Hosted as part of our Start-Up Day event, Dr Cormac Farrelly of UCD spin-out LaNua Medical was presented with the overall Big Ideas Award, while Plio Surgical took the runner-up spot.
LaNua Medical has been helped by the Commercialisation Fund at Enterprise Ireland, and the project is approaching spin-out. It develops solutions for problems in embolisation – a minimally-invasive procedure that can be used to treat internal bleeding or cause tumour-necrosis.
LaNua will represent Ireland at the Start-up World Cup Final in San Francisco
Its GateKeeper device blocks blood flow to select tissues, while enabling targeted therapeutic delivery with reduced risk of side effects.
LaNua was one of 10 investor- ready potential spin-outs which had three minutes to pitch a new tech solution in front of a judging panel and a 600-strong audience, made up of representatives from the Irish start-up ecosystem, including VCs and other funders, State support agencies and professional services.
Now in its 16th year, Big Ideas is an opportunity for ventures emerging from higher education institutes to showcase their innovations and pitch their solutions, while having the opportunity to network with and meet potential investors, partners and advisors.
As well as receiving the Big Ideas Award, LaNua Medical will represent Ireland at the Pegasus Tech Ventures Start-up World Cup Final, which takes place in San Francisco in October.
With 50,000 attendees and more than 2,500 investors, the Start-up World Cup is the perfect platform for emerging companies to boost their profile on a global stage.
A member of the Enterprise Ireland team based in San Francisco will be on the ground during the competition to support with advice and networking.
Cristina Purtill of Plio Surgical, the runners-up, will also travel to San Francisco to attend.
To qualify to pitch at Big Ideas, companies need to demonstrate that they’re commercially viable, and be recipients of funding from Enterprise Ireland’s Commercialisation Fund, which gives third-level researchers finance and support to translate their research into successful products and businesses.
Junior minister Dara Calleary opened the Start-Up Day event, while Enterprise Minister Peter Burke closed the competition and presented the awards.
Along with the Big Ideas pitch, Enterprise Ireland’s Start-Up Day also included important networking opportunities, expert speakers and panel discussions, including one which focused on the importance of networking.
In order to prepare for Big Ideas, participants were supported in preparing their competition pitch and the judges were extremely impressed with the calibre of entries, which included pioneering solutions like technology to efficiently produce renewable energy from biomass, a wearable microneedle patch that treats local diseases, and a platform providing real-time travel risk updates.
Enterprise Ireland has programmes and supports for researchers taking their first steps to commercialise their idea. To find out how we can help your innovation, visit enterprise-ireland.com/en/supports/for-research-organisations
Emma Callinan is director of commercialisation at Enterprise Ireland
