DCU-based medtech company raises €40 million in financing
FIRE1, a connected health company developing novel heart monitoring solutions, based in DCU Alpha innovation campus, has today announced the close of a Series C financing totaling €40m.
The financing provides FIRE1 with capital to further advance its novel remote monitoring solution to improve outcomes for heart failure patients. Nearly six million Americans live with heart failure, a number that is expected to increase to more than eight million by 2030. Globally, it is estimated that at least 26 million people suffer from heart failure, and the burden is particularly high for older patients. It is the leading cause of hospitalisation for people over 65, with annual treatment costs exceeding $31 billion in the U.S. alone. With an aging population, the impact of heart failure is expected to increase substantially.
“This infusion of new capital from these premier investors will enable us to accelerate our progress and deliver on our commitment to help patients with heart failure,” said Conor Hanley, FIRE1 CEO and President. “Heart failure is a life-threatening disease and a significant burden on patients and healthcare systems. Managing patients at home with novel digital health-enabled solutions will help intercept the trajectory of the disease and reduce the need for hospitalization.”
Fire1 is part of a growing community of Internet of Things (I0T) innovators based in DCU Alpha addressing machine-to-machine communications, wearable technologies, sensor development, rapid prototyping, product design, data collection and analysis.
Ronan Furlong, Executive Director of DCU Alpha said,
‘We are delighted with Fire1’s funding success and proud to be supporting them in their vision for the future. Through their access to DCU’s research expertise, medical test beds and graduate talent, and co-location with a community of like-minded, innovative community of IoT focussed enterprises, Fire1 has been able to grow its footprint in the kind of flexible manner that fast-growing indigenous companies need. The next stage is to develop an IoT makerspace environment to drive forward the growth of connected hardware companies and realise more successes like that of Fire1.”
The financing was led by new investor Glide Healthcare, with the participation of new investors Gimv and Seventure and all existing investors, including Lightstone Ventures, Medtronic, and New Enterprise Associates. It was also announced that Janke Dittmer, partner at Gilde Healthcare, and Patrick Van Beneden, partner at Gimv, have joined FIRE1’s Board of Directors.
“Improving outcomes for heart failure patients remains one of the most pressing needs in healthcare,” said Janke Dittmer, partner at Gilde Healthcare. “We have been impressed by the FIRE1 team, their development progress and the support they’ve garnered from leading clinicians for their comprehensive solution to transform heart failure management.”
About FIRE1
Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, FIRE1 is a connected medical device solutions company dedicated to improving outcomes for people suffering with chronic diseases. Its first product is a novel remote monitoring solution to improve outcomes for Heart Failure patients. The FIRE1 team is led by an experienced medical devices team who are working closely with researchers, clinicians, patients and payors to help reduce the burden of heart failure. For more information, please visit www.fire1foundry.com.