CroíValve raises €8M in Series A funding round

EIT Health-supported start-up CroíValve has raised €8 million in Series A investment, led by Halo Business Angel Network (HBAN) MedTech and Irrus Syndicates, among others. Dublin-based CroíValve is a medtech start-up that provides a minimally invasive treatment for tricuspid regurgitation (TR), a condition affecting over half a million patients every year in Europe and the US.[1] The funding will be used to support a European feasibility study.

It is expected that by 2100, almost a third of Europeans will be over 65 years of age.[2] With an ageing population chronic diseases such as TR, a life-threatening condition, become more prevalent among our elderly.[3] TR causes the main valve between the chambers on the right side of the heart to stop functioning properly. The blood leaks backwards, posing a greater risk of mortality.[4] Currently, the only option to treat this chronic condition is open heart surgery, often unsuitable for frail elderly patients.

CroíValve was founded in 2016 and is a spin-out from EIT Health partner Trinity College Dublin. It has created a minimally invasive device that replaces and repairs the heart’s main valve, without the need for surgery. This solution meets a previously unmet clinical need with the potential to become available to a wider cohort of candidates suffering from TR, who would otherwise go untreated.

CroíValve has participated in EIT Health Accelerator programmes, and was featured in our Spotlight series:

During the Spotlight interview, CroíValve CEO Lucy O’Keeffe commented on the early support they received from EIT Health: “We met a number of partners through EIT Health. They supported us with our pre-clinical testing. It’s both a timely and costly pre-clinical test journey. Securing support from EIT Health was hugely transformational – without that, it certainly would have been far more challenging.”

As well as HBAN, other investors that participated in the Series A funding round include Atlantic Bridge University Fund, Broadview Ventures, SOSV, Enterprise Ireland, Elkstone, Ascentifi and DBIC. The funding will support a European Feasibility Study of the CroíValve Transcatheter Tricuspid DUO Coaptation Valve System.

Leslie Harris, EIT Health Ireland-UK Managing Director said, “Start-ups such as CroíValve face a long road through clinical trials as they work to provide a solution to a chronic problem that affects so many of our elderly population. We at EIT Health are committed to supporting these revolutionary products and services to reach markets sooner so they can have actual impact on the lives of European citizens. We congratulate CroíValve on this latest round of investment.”

Learn more about CroíValve’s solution, and track it’s journey to date.