Signum Surgical wins €3.6 million grants for colorectal disease therapy

Signum Surgical, which is developing minimally invasive technologies to treat colorectal diseases, has secured two grants totalling €3.6 million:  €2.3 million from the EU Horizon 2020 SME Instrument, and €1.3 million from Ireland’s Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund. 

Signum Surgical, which is developing minimally invasive technologies to treat colorectal diseases, has secured two grants totalling €3.6 million:  €2.3 million from the EU Horizon 2020 SME Instrument, and €1.3 million from Ireland’s Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund. 

The company’s  BioHealx device is designed to treat anal fistula, a painful colorectal condition that affects one in 5,000 people worldwide. In the US alone, 64,000 surgeries are performed annually to treat the condition. According to Signum Surgical, current treatments are rarely successful, and result in ongoing infections and repeat procedures.

BioHealx features a bioabsorbable implant to help seal the fistula tract and dissolve in the body after treatment. The minimally invasive, single-operation approach only requires an outpatient procedure, and is designed to encourage healing, prevent reinfection, and protect patient continence, thereby substantially reducing surgical trauma, and costs for both patients and the health care system. 

Signum Surgical was founded by Eoin Bambury and Moshe Zilversmit  in 2016 as a spin-out of the National University of Ireland BioInnovate programme, and is based in Galway, Ireland. Horizon 2020 funds research and development efforts that can boost the EU’s global competitiveness.