$2 million invested in SmartPill
SmartPill Corp. is getting a $2 million investment from the state’s main pension fund and a Troy venture capital firm that will help the Buffalo company finance its plan to shift its manufacturing from California to the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus.
“This is a great investment for the pension fund and a good step toward attracting more medical technology business to Buffalo,” state Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli said Wednesday in a statement.
SmartPill is getting $1.25 million from the New York State Common Retirement Fund through its program that targets investments in New York companies. High Peaks Venture Partners, a Troy venture capital firm that seeks New York investments for the state pension fund, is investing another $750,000 of its own money.
SmartPill makes an ingestible wireless medical sensor that is about the size of a large vitamin. The device, which was approved for use by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration in July 2006, can be swallowed by a patient, allowing physicians to measure conditions, such as acidity, pressure and how long it takes to pass through the digestive tract.
SmartPill expects to hire 12 workers over the next two years as it shifts its production work here from a contract manufacturer it now uses in Los Angeles.
The funds also will help SmartPill pay for clinical trials that could identify other potential uses for its device and help the company convince health insurers to pay for its use.
“This capital will provide the funds needed to expand our business,” said David Barthel, SmartPill’s president and chief executive officer.
