Cork-based medical device company AventaMed has raised €1.8m in a funding round that included the Halo Business Angel Network (HBAN), Enterprise Ireland and independent angel investors.

Founded in 2013 as a spinout from Cork Institute of Technology, AventaMed’s main product to date is an ENT device to help place ear tubes (grommets) without requiring much anaesthesia.

The new investment in the firm includes €1.6 million angel funding, which is the largest single HBAN angel investment to date in terms of funding and the number of angels involved. HBAN is tasked with promoting business angel investment and is a joint initiative of Enterprise Ireland and InterTradeIreland.

The three HBAN angel syndicates – the HBAN MedTech Syndicate, Boole Investment Syndicate and Irrus Investments -- together with Enterprise Ireland and independent angel investors completed the round.

AventaMed will use the funding to progress through FDA (Food and Drug Administration) clearance to enter the US market, and for commercialising its grommet insertion device. The business, which employs five people, was founded by Olive O’Driscoll and John Vaughan.

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The insertion of grommets is used to treat recurring ear infections and hearing loss in children and adults. It is one of the most common surgeries carried out on children worldwide.

This is the second round of angel and Enterprise Ireland funding that AventaMed has received. In 2015, the company raised €1.3m and successfully completed clinical trials, as well as obtaining European regulatory approval to commercialise the device in Europe.

The latest angel funding round was led by Jack Cashman, who was also involved in the 2015 funding round. The most recent filed accounts for AventaMed relate to 2015, when the firm booked a loss of €191,000.

Co-founder Olive O’Driscoll said that AventMed is already treating patients in Europe with the grommet device. “A lot of our investors come from very senior positions in multinational and Irish medical device and healthcare companies,” she added. “They are always available to AventaMed to offer expert advice and make critical commercial introductions, which is hugely valuable as we execute our commercialisation strategy in Europe and the USA.”

Lead angel investor Jack Cashman said that he took on the role of chairperson with AventaMed after the 2015 funding round. “The other investors and I are providing AventaMed with ‘smart money’, using our knowledge of the medical devices and wider healthcare industries to assist the company and its commercial traction,” he said.

Photo (l-r): John Vaughan, AventaMed; Jack Cashman, HBAN investor; Bruce Clibborn, HBAN investor; and Olive O’Driscoll, AventaMed (Pic: Michael MacSweeney/Provision)