AeroSurgical Ltd, an early stage medical device company that incorporates state of the art aerosol technology to form the basis of its proprietary AeroSurge Platform which efficiently delivers therapeutics into the abdominal cavity of patients during surgery to combat post-surgical complications such as pain and adhesions., has secured investment of €1.6 million. The funding round included the Western Development Commission, Enterprise Ireland, existing shareholders and new private investors.
AeroSurgical was spun out of Aerogen Ltd, the very successful Irish respiratory device company in December 2009 to focus on the surgical drug delivery business.
Nevan Elam, AeroSurgical’s chief executive officer, said: “Post-operative pain management remains a serious problem that we are attempting to address by using our novel device and proprietary technology to aerosolize local anaesthetics into the abdomen during surgery so that the patient feels significantly less pain in recovery. The proceeds from the investment will allow us to conduct clinical studies to test our new device and determine whether we are able to significantly reduce post-operative pain.”
According to the Western Development Commission’s investment manager, Gillian Buckley, “This funding round is not only an endorsement of the company but of the West of Ireland as a significant location for indigenous medical device companies. AeroSurgical is another excellent example of a highly innovative early stage company based in the west of Ireland but with a global marketplace,” said Buckley.
Aerosurgical is one of a growing number of medical device and life science projects that has chosen to set up in the West of Ireland, an internationally recognised centre of excellence for medical devices. Mr Elam stated that “We are fortunate to be located in Galway which is proving to be a hub of innovation and expertise as we have partnered with a variety of local third parties including NUI Galway to assist us in the development of our product candidates.”
The Western Development Commission manages the Western Investment Fund which provides seed and venture capital in the seven western counties of Clare, Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Roscommon and Sligo. To date it has invested in 89 enterprises of which 18 are in the medical device sector, making it one of the largest investors in this sector in the country.
