A novel treatment for cancer patients from SymPhysis Medical has attracted seed funding of €1.9m, with angel investors contributing €925,000.
SymPhysis Medical in Galway is developing a device that treats fluid in the chest, a condition experienced by half of metastatic cancer patients.
The condition can cause shortness of breath, chest pain and can be extremely distressing. Patients are often fitted with an indwelling pleural catheter, which has an external tube and requires frequent medical assistance.
Tim Jones and Michelle Tierney, founders of SymPhysis Medical, say their device can be managed by patients themselves without the assistance of a nurse.
The company has filed two patent applications relating to the novel aspects of the technology used to create its device.
In Association with
According to Jones: “Palliative care is concerned with quality of life from the point of diagnosis of a life-limiting condition to the time of death.
“It focuses on managing distressing symptoms, such as pain and discomfort, and should also support a patient’s mental and social well-being.
“The device will not only make patients more comfortable, but it can also give them the freedom to spend time with their loved ones and remain active and mobile, without being tied to their hospital or carers.”
Funding has been sourced from HBAN’s MedTech Syndicate, Irrus Investments and Boole Investment Syndicate.
The other investors in the seed funding round are DBIC Ventures, Enterprise Ireland and a private investor.
The company said that funding will be used to complete product development and target FDA clearance. Employment is expected to expand from three people currently to seven people by the end of 2022.
SymPhysis Medical Ltd was incorporated in December 2021. Jones and Tierney each received 49,500 shares in the initial share allotment, for an outlay of €99.
Medtech Accelerator
Meanwhile, leading medical device and digital health start-ups are pitching on April 25 for a place on Medtech Innovator’s showcase and accelerator programme, which supports the development of the most promising innovations in the field.
Trinity College Dublin and RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences are hosting the event.
In 2022, MedTech Innovator and its partners will give out $1m in cash prizes as well as other awards across their programmes.
Each programme has its own cohort and includes several rounds where companies gain increasing amounts of exposure to industry leaders including through online application reviews, pitch events, and audience competitions at several major industry conferences.
Participating companies are selected from hundreds of applicants internationally. In addition, attendees pitch to a panel of judges and have the opportunity to network with MedTech Innovator partners such as investors and key industry executives.
This event is part of the Trinity RCSI Knowledge Transfer consortium.
