Tympany Medical raises €3.5m for specialised ear surgery device
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Atlantic Bridge Advisor Helen Ryan pictured with Liz McGloughlin, CEO of Tympany Medical and Rory O’Callaghan, CTO of Tympany Medical.
Galway medtech start-up Tympany Medical has secured a seed investment of €3.5m in a funding round led by Atlantic Bridge.
The round also included significant investment from Galway headquartered start-up ecosystem Ascentifi, as well as Xenium Capital, Mayo Clinic Ventures, Western Development Commission, Enterprise Ireland, and a number of expert Angel investors.
The company’s founders plan to use the funding to secure regulatory approval for its first endoscope for ear surgery. The money will also go towards the development of Tympany Medical’s endoscopic camera technology which can be used by ENT surgeons.
Tympany Medical’s CEO and co-founder Dr Liz McGloughlin said the investment came at a “key time” in the start-up’s development. McGloughlin co-founded the company with CTO Rory O’Callaghan in 2018 after the pair completed the BioInnovate Ireland programme in 2016. Tympany Medical is an NUI Galway spin-out company currently located in GMIT’s hub for business innovation, iHub.
McGloughlin added that the investment would allow the start-up to grow its team and advance the development of its technology, which, she said, “is at the cutting edge of mechanics, optics, electronics and human-centred design.”
In 2019, Tympany Medical was a runner-up in the ‘Best Business Idea’ category in Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur awards organised by the Local Enterprise Offices.
Tomás Ó Síocháin, CEO of the start-up’s backers, Western Development Commission, commented that his organisation was “building on the world renowned medtech sector that exists in the West of Ireland.” He added that the Western Development Commission already has an “extensive medtech/lifescience portfolio.” Its investment in Tympany Medical comes from its €75m evergreen investment fund.
Helen Ryan of Atlantic Bridge echoed Ó Síocháin’s sentiments, adding that she hoped the investment would lead to improvements in “outcomes for patients.” Over 660,000 ear surgeries are performed per year in the US and Europe. As part of the investment, Ryan will join Tympany Medical’s board of directors.
Kevin Marmion of Galway-based start-up support ecosystem, Ascentifi, said that his organisation’s investment marked its “continued support of highly ambitious medtech companies.”
Tympany Medical has been supported to date by Enterprise Ireland via the Commercialisation Fund programme as well as EIT Health through its Innovation Project and Amplifier programmes. It has also been awarded support via the Government’s Disruptive Technology Innovation Fund.
“Having the support and backing of seasoned medtech investors will accelerate our growth trajectory significantly,” McGloughlin concluded.