Business

Galway medtech firm raises close to €4m

EnteraSense gains investment from Cook Medical and fund linked to University of Tokyo

The founder of EnteraSense Donal Devery. He says the partnership with Cook Medical 'gives us immediate access to hospitals and physicians across the USA'

Barry J Whyte
Wed May 22 2024 - 19:58

EnteraSense, a Galway-based medtech company founded by Donal Devery, has raised €3.8 million in fresh funding, new company documents show.

The two lead investors in the latest round of investment were Cook Medical, with which EnteraSense just struck a US distribution deal, and a venture capital fund linked to the University of Tokyo. The documents show that University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners invested €2 million, while Cook Medical invested €1.5 million.

Another investor included Eabha Investments, a vehicle linked to Joan Fitzpatrick, the chief executive of Kite Medical, another Galway-based medtech firm. Eabha bought €166,660. Eabha had previously invested more than €300,000 in prior rounds.

The rest of the investment round was made up of smaller investors, including Mr Devery himself, who invested €32,263.

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EnteraSense recently struck a distribution deal with Cook Medical in relation to a new blood-sensing technology it has developed. The deal will see Cook Medical distribute EnteraSense’s product, PillSense, which can accurately detect upper gastrointestinal bleeding. The US Food and Drug Administration approved PillSense in February last year.

The most recent accounts for EnteraSense show that the company had total losses of €3.2 million at the end of 2022, up from losses of €1.4 million the year before.

The Irish Times contacted Mr Devery, who was in the US for the Digestive Disease Week conference, which is an annual meeting of professionals working in gastroenterology, hepatology and related fields. He said the partnership with Cook Medical “gives us immediate access to hospitals and physicians across the USA”

“PillSense is aimed to optimise patient management and transform diagnosis of upper gastrointestinal bleeds”, and would be rolled out by Cook Medical in the US.

EnteraSense has previously raised around €3.5 million from a range of investors, including the Irish taxpayer through Enterprise Ireland, which has invested €250,000.

Mr Devery is a serial entrepreneur, according to EnteraSense’s website, with 20 years of experience in product development and delivery. He previously worked as chief executive of Vysera, another Galway-based medtech firm.

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