FIRE1 Closes Series B Financing, Announces New CEO

Foundry Innovation & Research 1, Ltd. (“FIRE1”) today announced it has closed its Series B financing, appointed Conor Hanley as President and CEO, and added other new senior leaders to its team including John Britton, Vice President of Commercial Operations, and Fiachra Sweeney, Senior Director of Engineering.
The Company, which is developing a novel remote monitoring device, raised USD 7.5 million from existing investors including leading venture capital firms Lightstone Ventures and New Enterprise Associates, as well as Medtronic.

FIRE1 is the 15th medical device company founded by The Foundry. With this financing, Foundry Managing Director Mark Deem was also appointed Chairman of the Board.
“With the support from these premier investors, the strength of our newly expanded leadership team, and the Irish government aggressively pushing the connected health ecosystem, we are in a very strong position to accelerate the development and commercialisation of our first product,” said Conor Hanley, FIRE1 CEO and President. “This investment underscores global unmet needs in healthcare delivery, especially in predicting the onset of major diseases.”

Prior to joining FIRE1, Hanley held senior management positions with ResMed, including leading the Company’s Chronic Disease Management Solutions division, its Cardiology business, and its Ventures and Initiatives business units.

Prior to ResMed, he was CEO and co-founder of BiancaMed, which commercialised a novel method to provide connected health solutions, and was acquired by ResMed in 2011. Hanley received a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, an MBA from INSEAD, and a First Class Honours B.E. from University College Dublin.

John Britton, Vice President, Commercial Operations, joins FIRE1 with deep expertise in bringing innovative medical technologies to market. Most recently with ResMed, Britton led the commercialisation of a novel, non-contact sensing technology. Previously, he was an Engagement Manager with McKinsey & Co. where he worked in a variety of industries, including healthcare.

He received an MBA from the UCD Smurfit School of Business, and was a post-doctoral researcher in Trinity College Dublin’s Centre for Bioengineering, and has a First Class Honours degree in Mechanical Engineering from University College Dublin.

Fiachra Sweeney joins FIRE1 as Senior Director of Engineering and has extensive background in medical device research, development, sales and marketing. Prior to FIRE1, he was with Nypro Healthcare where he was responsible for the design and development of a connected auto-injector device.
Previously, he was with Medtronic in a variety of product development and engineering management roles, most recently leading a team through the development, approval and commercialisation of a novel coronary angioplasty catheter. Fiachra has a Biomedical Engineering degree from NUI Galway and an MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Business.