HBAN-backed Bluedrop Medical raises €3.7m investment
- HBAN’s MedTech Syndicate led initial €1.2M investment in Bluedrop Medical
- Medical device company raised €3.7M from HBAN, WDC, European Union and others
- Funding will help Bluedrop Medical develop a device that could prevent amputations resulting from diabetic foot ulcers
- Bluedrop Medical’s AI-enabled remote monitoring system will allow patients with diabetes to carry out daily scans of their feet at home, with automated remote review
- Galway-based Bluedrop Medical to expand its team with 10 new hires
Dublin, 19th September 2019 — HBAN announces that Bluedrop Medical, a Galway based Medical device start up, has secured €3.7M in funding to help manage one of the most devastating complications of diabetes — the diabetic foot. An initial seed investment of €1.2M was led by HBAN’s MedTech Syndicate — which itself invested €340K in the seed round. Enterprise Ireland and the Western Development Commission also invested in the funding round along with other members of the investment community. A €2.5M grant was awarded through the European Innovation Council.
HBAN, the all-island organisation responsible for the promotion of business angel investment and a joint initiative between Enterprise Ireland, InterTradeIreland and Invest Northern Ireland connected Bluedrop with angel investors. The investment will help Bluedrop Medical to continue developing a potentially life-changing product for people suffering from diabetes.
In Ireland, more than 540 amputations are carried out on patients with diabetes every year as a result of foot ulcers caused by nerve damage. Bluedrop Medical’s AI-powered temperature monitoring device will enable clinics to monitor their high-risk patients. The device is used by the patient to perform a daily foot scan in their home in less than 30 seconds. Scans are reviewed remotely using advanced algorithms which reveal if the patient shows signs of a developing foot ulcer, instructing them to contact their local clinic if necessary.
The funding will help founders, Chris Murphy and Simon Kiersey, continue to develop their device, carry out clinical trials and bring it to market in Europe and the US. This, they hope, will help to reduce the number of diabetes-related amputations worldwide. The company will also use the funding to expand its team. In the next two years, Bluedrop Medical will hire 10 people in the areas of software development, quality and regulatory affairs, clinical trial management and commercial strategy development.
Chris Murphy, CEO and co-founder, Bluedrop Medical, said: “We founded this company with the aim of improving outcomes and reducing the treatment costs associated with chronic disease. Foot ulcers are one of the most devastating complications associated with diabetes. They are expensive to treat and frequently result in amputation. Our system could save the Irish health service €40M per year on treatments associated with diabetic foot ulcers and we are hoping to collaborate with them to achieve this goal. We estimate the total worldwide market for our device to be more than €3 billion.
“We are delighted to be amongst the companies on the island of Ireland who are benefitting from HBAN angel investment. We have appointed one of the HBAN investors, Dr. Colin Henehan, to our board. He has more than 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and medtech industries, so his advice, along with the advice of the other angel investors in the network, will be instrumental as we forge ahead with Bluedrop Medical’s exciting next phase.”
Dr. Colin Henehan, Bluedrop Medical board member and HBAN MedTech Syndicate member, said: “When we started doing our due diligence on Bluedrop Medical, we were very impressed by the focus and drive of the team and the size of the market that they will be tapping into. Chris and Simon have developed a class leading device for early ulcer detection, resolving a huge unmet clinical need.
“If you look at medicine today, it is very treatment-focused. But this device is all about prevention and removing the cost burden on governments and insurers. Those costs are going to drive a sea change in how diseases are approached and increasingly, the emphasis will be on prevention.
“The MedTech Syndicate offers companies like Bluedrop Medical a network of highly experienced professionals who can provide advice and guidance on all aspects of developing a medical device through to product launch and, ultimately to acquisition.”
John Phelan, all-island director, HBAN, said: “Bluedrop Medical is an example of the innovation happening right here on the island of Ireland. It is a company with global scalability and it’s fantastic to see angel investment facilitate its growth, as well as further investments from other sources. There are now business angels actively investing across the island and HBAN plays an important role in connecting these investors together and introducing them to disruptive companies like Bluedrop Medical.”
HBAN is currently on the look-out for more regionally based business angels to invest in high-potential start-ups like Bluedrop Medical. HBAN will host two upcoming information sessions in Castlebar on Sept 25th and in Cork on Oct 14th. These events are targeted at new angels who are looking for structured and quality deal flow, and those looking to create de-risked portfolios with likeminded investors through syndicates. For more information, visit www.hban.org.
