Boarding PassInnocap’s smart cap is “transforming the pharmaceutical packaging market”
Boarding Pass
Innocap’s smart cap is “transforming the pharmaceutical packaging market”
The company has raised a total of $1.2 million to help address the challenge of safe drug use by tracking open dates.
“Our patented smart caps are designed to ensure medication safety and adherence, integrating seamlessly into production lines,” explained Innocap. “We are excited to expand our reach into new markets such as baby formulas, vitamins, and food supplements. Our smart caps feature reminders, dosage calculators, and quick online purchase options, and more, all aimed at making health management easier for everyone.”
The company joined CTech for its Startup Boarding Pass to discuss its patented smart caps. It aims to address the challenges of safe drug use, particularly for Period After Opening medications. “We are dedicated to continuous improvement, providing the best solutions in packaging innovations, and establishing safe management solutions accessible for everyone,” Innocap continued.
You can learn more about the company below.
Company Name: Innocap
Sector: Healthcare
Product/Service description:
Innocap provides innovative, patented smart caps for medications, addressing the challenge of safe drug use, particularly for PAO (Period After Opening) medications. Our caps feature numerical dials for setting the opening date, ensuring users are aware of drug expiration. Integrated with smart chip technology, the caps offer real-time alerts via smartphones, eliminating the need for an app. This technology enhances patient safety by preventing the use of expired medications and supports pharmaceutical companies in maintaining drug efficacy and customer satisfaction. Innocap smart caps are adaptable, easy to implement, and improve overall health management.
Our goal was to design caps that fit seamlessly into existing production lines, making them accessible to everyone and cost-effective. We are currently expanding our market to include vitamins, food supplements, and baby formulas, broadening the scope of our smart caps’ applications. The Innocap smart cap interface offers additional features such as reminders to take medication, dosage calculators, consumption tables, and the ability for fast online purchases when needed.
Founder Bios:
Yves Sibony and Liron Sharony
Year of Founding: 2020
Last Investment Round: $400,000
Last Investment Stage: Seed
Date of Last Investment: July 2023
Total investment to date: $1.2 Million
Investors: CLEAR FUTURE (VC), and four unnamed angels
Current number of employees: 5
Open positions: N/A
Social Media:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/innocap-smartcaps
How was the idea born?
We are surrounded by many products with expiration dates starting from the first opening, such as pharmaceuticals, baby formula, vitamins, nutritional supplements, and certain foods. These dates are set by manufacturers and approved by health authorities, making it crucial to avoid using products beyond their valid period.
For example, using a pharmaceutical syrup past its valid period can result in reduced effectiveness or even harm. Without noting the opening date, it's impossible to know if a product has expired.
Recognizing that most consumers don't mark opening dates, we saw a need for a solution. We developed a smart cap to track opening dates and ensure products are used within their effective periods, enhancing safety and efficacy.
What is the need for the product?
There are many products on the market that have a short shelf life after opening, which is a common issue for consumers. Warnings about expiration and proper usage times are frequently found on product packaging, but they can be easily overlooked or forgotten. Our smart cap offers a better way to manage these warnings and ensure that medications are used safely and effectively.
Using medication that has expired can be less effective and, in some cases, can cause harm to the patient. Our smart cap helps to mitigate this risk by providing timely reminders and tracking features that ensure medications are taken within their effective period. This not only enhances the efficacy of the medication but also prevents potential health risks associated with expired drugs.
Moreover, our smart cap offers easy and accessible information about the medication, ensuring that consumers can quickly find the information they need. This includes dosage instructions, expiration dates, and other critical details, all easily accessible through the smart cap interface.
By addressing these challenges, our smart cap significantly improves medication adherence, enhances patient safety, and provides peace of mind to consumers, healthcare providers, and pharmaceutical companies.
How is it changing the market?
Innocap's smart cap is transforming the pharmaceutical packaging market by addressing a critical need for consumers—accurate tracking of medication usage. Many consumers forget to mark or remember the opening date of their medications, leading to the risk of consuming expired drugs or discarding medications prematurely due to uncertainty about their viability. This not only reduces the efficacy of treatments but also poses potential health risks.
Overall, Innocap's smart cap is setting a new standard in the pharmaceutical industry by enhancing medication adherence, improving patient safety, and providing a comprehensive solution to a common issue in medication management.
How big is the market for the product and who are its main customers?
Our smart cap is aimed at medications with a short shelf life after opening, primarily liquid, OTC, and prescription medications. The global OTC drugs market alone was valued at approximately $224.3 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow significantly
In addition to the pharmaceutical market, Innocap is expanding into the food supplements and vitamins markets. These products often face challenges with ensuring continuous use, a problem our smart cap can effectively resolve. Our smart caps will soon be available in these markets, further broadening our reach and impact.
Our main customers include pharmaceutical companies, healthcare providers, and consumers looking for reliable solutions to improve medication adherence and maintain the effectiveness of their treatments.
Does the product exist already? If not - at what stage is it and when is it expected to hit the market?
Our smart caps are already on the market in Israel, successfully launched with CTS Pharmaceuticals. Currently, we are expanding our reach into the baby formula market and the vitamins market. This expansion allows us to bring the benefits of our innovative technology to a broader audience, ensuring better medication adherence and convenience across various segments of the healthcare industry.
Who are the main competitors in this sector and how big are they?
Innocap's smart cap is a unique solution protected by a world patent, making us the sole provider of this innovative technology. As a result, we don't have direct competitors offering a similar product. While there are other companies in the broader smart medication management space, none offer the same integrated, user-friendly solution that our patented smart cap provides. This exclusivity gives us a significant competitive advantage and positions Innocap as a leader in the pharmaceutical packaging industry.
What is the added value that the founders bring to the company and the product?
Our strong industry connections and comprehensive knowledge of the pharmaceutical market enable us to anticipate trends and stay ahead of the curve. We've built a winning team, combining key industry experts, including pharmaceutical CEOs and owners, and established connections with major companies in the industry. This foresight ensures that Innocap continues to innovate, delivering products that consistently exceed market expectations.
As the founders of Innocap, we bring a visionary approach to our smart cap solution, ensuring it is both accessible and cost-effective for consumers and pharmaceutical production lines. Our deep understanding of market needs and regulatory requirements is key to our success.
Our knowledge that a winning product comes from a winning team is our key to success. This approach has been fundamental in developing a product that meets market demands while maintaining high standards of innovation and efficiency.
What will the money coming in from the round be used for?
The funds raised from our current investment round will be strategically allocated to several key areas to ensure the successful launch and growth of our smart cap. A significant portion will be dedicated to research and development to further enhance the product's features and capabilities. We will also invest in expanding our team with skilled personnel in areas such as engineering, marketing, and sales.
In the "Startup Boarding Pass" section, CTech will cover the (relatively) small investments made in companies during the early stages of their existence - and the entrepreneurs and startups who have not yet had the opportunity to reveal their stories to the world. Please use the linked form and fill it out according to the guidelines. This form is intended for startups raising between $500,000 and $3 million from venture capital funds, angels, or official grants from Israeli and foreign institutions. If relevant, someone at CTech will be in touch for follow-up questions.
