AventaMed Wins MedTech Idol at IN3 Dublin
4.28.2014
TUCSON, Ariz. — RCT Ventures announced that AventaMed is the winner of the MedTech Idol competition at Informa’s IN³ Medical Device 360° Dublin 2014. Unlike those that have preceded it, MedTech Idol is a venture competition that allows the audience to choose the winner. The competition was produced by RCT Ventures and the event’s master of ceremonies was Paul Grand, Managing Director, RCT Ventures.
“We were excited to be asked by Informa to bring our MedTech Idol competition to IN3 Dublin this year. Ireland has become a hub for the MedTech industry, and there is a huge amount of support and financial incentives available from the local government for medical device companies,” said Grand. “The IN3 Dublin conference had a great turn-out by venture capital investors, corporates, and industry professionals. We were extremely pleased with the quality of the innovative start-up companies that entered the competition from countries all throughout Europe, Israel and the USA.”
MedTech Idol Dublin began in February, when 36 early-stage medical device companies submitted their business plans. An independent panel of investor judges reviewed the entries to select the MedTech Idol Top 10. The investor judges included Alan O’Connell, Partner, Seroba Kernel; Timothy J. Haines, Partner, Abingworth; and Antoine Papiernik, Managing Partner, Sofinnova Partners.
After reviewing the 36 entries, the investor judges selected 10 semi-finalist companies to participate in the second phase of the competition, during which each was given the task of producing a one-minute video. The videos were used to select four companies who gave five-minute presentations followed by five minutes of questions from the judges. The audience then voted in real-time for the winner, AventaMed, using their mobile devices.
Informa sponsored the prize, which was designed to provide the winner with a wide range of exposure. AventaMed will get a presenting slot at the upcoming IN³ Medical Device 360° Summit in San Francisco, Nov. 5-7, 2014, and the company will be profiled in an upcoming issue of Informa’s monthly magazine START-UP: The Review of Emerging Medical Ventures.
AventaMed has developed a novel ear, nose and throat device for placement of tympanostomy tubes, also known as grommets. This device will place a grommet in less than one second and will allow the procedure to be carried out in an office setting, eliminating the need for general anesthesia and costly operating room time. Seven percent of all children have grommets (2 million per year), making it a market worth more than $5.4 billion worldwide.
“Winning the MedTech Idol competition has generated huge interest in AventaMed from the investor community in Europe and the USA,” said Olive O’ Driscoll, AventaMed’s CEO. “Our win helped generate significant media interest that puts AventaMed on the world stage and allows us to showcase our innovative technology to patients, surgeons and investors. I couldn’t think of a better way to begin our funding round.”
For detailed information on AventaMed and each of the MedTech Idol Dublin Top 10 semi-finalist companies, seehttp://www.medtechidol.com.
About RCT Ventures
RCT Ventures is an early-stage biomedical investment program of Tucson, Ariz.-based Research Corporation Technologies Inc. To learn more about RCT and RCT Ventures, see www.rctech.com.
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