A consortium led by Irish medical device firm Ceroflo has been awarded €3.6m by the government through the Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF).
Ceroflo, manufacturing company Advant Medical, and the Medical and Engineering Technologies Centre at Atlantic Technological University (ATU).
Galway-based Ceroflo won the funding on foot of its development of a revolutionary stent technology that promises to be more effective than existing treatments for Intracranial Atherosclerotic Disease (ICAD), a leading cause of stroke.
Up to 50% of strokes are caused by ICAD, a build-up of plaque in an artery in the brain. Pharmaceutical therapies aimed at reducing the stroke rate are currently deemed the most effective form of treatment for the condition, but more than 20% of patients with significant ICAD still suffer recurring stroke within 12 months.
The shape and structure of Ceroflo's SubMax stent has been developed to increase blood flow to the brain while reducing the risk of haemorrhage and stroke.
In Association with
Advant provides industry input and expertise to produce the technology at scale, and ATU's MET team, which specialises in the development of anatomical models for device testing, will develop pre-clinical models for the testing of the Ceroflo technology.
"The Ceroflo team is delighted to lead this consortium to receive the €3.6m DTIF award. This is a transformative sum for the company as it will allow us take our development of the technology to the next level, allowing recruitment of key technical staff, and readying the company for human trials," said Chloe Brown, CEO of Ceroflo.
“Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability across the world, and up to 50% of these strokes are caused by ICAD for which current treatment options are sub-optimal.
“We are excited to have brought together an incredible team of people with pedigree in developing and commercialising neurovascular medical devices. We look forward to continuing our work with our partners, Advant Medical and ATU’s MET Centre, as we continue our efforts to bring this potentially life-saving technology to market.”
Ceroflor employs a number of figures from Nuravi, the Irish MedTech firm acquired by Johnson & Johnson in 2017, in senior roles, including Brown, Nuravi's former commercial leader
Ceroflo co-founder Eamon Brady founded Neuravi alongside John O’Shaughnessy, and they serve as chairman and director of Ceroflo, respectively, and Neuravi’s R&D senior manager Brendan Casey joins as CTO.
Other co-founders include serial MedTech entrepreneur John O’Dea, current CEO of surgical MedTech company Palliare, leading stroke interventionist Prof Tommy Anderson of Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden, Dr Leonard Yeo of National University of Health Singapore, and Dr Paul Bhogal of Royal London Hospital in the UK.
"Having the opportunity to work alongside Ceroflo on processes supporting the development, inspection and assembly of their stent system for the treatment of intracranial atherosclerotic disease, a leading cause of ischemic stroke worldwide, is very exciting for Advant given the disruptive potential of the system in the treatment of ICAD," said John Collins, director of operations at Advant Medical.
Dr Rick Officer, vice president for research and innovation at ATU Galway City, said: “ATU is delighted to partner with Cereflo and Advant Medical on the development of this important and leading-edge technology.
"The project team in ATU’s MET Centre are really excited about delivering this hugely significant project. Together with our project partners, we look forward to developing an innovative device that will have profound and positive impacts on the lives of so many people.”
Photo: (l-r) Dr Paul Bhogal and Chloe Brown.
