Medtech firm plans €15m finance round to fund expansion

DermView, an Irish medical and technology company backed by high-profile investors, is preparing to launch a fundraising round of up to €15 million to finance the rollout of its software systems, which includes skin-imaging technology to help quickly diagnose cancers and other skin ailments.

The company, which is chaired by well-known former accountant Bernard Somers, is also in preliminary talks to raise debt finance to give it the firepower to buy regional chains of medical clinics in Britain, which it is targeting. Eoin O’Reilly, DermView’s chief executive and co-founder, says it would aim for a “minimum of €40 million to €50 million”, although he stressed the process is at an early stage.

The company operates its own dermatology clinics in nine locations across the Republic, including a new high-tech clinic that recently opened in Lucan in Co Dublin. It plans to open five more Irish clinics next year, while it is on the lookout for acquisitions of scale to enter the UK market. Meanwhile, the business is also planning to license its skin-imaging technology and software to hospitals and health authorities.

Mr O’Reilly said it is planning a series A fundraising round before the middle of next year to help fund the rollout of its technology services. Series A funding is used to finance start-ups that have proven their concept to scale up and generate more revenues.

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“We have already started the funding roadshow. We are aiming to launch the series A round in the second quarter of 2023. We have a good investment base already, and we think a number of them will come again,” said Mr O’Reilly, who cofounded the business about four years ago with dermatologist Rupert Barry.

DermView’s existing backers include developer Michael Cotter and a consortium of executives with links to his Park Developments group. It also includes Mr Somers, a former director of AIB and the Central Bank who has also advised high-profile business names such as Tony O’Reilly. Donagh Barry, of the Barry’s Tea family from Cork, is also an investor.

Other backers include corporate lawyers Paddy Sweetman and Stanley Watson, former MCD communications chief Justin Green, Niall Fortune’s Eddie Rockets chain, as well as a slew of medical consultants from top hospitals.

Mr O’Neill said it is also in discussions with venture capital firms as well as investment houses in the UK for further funding.

DermView’s high-powered board also includes Tony O’Brien, the former chief executive of the Health Service Executive, who chairs the company’s medical governance committee.

Mr O’Reilly said DermView is planning to use its imaging technology to expand beyond dermatology into other areas. Next month it will launch a pilot project with the Mater hospital in Dublin for ophthalmology services to help diagnose eye conditions.

“We hope to have proof of concept for that by March and to be fully operational by summer. Then we can take our hospital-grade machines out into the community,” said Mr O’Neill.

He said the company intends to continue its hiring spree, having taken on up to 60 staff in 2022.

DermView is also in talks with the NHS in Britain, to get on a list of approved business partners there, and it is in discussions with a number of health trusts to launch services in Northern Ireland, Mr O’Neill said.