Investments of €2m in SurgaColl

The AIB Seed Capital Fund has invested €500,000 in a new “tissue regeneration” company based in Cork Institute of Technology.

The investment in SurgaColl Technologies brings to €2m the total investment in the company from a funding syndicate which includes AIB Seed Capital Fund, Harmac Medical Products, Enterprise Ireland, and private investors from Britain, France, and Singapore.

SurgaColl, which is based in the Rubicon Centre in CIT, was set up in 2010 to commercialise a portfolio of implantable orthopaedic products developed by the Tissue Engineering Research Group at the Royal College of Surgeons.

According to AIB Seed Capital Fund: “The products are highly innovative and formulated, using naturally derived materials, for the regeneration of human tissue, including bone and cartilage.”

It said the investment coincides with the licensing by SurgaColl of breakthrough technologies from RCSI for the regeneration of human tissue.

Dan Philpott, chief executive and co-founder of SurgaColl Technologies, said: “This investment reflects the confidence of our investors in the company and in its collagen-based platform technology.

“The funding will enable the company to launch its first product, HydroxyColl — an osteoinductive bone graft substitute, in the global orthopaedics market and to complete pre-clinical trials of a very promising cartilage regeneration product, ChondroColl,” he added.

Dr Gearóid Tuohy, director of the RCSI Technology Transfer Office, said: “The investment by Irish and international investors will enable the Surgacoll team to deliver a number of key objectives in advancing the technologies to market.”