UCD & Atlantic Therapeutics
Lead Researcher(s):
Professor Brian Caulfield
Atlantic Therapeutics, headquartered in Galway, with offices in the UK, France, Germany and the US, develops professional and consumer medical devices to treat disorders, such as stress urinary incontinence (SUI), by modulating nerves of the pelvic floor thus strengthening the muscles.
SUI is a major medical problem that affects up to one third of middle-aged women and has a significant impact on quality of life, both from a physical and psychological perspective. Men also suffer problems with incontinence, for example following radical prostatectomy surgery.
The Atlantic Therapeutics INNOVO therapy device is an externally worn electrical muscle stimulator that is the first ever transcutaneous electrical stimulator cleared by the FDA as a safe, clinically effective and non-evasive product to treat stress urinary incontinence.
Atlantic Therapeutics has raised €43 million in investment enabling the acceleration of sales growth for the product via market and geographic expansion, specifically in the USA.
The technology underpinning INNOVO, comprising a now granted patent application and associated know-how, was developed in collaboration with UCD and was licensed originally in 2011 to BioMedical Research Ltd (BMR) and in 2017 was then transferred to Atlantic Therapeutics, a spin-out company established to maximise the commercial potential of INNOVO.
In addition to the commercial success enjoyed by the company, the licence has resulted in increased profiling for the lead researcher at UCD and increased innovation from that researcher and his team.
UCD is also in receipt of royalties on INNOVO sales and expects this revenue to grow following FDA approval in 2018 and projected sales growth.
Support from NovaUCD, the UCD TTO, has been instrumental in the success of Atlantic Therapeutics, having supported the original license of technology from UCD to BMR and then subsequently the transfer of the licence to Atlantic Therapeutics.
The UCD TTO continues to have a strong relationship with Atlantic Therapeutics having had initial discussions around expanding the field of use for the pelvic floor technology to additional therapy areas and the parties are exploring new collaborative opportunities.
Underpinning Funding Sources Include:
Enterprise Ireland, BioMedical Research Ireland Ltd.