From left: Helen Ryan, senior adviser at Atlantic Bridge; Bernard Collins, chair of CroíValve; and Dr Lucy O’Keeffe, CEO CroíValve. Image: CroíValve
The medtech start-up has developed a minimally invasive treatment to restore function to the heart’s tricuspid valve without the need for surgery.
CroíValve, which featured in SiliconRepublic.com’s Start-up of the Week series in 2019, has raised €8m to fund a clinical study for its heart valve treatment device.
The funding round was lead by two Halo Business Angel Network syndicates, with participation from previous investors including Atlantic Bridge University Fund, Enterprise Ireland, SOSV and Broadview Ventures. New investors included Elkstone, Ascentifi and DBIC.
The medtech company, which is a spin-out from Trinity College Dublin, was founded by Dr Lucy O’Keeffe, Dr Martin Quinn, Dr Paul Heneghan and Prof Bruce Murphy. Its focus is on developing a device to fix the tricuspid heart valve without the need for surgery.
Tricuspid regurgitation (TR) happens when the tricuspid valve in your heart doesn’t seal shut entirely, which can cause blood to flow backwards. This can change the heart’s structure over time, leading to permanent heart damage and a variety of other problems.
TR is estimated to affect more than 550,000 people each year in the EU and US – many of whom are elderly patients who may not be able to receive surgical treatment.
CroíValve CEO O’Keeffe previously told SiliconRepublic.com: “Heart failure causes the tricuspid valve to stop functioning correctly. As these patients are elderly and sick, they are too frail for surgery so currently have no treatment option. This means they have very poor quality of life and three of five will die within three years.”
With its fresh funding, CroíValve will undertake a feasibility study for its DUO Coaptation Valve system, which works with a patient’s native tricuspid valve to restore valve function.
The company says that the system is designed to be implanted in a straightforward procedure that could be suitable for patients who are challenging to treat with other valve repair and replacement technologies.
The Dublin medtech previously raised €3.2m from angel investors in 2019, before raising a further €1.5m from investors and securing €2.5m from the European Union under its Horizon 2020 SME Instrument grant.
Disclosure: SOSV is an investor in Silicon Republic
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