Galway medtech startup Loci Orthopaedics got the thumbs up this week taking home the top prize of €100,000 at the InterTrade Ireland Seedcorn Awards.
Loci Orthopaedics is proving to be a major disruption to the €550 medtech market for thumb joint implants with InDx.
The InDx is the first ever implant for the base join of the thumb that fully mimics the movement of the natural joint.
The Seedcorn competition mirrors the real investment process and helps start up companies raise equity.
CEO and Co-Founder of Loci Orthopaedics Brendan Boland said winning has been “an absolutely fantastic feeling”.
“The competition has been an incredibly challenging and rewarding experience, and we would like to thank the judges and organisers for the expert advice and constructive feedback provided along the way.”
The prize money from this competition will be used to support the InDx joint implant which is at a “crucial stage in its development” according to Mr Boland.
On top of furthering that specific project the money will be used to secure additional personnel and support the company’s expansion.
Loci Orthopaedics is a medtech company in its early stages based out of the Business Innovation Centre at NUI Galway.
This summer it successfully raised €2.75 million in investment capital for clinical trials and to get regulatory approval for their implant in the US and EU.
The InDx implant is expected to first launch in the US in 2021 and come to patients in Europe soon after.
The other big winner on the night was also from Galway, Hidramed Solutions, provider of topical medtech solutions for patients with long term wound care needs.
Hidramed won the Best New Start category, taking home €50,000 to further the development of their products.
Suzanne Moloney, Founder and CEO of Hidramed said it was a “real honour” to be awarded this prize, and that the experience itself has been hugely beneficial for refining their business plan.
The Seedcorn competition gave out €280,000 in prize money to winners.
To date, InterTradeIreland has supported over 2,300 enterprising companies through the Seedcorn process.
Over the past 16 years, companies that have made as far as the regional finals of the competition have gone on to raise €238 million in investment capital.
