The Irish Times Business Person of the Month: Andrew Glass, Vivasure Medical chief executive

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Andrew Glass, chief executive of Vivasure Medical, has been chosen as The Irish Times Business Person of the Month for January, an award run in association with Bank of Ireland.

The Galway medical technology group, which has designed a device that helps surgeons close large holes in arteries, was acquired in January by Haemonetics, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, in a deal worth up to €185 million.

That includes a €100 million cash payment upfront, with a further €85 million dependent on achieving certain manufacturing and sales milestones.

The company’s sutureless patches can be absorbed by the body, minimising invasiveness in the closure of vessels after heart and vascular surgeries. The company, which was founded in 2009, has submitted a premarket approval application to the US Food and Drug Administration for access to the US market for its PerQseal technologies.

The Irish company had raised about $92 million in funding over multiple rounds, including a $30 million investment in 2023 from Haemonetics that included an option to buy the company down the line.

Other investors include Irish VC Fountain Healthcare Partners, Germany’s Evonik, Dutch group LSP Health Economics Fund, US-based Orchestra Medical Ventures and Ascent Biomedical Ventures, and the Panakes Fund, which is based in Italy. Enterprise Ireland was also an early investor.