From left: Tony McEnroe, Dr Paul Sheridan, Dr Ken Fahy and Dr Fergal O'Reilly. Image: Nick Bradshaw
UCD spin-out SiriusXT was set up with the intention of ‘revolutionising cell and tissue imaging’ via a lab-based soft x-ray microscope.
Advancing medicine and human healthcare is something that has always be at the forefront of society – and in this increasingly technological age, this sentiment shows no sign of stopping.
In fact, according to an analysis from Fortune Business Insights, the medical devices market size was valued at more than $518bn in 2023 and is projected to grow from $542bn in 2024 to nearly $887bn by 2032.
Recognising the importance of assisting people in their times of illness, UCD spin-out SiriusXT came onto the medtech scene in 2015.
It was founded by Paul Sheridan, Kenneth Fahy, Fergal O’Reilly and Tony McEnroe, the latter of whom also acts as the company’s managing director.
“SiriusXT envisions a healthier world driven by innovation,” said McEnroe. “We strive to contribute to global health efforts by making soft x-ray microscopy accessible, accelerating the understanding, detection and prevention of diseases.”
According to McEnroe, SiriusXT was set up with the intention of “revolutionising cell and tissue imaging” via what he claims is the world’s first lab-based soft x-ray microscope, the SXT-100. This device delivers high-resolution, 3D insights quickly and efficiently, McEnroe explained.
He also explained that SiriusXT is targeting a global market of around 3,000 disease research and drug discovery organisations, who are all united in seeking to understand the function of disease and therapeutics in cells by studying cell structure.
Prior to joining SiriusXT, McEnroe told SiliconRepublic.com that he was involved in three previous venture-funded start-ups and a Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 company. He was also a finalist in the Ernst & Young-sponsored International Entrepreneur of the Year competition in 2005 and Enterprise Ireland’s inaugural HPSU Founder of the Year event in 2017.
“My three co-founders were all postdoctoral researchers in a spectroscopy research group in the School of Physics at UCD. Two of these, Paul and Kenneth, have joined the company on a full-time basis.”
Development of the tech
Explaining the process of creating SiriusXT’s technology, McEnroe said the spectroscopy group at UCD focused on developing high-brightness light sources, in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) spectrum. It achieved this by using a technique called “laser-produced plasma”.
While the target market for this technology was in semiconductor lithography, the founders of SiriusXT agreed that there was potential for adapting this technology in order develop low-energy x-ray sources for application in cell and tissue imaging.
“Our goal is to build a globally successful business that empowers scientific discovery by providing high-resolution soft x-ray imaging tools that reveal the full structure of intact biological cells,” explained McEnroe.
“In so doing, we aim to advance scientific insights and accelerate progress in nanomedicine and biological research.”
The company first introduced its SXT-100 soft x-ray microscope to the market in 2023 with the installation of a microscope in the Conway Institute of Biomedical Imaging at UCD.
“We have spent the past two years conducting trials with over 30 target customers and we are forecasting first commercial orders for the microscope in 2025.
“We have built a team of highly skilled physicists, biologists as well as mechanical, electronic and software engineers. This team has not only developed the microscope but also works with targeted end users to develop novel imaging workflows for disease research and drug discovery applications.”
And while SiriusXT has plans to expand its team, the start-up is currently not seeking any investment. However, according to McEnroe, the SiriusXT board continually reviews funding requirements in order to consider how it would best meet the company’s growth opportunities.
‘Significant improvements’ in Ireland’s start-up scene
With McEnroe’s extensive experience in Ireland’s start-up scene (the first start-up he was involved in dates back to the 1990s), SiliconRepublic.com asked McEnroe about his views of the Irish start-up sphere.
In response, McEnroe said: “When I compare the start-up environment, and especially the funding environment, then with today, I see significant improvements.
“The seed and Series A funding options available now are greater than in the 1990s and the increased presence of angel investors and investment syndicate groups has made it easier to raise seed funding. The recently formed European Union EIC Venture Fund has also greatly helped deep-tech start-ups, who tend to have a much higher need for development capital, to raise funding.”
McEnroe also asserted that for start-ups like SiriusXT, who have a need for precision engineering prototyping services, the number of Irish-based service suppliers has greatly increased over the past 25 years.
“I credit the growing medtech and aerospace sectors in Ireland for this. In the 1990s, start-ups who needed precision engineering services needed to go to the UK and often further afield to find competent suppliers.”
And when it comes to challenges facing start-ups, McEnroe had this to say: “One of the bigger issues that continues to negatively impact high-tech start-ups in Ireland who are developing complex solutions for global markets, can be the absence of a customer base in Ireland who can perform the role of beta customers.
“Beta customers are important in introducing any new and disruptive solution as they need to have a close relationship with the start-up in iteratively evaluating the solution and testing new releases.”
Speaking of challenges when it comes to his own business, McEnroe said: “Our start-up journey has been quite a bit longer than originally anticipated. The complexity in developing a microscope that measures at nanometre-resolution, in vacuum and at liquid nitrogen temperatures (minus 196 degrees Celsius) is enormous.”
He added that most of the challenges that the company faced “were of an engineering nature” and as such, the founders were able to convince SiriusXT’s investors that “the science was good, and engineering issues can always be solved”.
“Now that we have completed the development journey, I have come to realise that sometimes a little naivety and an overdose of optimism is not a bad thing!”
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