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Blood Sugar Readings In A Painless Blink Of The Eye by Oculir, Inc

Posted: Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Oculir™ is developing a non-invasive glucose meter that measures glucose from the white of the eye (the conjunctiva). No contact with the eye is required; simply point the sensor at the eye and click.

The commercial version of the Oculir™ glucose sensor will be the size of a cell phone. Oculir™ will succeed where others have failed by using the best measurement wavelengths in the Mid IR combined with a unique measurement site - the white of the eye.

In most cases products like this never make it to market for a number of reasons, the major one is financing for the development of the technology and for the studies to pass FDA approval. But in this case, you have one of the brightest people at the head of the project, who has had a number of successes in obtaining venture capital and bringing products to market, Dr. Burd.

One of the burdens diabetes patients face is the constant need to monitor their blood sugar by pricking their fingers. Oculir, a San Diego startup, is planning a pain-free alternative. The company is developing a monitor that reads blood sugar levels by inspecting the tiny blood vessels of the eye -- without ever touching the eyeball.

The monitor works by bouncing a harmless beam of infrared light off the white of the eye. Although invisible, the spectrum of light in the probe is just the right wavelength to interact with glucose molecules in blood flowing through tiny vessels in the thin membrane covering the eye. "The light reflected back is proportional to the amount of glucose in the blood," says CEO John Burd.

In December, Oculir raised $7.3 million in venture capital to fund the studies necessary for Food & Drug Administration approval. Burd says if all goes well, the device could go on sale in 2009. Oculir, Inc.

Dr. Burd has dedicated his career to researching and developing novel medical testing products, and to successfully bringing them to market. He is a founder and is currently the President & CEO of Oculir, Inc., developing a non-invasive glucose testing system for people with diabetes. In addition, Dr. Burd was CEO of ImmuneTech, makers of MyAllergyTest, a home test for allergies. Previously, Dr. Burd was a General partner of Windamere Venture Partners, a Venture Fund specializing in founding and funding healthcare companies.

While at Windamere from 1999 to 2003, he and his 2 partners founded 15 healthcare companies. These companies included MiraMedica, Inc., where Dr. Burd served as Chairman and CEO, which developed computer aided detection systems for cancer detection. Founded in 2000, MiraMedica was sold to Kodak in 2003. In addition, in 1999, Dr. Burd founded DexCom, Inc which, just got FDA approval for their continuous glucose monitor and served as its President & CEO.

Before DexCom, Dr. Burd was the founder, President/CEO and Chairman of LXN Corporation. Who brought the fructosamine meter to market. Dr. Burd directed the company's work to finance, develop, manufacture, and market a new diabetes self-management system. Johnson and Johnson purchased LXN in 2001. Prior to LXN, Dr. Burd held executive positions at QUIDEL Corporation, including Vice President of Research and Development, where he directed the development of products for the clinical lab, physician's office and OTC markets.

Prior to QUIDEL, Dr. Burd was Executive Vice President and COO for MAST Immunosystems, Inc. Dr. Burd began his career in medical product research and development at Bayer (formerly Miles Laboratories, Inc.) Dr. Burd has authored and co-authored numerous scientific articles and is the owner of 23 U.S. patents. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biochemistry from Purdue and earned an M.S. and Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin.

Source: Diabetes In Control