Galway medical device company Venari Medical has raised €4.5m in seed equity funding to help develop a device to treat chronic venous disease.

Venari Medical is a spinout from the BioInnovate Ireland fellowship programme for medical device innovation at NUI Galway, sponsored by Enterprise Ireland. 

Chronic venous disease can affect up to c. 30% of adults, resulting in a significant deterioration in quality of life for sufferers, especially those with the advanced skin breakdown known as venous leg ulcers.

Based on research that supports the benefits of acute intervention to improve overall healing of venous leg ulcers, Venari Medical intends that its BioVena device will improve treatment and treatment outcomes. 

Chief executive Stephen Cox said: “This funding enables the clinical validation of our BioVena medical device, which we are confident will offer patients a less invasive and highly effective office-based treatment that is also an intuitive procedure for physicians treating CVD."

In Association with

The  investment round was led by Nipro Corporation, a medical product manufacturer based in Osaka, Japan. The Western Development Commission and Enterprise Ireland also contributed, in addition to international medical device experts and vascular surgeons.

Nipro managing director Toshiaki Masuda added: “Venari Medical's focus on CVD is an area of great patient need, due to its high prevalence internationally and significant impact on quality of life. 

“This less invasive solution under development will offer physicians an entirely new treatment option for all CVD patients. The Venari Medical team have impressed us greatly with this cutting-edge approach to venous disease treatment, from their novel pre-clinical research in vein biology to collaborations with internationally recognised experts in venous disease treatment.”

Venari expects to create 20 jobs in over the next three years. The company was established in 2018 and has previously benefited from EI’s Commercialisation Fund. 

Photo: Venari Medical CTO Sean Cummins (left), CEO Stephen Cox and CMO Nigel Phelan (right). (Pic: Martina Regan)