From left: Signum Surgical co-founder and CEO Moshe Zilversmit, board member Dr Mark Regan and co-founder and CTO Eoin Bambury. Image: Johnny Bambury
Signum Surgical is working to commercialise its BioHealx device, which is designed to improve the treatment of anal fistulas and reduce healing time.
Galway-based Signum Surgical has raised €2.9m to support its development of new treatments for colorectal diseases.
The funding round was led by the medtech syndicate of the Halo Business Angel Network (HBAN), which is a joint initiative by Enterprise Ireland, InterTrade Ireland and Invest Northern Ireland.
Further investment came from the Western Development Commission and angel investors in the medical device industry.
Signum Surgical was founded in 2016 by Eoin Bambury and Moshe Zilversmit as a spin-out from the BioInnovate programme in Galway.
In 2016, the medtech start-up raised €2.6m in a Series A funding round, which was also led by HBAN’s medtech syndicate. This was followed by €3.6m from grant awards in 2019.
Signum said the latest funding will go towards ongoing regulatory and clinical programmes.
This will help with the commercialisation of its BioHealx device, which is designed to treat anal fistula. This is a small tunnel that develops between the end of the bowel and the skin near the anus.
The medtech said current treatment options for this condition are often unsuccessful, which can lead to slow healing, a high risk of incontinence and repeat procedures.
“This investment will facilitate our regulatory submissions and clinical data collection leading to the commercialisation of BioHealx, an innovative product with the potential to transform the lives of patients suffering with this severely debilitating condition,” Signum Surgical CEO Zilversmit said.
The device developed by Signum Surgical is implanted post-surgery to prevent reinfection and to allow a faster healing process.
Colorectal surgeon and principal investigator Peter Ónody who participated in a BioHealx study, described the device as “game-changing technology”.
“It is easy to use and the mechanism of action of internal opening closure is the solution the clinical community has been looking for since the earliest descriptions of fistula treatment,” Ónody said. “BioHealx will be the ‘go-to’ device that I will use for my anal fistula patients when it is available on the market.”
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