4th February 2022
CroíValve, which was previously featured in Silicon Republic’s Start-up of the Week series in 2019, has raised €8m to fund a clinical trial for its defective heart valve treatment device.
The funding round was lead by two syndicates linked to the Halo Business Angel Network, with previous investors including Atlantic Bridge University Fund, Enterprise Ireland and Broadview Ventures. New investors include Elkstone, Ascentifi and DBIC, The Irish Times reports.
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 solution 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 according to Cleaveland Clinic.
TR affects more than 550,000 people each year in the EU and US – many of whom are elderly patients who can rarely receive surgical treatment.
To solve this issue, the medtech firm has developed the Tricuspid Coaptation Valve, which can be delivered using a minimally invasive approach, sealing the gap between native valve leaflets and restoring valve function.
CroíValve CEO O’Keeffe previously said to 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.”
A 2018 US study published in biomedical and life sciences journal PMC said tricuspid valve insufficiency is the most common form of heart valve diseases, affecting 65pc to 85pc of the population to some degree.
The Dublin medtech start-up had a successful funding year in 2019. It first raised €3.2m with a record number of angel investors. Later that year, it raised a further €1.5m from investors and received €2.5m from the European Union under its Horizon 2020 SME Instrument grant.
In March 2020, CroíValve announced the first successful human use of its duo tricuspid coaptation valve technology for tricuspid repair. The procedure, which marked a milestone for the company, was performed at St James’s Hospital, Dublin.
Source: Silicon Republic
Image source: CroíValve