From left: Symphysis Medical co-founder and chief scientific officer Dr Michelle Tierney, Galway University Hospital consultant Dr David Breen and Symphysis co-founder and CEO Tim Jones. Image: Aengus McMahon
The Galway medtech plans to raise more than €4.5m in early 2024 to grow its team and work on its device to treat fluid build-up in the lungs.
Irish medtech start-up SymPhysis Medical has raised €1.5m to grow its team and gain regulatory approval in the US for its palliative care device.
The funding came from a seed-plus funding round in the form of follow-on investments from Furthr VC and three syndicates of Ireland’s Halo Business Angel Network (HBAN) – its MedTech Syndicate, Irrus Investments and Boole Investment Syndicate.
A previous SiliconRepublic.com Start-up of the Week, SymPhysis Medical aims to combine design and digital technology to deliver a high standard of patient care at home. The company was founded by CEO Tim Jones and chief scientific officer Dr Michelle Tierney.
The Galway-based medtech is working on a minimally invasive device to treat malignant pleural effusions, or fluid build-up in the lungs. This condition can be experienced by late-stage cancer patients and can cause severe shortness of breath, chest pain and distress.
SymPhysis Medical said its device will let patients manage this condition independently at home, to provide a sense of dignity and to give them more time to spend with their loved ones.
The start-up has grown from a team of three to 13 in the past two years, with a strong focus on building its quality and research and development teams. In April 2022, SymPhysis Medical secured €1.9m to expand into the US.
CEO Jones said the new funding comes at an “exciting time” as it continues to expand its footprint.
“We are now in the fine-tuning phase of our product development,” Jones said. “The funding, along with the ongoing support we have received from Enterprise Ireland, will bring us to our initial goal of getting regulatory clearance in the US – and our ultimate goal of reaching the unmet needs of cancer patients worldwide.
“With half of late-stage cancer patients experiencing fluid on the chest, we know that our device will have a profound, global impact on patients and their loved ones at the most difficult time.”
The company plans to use the latest funding to grow its team, continue the development of its device and achieve regulatory clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). SymPhysis Medical also plans to fundraise for an additional €4.5m in early 2024 to further support these activities and to expand their workforce in Galway and the US.
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