Irish medtech company Perfuze has closed a €3 million seed investment fund, with backers including Enterprise Ireland and a syndicate of Irish medical device sector veterans and stroke physicians.
The funding round was led by Earlybird Venture Capital, a Berlin-headquartered VC firm which has previously backed N26 and online moving platform Movinga. It also has fellow Galway-based Atlantic Therapeutics in its portfolio.
Earlybird, which made the investment via its healthtech fund, was joined by California-based MedFocus, a family of private equity funds which concentrate on early-stage investments in new medical device technologies.
Perfuze was founded in 2018 by Wayne Allen and Liam Mullins, who have more than 30 years combined medtech experience working with companies including Embo Medical, Veryan Medical, Vysera Biomedical and NeuVT.
The start-up is developing next-generation catheter-based technology to treat acute ischemic stroke, which occurs when a blood vessel in the brain is blocked by a clot, preventing blood flow.
Perfuze said it intended to use the funding to further develop its Millipede platform technology which aims for better clinical outcomes in shorter procedural times.
Investors
“We are delighted to have completed our seed round financing with such reputable investors, and look forward to working together to accelerate the growth and value of Perfuze,” said Mr Allen, the start-up’s chief executive.
The company is currently located in the business innovation centre on the campus of the National University of Ireland, Galway, but is in the process of relocating to the IDA Business Park in Dangan.
"Perfuze has a technology with the potential to significantly improve outcomes for stroke patients," said John Yianni, a partner at Earlybird. "We are delighted to offer our financial and commercial support in helping this exciting company grow and get its life-saving technology to market."
