AIB fund leads €2m investment in SurgaColl Technologies

Total investment in the company, which is based in the Rubicon Centre in the Cork Institute of Technology, now tops €2m from a funding syndicate that includes AIB Seed Capital Fund, Harmac Medical Products, Enterprise Ireland and a number of private investors in the UK, France and Singapore.

The investment will allow the company, which was set up in 2010, to commercialise a portfolio of implantable orthopeadic products developed by the tissue engineering research group at RCSI. The products use naturally derived materials for the regeneration of human tissue, including bone and cartilage.

The investment coincides with the licensing by SurgaColl Technologies of breakthrough technologies from RCSI for the regeneration of human tissue.

“Enterprise Equity is delighted to have invested in this breakthrough medical technology which is at the cutting edge of tissue regeneration development,” said Eric Reed, a partner in Enterprise Equity, which co-manages the AIB Capital Fund. “SurgaColl Technologies and the tissue engineering research group at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland have developed highly innovative products which can be successfully launched to the global orthopaedics market.”

“This investment reflects the confidence of our investors in the company and in its collagen based platform technology,” said Dan Philpott, CEO and co-founder of SurgaColl Technologies. “The funding will enable the company to launch its first product, HydroxyColl – an osteoinductive bone graft substitute, in the global orthopaedics market and to complete pre-clinical trials of a very promising cartilage regeneration product, ChondroColl.”

Dr Gearóid Tuohy, director of the RCSI technology transfer office, said the investment will enable the Surgacoll team to deliver a number of key objectives in advancing the technologies to market. “These achievements represent significant milestones for the college and its inventors and further underscore RCSI’s commitment and focus on the development of its research outputs for the benefit of patients, clinical care and industry.  We look forward to continuing these successes with a range of RCSI technologies undergoing active commercialisation.”

“For the past six years, Enterprise Ireland has been supporting the development of this highly innovative technology in RCSI,” said John O’ Dea, Enterprise Ireland manager high potential start ups – industrial. “potential prize for the company is enormous and holds out the potential for significantly improved solutions for a range of treatments in a multi-billion market”.