The company has also announced plans to expand into the US next year.

LaNua Medical, an Irish medtech device spin-out from University College Dublin (UCD), today (12 December) announced that it has raised €6m in seed funding.

The start-up, which was set up earlier this year, will use these funds to develop technology that makes it “easy, safe and cheaper” for doctors to treat internal bleeding, vascular malformations, and both benign and malignant tumours. The funding will also be used to accelerate product development and market access.

The funding round was co-led by Elkstone and Atlantic Bridge, with participation from Enterprise Ireland and Furthr VC.

In addition, LaNua Medical has said that it wishes to expand into the US next year, to advance regulatory approval.

The business’ main product is ‘Ecore’, an umbrella-shaped device which intends to modernise embolisation procedures – a technique used by surgeons and radiologists to control the flow of blood in certain areas of the body.

This is a notable goal for the company, as the global embolisation market is currently worth $2.2bn and is expected to reach $3.88bn in 2031, due to increased incidences of vascular diseases and cancer, as well as a growing demand for minimally invasive surgeries.

According to the company, Ecore is designed to enhance the safe and targeted delivery of tools used to block blood flow, by entering blood vessels deep within the body and forming an “occlusive barrier”.

Specifically, the device allows doctors to restrict blood flow in a targeted segment of veins or arteries, while still allowing certain medical tools (guidewires and catheters) to pass through it.

Another aim of the device is to reduce exposure to x-ray radiation for both the patient and practitioner, in addition to reducing overall human error during the procedure.

‘Transformative platform technology’

CEO and co-founder of LaNua Medical, Tom Fitzmaurice said that his company is “delighted” to complete the seed round.

“It will enable our team to hire additional skilled resources, develop a range of devices to meet the growing demands of embolisation in the interventional radiology medical community and gain entry into our first market in the US.”

Chief medical officer and co-founder Dr Cormac Farrelly said: “Having performed thousands of embolisation procedures, I strongly believe this next-generation embolisation device is a transformative platform technology. It will not just make existing procedures safer and more effective but will also enable new clinical applications for minimally invasive embolisation procedures worldwide.”

LaNua Medical is now setting its sights on seeking international partners to build out its clinical and commercial value proposition.

The company is also currently hiring for roles across R&D and quality based in Atlantic Technological University’s iHub in Galway and NovaUCD in Dublin.

Despite only being established earlier this year, LaNua Medical has already made some big strides in the medtech sector.

In June, Farrelly spoke to SiliconRepublic.com after winning the Enterprise Ireland Big Ideas pitch.

He said at the time: “It’s amazing – looking at the other pitches up there I really did not think there was a chance, so it was a great surprise when our name went up.”

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