies to understand that at-home blood tests tied all these trends together into a single, powerful, forward-looking technology.

For me, it was a no-brainer. But it took two years for the market to provide the proof. Athelas’ blood-testing device measures blood counts for psychiatry and oncology. It recently received FDA clearance. And its valuation is $200 million. Lucira Health’s at-home testing device is for infectious disease testing. It also recently received clearance from the FDA (and also a similar clearance from the EU’s equivalent agency). It recently went public at an $800 million valuation.

Companies that have developed government-approved at-home testing devices are justifiably receiving sky-high valuations. Early investors are making returns far and away above their initial expectations. And now, it’s InnaMed’s turn.

InnaMed expects to get FDA clearance by early next year. Multiple pharmaceutical companies are using InnaMed’s HomeLab platform to speed up their clinical trials. And they’re paying significant premiums for InnaMed’s virtually real-time results (a matter of minutes) instead of lab results that take days. Other pharmaceutical companies are evaluating InnaMed’s platform to improve uptake of their FDA-approved therapies and enable safe and convenient use for patients.

All this activity earned InnaMed more than $1.4 million in revenue last year. It hopes to add more pharmaceutical partners before the end of this year. Its new clients will get customized specialty cartridges to meet the specific needs of their upcoming clinical trials And that will set InnaMed up for significant revenue growth.

Serious revenue generation will only begin when InnaMed gets FDA clearance. That’s also when the larger legacy companies (and future candidates to buy InnaMed out) will begin looking at it as a serious player that brings unique value to the healthcare space.

As more clinical trials go digital, InnaMed’s technology will both ride this  trend and contribute to its growth. And with FDA clearance, use cases should explode.

Pharmaceuticals will be able to use InnaMed’s technology to a far greater degree than they do now. Currently, data derived from InnaMed’s testing devices can be used indirectly to draw general conclusions. With FDA approval, pharmaceuticals will be able to recommend specific dosages, frequency of doses, make cautionary notes, detail side effects, etc all based on results they receive from InnaMed’s devices. 

Pharmaceutical companies won’t need much prodding. By using InnaMed’s technology, they’ll be able to bring drugs to market more quickly and with more data to support efficacy, better calibrate dosage and more. That helps increase the drugs’ value and patient adoption. Pharmaceuticals will then be able to charge higher prices based on the increased value of their product. It’s a win-win. 

InnaMed plans on helping to bring a small, but very special class of drugs to market. These drugs treat chronic rare diseases and cost a lot to develop. So they’re priced quite high. Anything that shortens the testing period, saves money, provides supportive data and manages doses (including the reduction of excessive dosing) would be highly sought after. 

InnaMed’s technology does all of these things.

I also like the founders. My initial opinion of them as stated in my original recommendation stands. I said “Co-founders Eshwar Inapuri and Anup Singh are trained in bio-engineering and biophysics. And they’re super smart.” 


How to Invest

InnaMed is raising up to $1 million in this round of funding on Wefunder. You’ll need to sign up for an account there if you haven’t yet.

Once you’re signed in to Wefunder, head over to the InnaMed raise page. Now enter the amount you want to invest and click the “Invest” button on the right-hand side of the screen. The minimum on this deal is $100.

Risks

This opportunity, like all early-stage investments, is risky. Early-stage investments often fail. InnaMed might need to raise another round of funding in a year or two, if not sooner.

If it executes well, this shouldn’t be a problem. But that’s a risk worth considering when investing in early-stage companies. The investment you’re making is NOT liquid. Expect to hold your position for five to 10 years. An earlier exit is always possible but should not be expected.

All that said, I believe InnaMed offers an attractive risk-reward ratio.

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