Galway firm Versono Medical raises €6.7m to bring ground-breaking vascular disease technology to market

Galway-based Versono Medical is delighted to announce that it has raised €6.7 million in new funding to boost the company’s bid to bring its ground-breaking Fastwire intravascular medical device to market.

The MedTech start-up, founded by Finbar Dolan and Hugh O’Donoghue in 2018, is a trailblazer in the area of treating vascular disease. It raised the funds from existing investors, including DHKN, BVP and private investors from the medical device sector, as well as State investors Western Development Commission and Enterprise Ireland.

Versono’s revolutionary Fastwire product uses ultrasonic technology to break through complex blockages in patients with Critical Limb Ischemia (CLI), the most severe and advanced form of the peripheral vascular disease. The compact device’s flexible wire follows the curvature of arteries, carrying ultrasonic waves to the tip of the wire which then crosses through calcified lesions allowing blood flow to be restored in the affected limb.

This new device technology platform will help reduce the need for more invasive and traumatic surgical procedures, leading to better outcomes for patients who could otherwise be facing the dire prospect of amputation and even death.

The firm’s board and management are thrilled with the success of what was Versono’s second round of funding, which was also significantly oversubscribed. The funds will now be used to complete clinical studies and to qualify the company’s strategic medical device technology in 2023, for its initial clinical indication to cross arterial blockages and carry therapies to treat blockages.

The company, which is based in Parkmore West in Galway, has grown its capability over the past four years. It now employs 22 staff in full and part-time roles and has advanced its technology to meet the needs of the global vascular market.

Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) is on the rise globally. It is estimated that more than 230 million people, aged 25 or older, are living with PAD, with that number expected to double by 2030. The prevalence of PAD in the general population increases exponentially with age, with more than 18% of those aged 70-75 afflicted with the disease.

CLI is the most severe and advanced form of PAD, mostly affecting the lower extremities, legs and feet. Current treatments seek to re-establish blood flow to the affected area but CLI can lead to calcified tissue and chronic blockages which require technically difficult procedures for which there is no guarantee of success.

The limited success of established treatments means that there are approximately 350,000 amputations in the US and EU every year as a result of CLI. Some 15% of all cases of CLI require amputation and 37% open surgery. Around 70% of those patients who have a limb amputated die within five years.

The direct cost of amputations to the US healthcare system is around $4billion per year, while rehabilitation costs another $4billion. Meanwhile, the rate of diabetes, one of the four main risk factors for PAD, is expected to rise above 15% in the US by 2030.

The four main risk factors for PAD include smoking, hypertension, diabetes and high cholesterol, all conditions which have been on the rise since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the sedentary lives brought about by of lockdown.

Versono CEO Finbar Dolan said:

“Covid highlighted the extent of the vulnerability of patients with diabetes to other comorbidities. It also highlighted how healthcare systems can be overwhelmed. The fallout from a health perspective, from PAD, is enormous. It must be remembered that you can appear completely healthy and have this awful disease. The outcomes for patients eventually diagnosed with CLI is similar to many diagnosed with an aggressive cancer.  

“Fastwire is compact and fits on a shelf. Rival devices have consoles that are much larger and require more staff with specialised training to run them. Fastwire is designed to assist physicians help more patients and enable safer, more successful and speedier, minimally invasive treatment of the most difficult lower limb lesions or blockages.” 

Versono Chairman John O’Shaughnessy said:

“We are both delighted and encouraged by the level of enthusiasm and support from our investor base. It is truly exciting times for Versono as we move forward towards our clinical trials, and continue to build and develop the team, to advance our product development activities. I would particularly like to pay tribute to our highly energised Board, Management team and highly-skilled and motivated staff; we are very excited about the future of the company.”

The management team has more than 100 years of combined experience in Operations Management and R&D in multinational and start-up companies. They are supported by a highly-respected group of clinical advisors, including Dr Craig Walker, chief organiser of the annual New Cardiovascular Horizons Conference, Dr Jihad Mustapha, a global authority in the area of vascular disease, and the equally estimable Dr Thomas Zeller.

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