HBAN (Halo Business Angel Network), the all-island organisation responsible for the promotion of business angel investment and a joint initiative of Enterprise Ireland and InterTradeIreland, today announces a €1.8 million investment in Cork-based medtech company, AventaMed. The investment – which includes €1.6 million angel funding, the largest single HBAN angel investment to date – will fund AventaMed through FDA (Food and Drug Administration) clearance and commercialisation of the Solo Tympanostomy Tube Device (Solo TTD)which enables the quick and simple insertion of ear grommets.
The three HBAN angel syndicates – the HBAN MedTech Syndicate, Boole Investment Syndicate and Irrus Investments, together with Enterprise Ireland and independent angel investors completed this round which is HBAN’s largest angel investment to date, both in terms of funding and the number of angels involved.
AventaMed, a spin out company from Cork Institute of Technology, was set up by co-Founders Olive O’Driscoll and John Vaughan in 2013 to find a method of inserting ear tubes, or grommets, in children without requiring general anaesthetic. The insertion of grommets is used to treat recurring ear infections and hearing loss in children and adults. It is one of the most common surgeries carried out on children worldwide. AventaMed expects the Solo TTD to have wide spread appeal globally.
The five-strong company has spent the last four years developing the all in one handheld Solo device which simplifies the implantation process, reduces costs and improves patient outcomes. AventaMed is now looking to enter the US market, for which it requires FDA clearance.
This is the second round of angel and Enterprise Ireland funding that AventaMed has received. In 2015, it raised €1.3 million and successfully completed clinical trials and obtained European regulatory approval, the CE mark, to commercialise the device in Europe.
Together, the angels will provide AventaMed not only with the investment, but also the experience and knowledge they have gained from their own successes in the medical devices and healthcare industries. The angel funding is led by Jack Cashman, who was also involved in the 2015 funding round. With 30 years’ of international experience in healthcare, he previously financed and managed, as Chairman, two IPOs in the healthcare industry, which resulted in returns on investment of 500% and 700%.