UCD spin-out LaNua Medical has raised €6 million in seed funding to develop new blood flow technology that could help doctors more safely treat internal bleeding and tumours.
The company, which was founded earlier this year by radiologist Dr Cormac Farrelly, Tom Fitzmaurice – a former vice-president at Medtronic VP, and UCD biomedical engineers Dr Eoin O’Cearbhaill and Dr Sajjad Amiri, is planning to expand into the US.
The company is developing a way to modernise embolisation, a technique used by surgeons and radiologists to control the flow of blood in certain areas of the body. LaNua’s device, the Ecore, allows doctors to restrict blood flow in segments of veins or arteries while also allowing medical tools such as guide wires and catheters to pass through it.
The technology could be used in oncology and the treatment of vascular diseases, and could improve patient outcomes, lower hospital costs, shorten hospital stays and reduce procedure times.
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The funding round was co-led by Elkstone and Atlantic Bridge, with Enterprise Ireland and Furthr VC also participating.
“LaNua Medical exemplifies Ireland’s continued excellence and innovation in the medtech sector,” said Niall McEvoy, head of venture at Elkstone. “LaNua, led by an experienced founder team, has the potential to become another great success story, and we look forward to supporting the company on that journey.”
The company will use the money to expand operations to the US in 2025 as it pursues regulatory approval and expands its team, recruiting for roles in research and development and quality based in ATU iHub in Galway and NovaUCD in Dublin. LaNua will also sign up international partners as it seeks to enter new markets.
Chief executive Tom Fitzmaurice said the company had initially targeted €5 million but was oversubscribed. “It gives us a good runway to develop the product,” he said. “It allows us to do our design verification. Europe has been a challenge from a regulatory perspective over the last number of years; our more direct market is through the US.”
LaNua is tapping into a global market worth about $2.2 billion, growing to $3.88 billion by 2031, as the incidence of vascular disease and cancer increases and demand grows for minimally invasive procedures.
“Having performed thousands of embolisation procedures I strongly believe this next-generation embolisation device is a transformative platform technology,” said Dr Farrelly. “It will not just make existing procedures safer and more effective but will also enable new clinical applications for minimally invasive embolisation procedures worldwide.”
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