Secretive medical device firm raises €40m for remote monitoring tech

A Dublin-based and somewhat clandestine medical device firm has raised €40 million to further advance remote monitoring technologies for people with chronic heart diseases.

Foundry Innovation & Research 1 (Fire1), announced the third round of financing which was led by Gilde Healthcare, a European healthcare investor .

The money will be used to develop and commercialise the company’s “novel” remote monitoring technology, designed to improve outcomes for heart failure patients.

Bizarrely, little is known about the specifics of the solution being worked on. Fire1 has been spun-out from The Foundry, a medical technology incubator that has launched more than 15 new companies, including Ardian and Twelve, both of which were acquired by Medtronic.

Medtronic was one of several contributors to the latest round of funding.

In a press release Conor Hanley, Fire1 president and CEO, alluded to “digital health-enabled solutions” that would allow patients to manage their health at home, and “help intercept the trajectory of the disease and reduce the need for hospitalisation.”

According to the British Heart Foundation, there are some seven million people living with heart failure in the UK. Heart and circulatory disease causes more than a quarter of all deaths in the country, and it is estimated that at least 26 million people suffer from the condition worldwide.

It poses a significant threat to older people in particular and, given the aging populations of countries including the UK and US it is a problem that is expected to increase significantly.

“Heart failure is a life-threatening disease and a significant burden on patients and healthcare systems,” said Hanley.

“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.”

Companies that also contributed to the latest round of funding include new investors Gimv and Seventur, as well as existing investors Lightstone Ventures, Medtronic, and New Enterprise Associates.

Janke Dittmer, partner at Gilde Healthcare, said: “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.”