Leuko is developing PointCheck™, a platform technology that non-invasively measures white blood cell levels by shining light through the skin at the top of the fingernail and using algorithms to detect dangerously low counts. Its first application targets more frequent at-home monitoring for cancer patients receiving chemotherapy to enable earlier preventive treatment. The company says more frequent monitoring can reduce chemotherapy-related hospital admissions by 50%, improve outcomes for over two million cancer patients annually, and save more than $4 billion in healthcare costs. Funds from a $4.5 million SBIR Phase IIB award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Cancer Institute will accelerate product development and generate the clinical evidence required to commercialize the platform. Leuko spun out from MIT and the Madrid M+Vision Consortium and was co-founded by Carlos Castro-Gonzalez, Ian Butterworth, Aurelien Bourquard, and Alvaro Sanchez-Ferro. CEO Carlos Castro-Gonzalez said the grant will advance the next stage of clinical development and move the technology closer to wide patient availability. Leuko develops PointCheck, a platform that combines optics and AI to enable noninvasive, at‑home white blood cell (WBC) monitoring without a blood draw. Patients place a finger on the internet‑connected PointCheck device for one minute daily and data is sent to their care team for triage. The technology has demonstrated excellent diagnostic accuracy and home usability in recent peer‑reviewed studies. Leuko aims to improve clinical outcomes for more than 2 million chemotherapy patients annually, targeting a 50% reduction in chemotherapy‑related hospital readmissions and over $6B in annual healthcare savings. The company plans to accelerate clinical trials to obtain regulatory approval in collaboration with leading cancer centers, and to pursue go‑to‑market and partnership activities with healthcare providers, device distributors, and pharmaceutical companies. Leuko was spun out from MIT and the Madrid M+Vision Consortium and was founded by Carlos Castro‑Gonzalez, Ian Butterworth, Aurelien Bourquard, and Alvaro Sanchez‑Ferro. Leuko is developing PointCheck™, a proprietary, portable device that noninvasively measures white blood cell levels from a patient’s finger without drawing blood. The scalable PointCheck™ solution combines optics and AI to make blood testing faster, more accessible, and more cost-effective than state-of-the-art methods. The technology is targeted at immunosuppressed patients who need daily at-home monitoring so physicians can detect dangerously low white blood cell counts and deploy preventive treatment. The company says the device could improve clinical outcomes and reduce hospitalization costs. Leuko was co-founded in 2017 by four MIT scientists and entrepreneurs—Carlos Castro-Gonzalez, Aurelien Bourquard, Ian Butterworth and Alvaro Sanchez-Ferro—and was spun out from MIT and the Madrid M+Vision Consortium. The new funding is intended to support ongoing development and clinical studies of the PointCheck™ platform. No operating metrics or revenue figures were disclosed in the announcement.

Total raised

$11M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Grant

Latest activity

Jul 2024