 |
The Irish startup Selio Medical is determined to transform lung biopsy
procedures and eliminate pneumothorax. While previous attempts to tackle this
problem have focused on plugging the needle tract in the lung post-biopsy have
proven ineffective, Selio’s revolutionary approach prevent the pneumothorax occurring
before the biopsy even takes place. They have developed a single use device
that creates an air tight seal between the needle access route and the lung,
preventing any air leak from the lung during or after the procedure,
eliminating the risk of pneumothorax. The prototype has gone through extensive tests
in the lab and pre-clinical in vivo studies have shown very positive results.
On average, over 30% of patients undergoing a lung biopsy will suffer
from a pneumothorax. This leads to over 100,000 extra hospital admissions,
invasive treatment, and an average cost of $11,000. Currently, there is no
effective method of prevention, and with a rising global incidence of lung
cancer, there is a large unmet need for solutions that can help lower the risk
of pneumothorax. Selio Medical has developed a simple and effective technology,
the first-in-class medical device designed specifically to address the
complication of lung biopsy related pneumothorax. By developing a method that effectively
avoid pneumothorax, increasing the safety of lung biopsies, clinicians across
the world can carry out significantly more procedures, positively impacting
clinical workload and stress. In addition, eliminating the need for further
clinical intervention significantly reduce costs for the patient, insurer and
health provider. Most importantly, the innovative device will prevent patient
pain and distress, improve care, and potentially even prevent deaths.
Selio Medical is based in Trinity College Dublin and was founded by
Colm McGarvey and Garret Ryan who met during a BioInnovate fellowship at the
National University of Ireland, Galway in 2014. During the program they
discovered a large unmet clinical need to eliminate pneumothorax during or
following lung biopsy, and analyzed the market opportunity before developing
their solution. They have since won multiple awards, including MedTech Innovator International Pitch Competition, 2017 EIT Health Headstart Award, as
well as being singled out as one of the top 10 investor-ready startups in
Enterprise Ireland’s Big Ideas 2017 showcase. The startup has raised over €500,000 in
non-dilutive grant funding and is
raising a Series A round of €3.5 million to bring the technology through FDA and CE mark submissions
by 2021. They are expecting to start first ‘in-man’ clinical trials in 2018.
