RCSI spinout Substrato Medical wins spinout showcase award at Enterprise Ireland’s start-up day 2026

Maeve McCarthy of the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland (RCSI) spin-out Substrato Medical, was presented with the Spinout Showcase Award at Enterprise Ireland’s Start-Up Day 2026 in the Aviva Stadium.

Substrato Medical was one of eight investor-ready deep tech spinouts that had three minutes to pitch to a 600 strong audience made up of representatives from the Irish Start-up ecosystem including VCs and other funders, State support agencies & professional and financial services.

The award was presented to Maeve McCarthy, for the outstanding pitch of the day. Substrato Medical which is an Enterprise Ireland commercialisation funded project approaching spin-out, is redefining oxygen therapy to enhance tissue repair for millions of chronic wound patients worldwide. Built on the expertise of RCSI’s Tissue Engineering Research Group and a founding team with 25 years of MedTech experience, the company is developing a solution that restores ulcer-free time for patients and reduces the cost burden of chronic wounds.

Fiona McGillicuddy of UCD spin-out MetHealth received the Spinout Showcase runner-up award on the day. MetHealth is a next-generation immunometabolic diagnostics for precision risk stratification and improved clinical care in obesity-related cardiometabolic diseases. Its proprietary biomarker platform, integrated with AI-driven algorithms, delivers critical insight into cardiometabolic health – launching first with a non-invasive blood-based in vitro diagnostic (IVD) for metabolic liver disease (MASH).

Winners of the Enterprise Ireland Spinout Showcase 2026 have been awarded a place on a week-long European market access programme, including tailored engagements in the UK and Europe. The opportunity will help the teams build international customer and investor connections while sharpening their go-to-market capability. By accelerating the global reach of Ireland’s newest spinouts, the programme strengthens the country’s pipeline of innovation and high-growth entrepreneurship.

Start-Up Day 2026 hosted the ‘Class of 2025’ High Potential Start-Up companies that Enterprise Ireland invested in during 2025. The event also played host to technology-based companies with origins deep rooted in groundbreaking research. In 2025, 28 Startup businesses emerging from the research eco-system were directly supported.

Presenting the award, Jim Woulfe, Chairman, Enterprise Ireland said, “The Spinout Showcase pitching element and awards at Start-Up Day provides a platform to showcase Enterprise Ireland’s commercialisation funded research approaching start-up status, with significant potential for success. The event also highlights the high calibre of research commercialisation activity within Ireland, and the significant impact these companies will have to help address huge global challenges. I wish to congratulate both Substrato Medical and MetHealth on their achievements to date and wish them every success for the future.”

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