EnteraSense, a Galway-based medical technology start-up has secured €3.5 million in funding through a combination of private seed investment and an EU Horizon 2020 grant.
Founded in 2015, the company has licensed a diagnostics tool from Harvard University that quickly detects bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract.
The company said it has secured €1 million in private investment with a further €2.5 million coming via the Horizon 2020 grant, with funds to be used to help further commericialise the technology and increase headcount.
The company said it had run initial tests to validate its technology, which consists of an ingestible capsule and external receiver. It is intending to seek regulatory approval for the device by mid-2020.
EnteraSense was founded by a team that includes Donal Devery, a serial entrepreneur who previously established biomaterials company Vysera Biomedical and is a former chief executive of Galway-based medical devices test laboratory Anecto.
Other founders
The company's other founders include Dr Chris Thompson of Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School and Dr Marvin Ryou, also of Brigham and Women's Hospital.
The start-up's current investor base includes physicians from the US, a private equity fund based in Ireland, a Dubai-based strategic investor, and local Galway business people. It has also previously received support from NDRC and Enterprise Ireland.
“We want to improve patient outcomes and drive cost down for the health system. Each process and function within the deliverables associated with the grant will help us achieve this goal,” said Mr Devery.
“The fact that physicians are among our investors shows just how exciting EnteraSense’s product is. The EU’s backing only underlines that,” he added.
