Signum Surgical featured in Silicon Republic
10 marvellous medtech start-ups you need to know
Where research and entrepreneurship converge, magical medical innovation can happen.
Because of their nature, it’s no surprise for medtech start-ups to spring from research. Ireland’s universities and research centres are producing capable entrepreneurs while also supporting the development of research-based start-ups and spin-outs.
In some cases, researchers themselves take on the job of leading these companies, while others are simply embedded in university campuses in order to tap into an innovation ecosystem.
Enterprise Ireland has even managed to catalyse this alchemy with the BioInnovate Ireland Fellowship. This innovation programme coaxes the creation of medtech ventures by putting engineers, doctors and business people together in hospitals to observe and conjure up ideas addressing clinical needs.
The results of this concerted effort by business and academia are the medical marvels in healthcare and biotechnology that position Ireland as a leader in medtech and biotech.
Signum Surgical
Founded in 2014 by Eoin Bambury and Moshe Zilversmit, Signum Surgical is a medtech start-up striving to develop technology that could cure perianal fistula. Bambury and Zilversmit, who met on the BioInnovate Ireland programme at NUI Galway, recognised a lack of innovation surrounding the treatment of perianal fistulas (small tunnels that develop between the end of the bowel and the skin near the anus). The device developed by Signum Surgical is implanted post-surgery to prevent reinfection and to allow a faster healing process.
In November 2016, Signum Surgical closed out a €2.6m Series A funding round. This funding will be used to further develop the technology, and to submit it to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to seek regulatory approval.
The Halo Business Angel Network MedTech Syndicate provided €1m of that funding and will be further supporting Signum Surgical’s founders with mentoring.
