An enlarged prostate, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), squeezes the urethra and makes urination difficult for millions of older men. ProVerum, a spin-out from Trinity College Dublin, developed ProVee: a nitinol stent placed through a narrow video-guided scope that gently holds the prostatic urethra open, without cutting, burning or removing tissue, according to the company.
The European Innovation Council backed ProVerum twice: a €2.5 million grant under its pilot in 2020, and an equity-only award, listed as "ProVee II", at the June 2021 cut-off. Since then the company has raised €30 million and $80 million from private investors and, in December 2025, won FDA approval. By the measures that matter, it is a success. What the public record does not show is whether the EIC's 2021 equity was ever invested.
Company file
- Legal entity
- ProVerum Limited, Dublin, Ireland
- Founded
- 2016 per EIT Health (2015 per Trinity College Dublin)
- Founders
- Ríona Ní Ghriallais, Conor Harker
- CEO
- Paul Bateman
- Product
- ProVee System, prostatic urethral stent for BPH (FDA approved December 2025)
- Investors
- MVM Partners, OrbiMed, ISIF, Gilde Healthcare, Lightstone Ventures, Atlantic Bridge, Enterprise Ireland
- EIC award
- ProVee II, June 2021 cut-off, equity only
- CORDIS project
- None: equity-only awards carry no grant agreement
Where ProVerum Stands Today
On 9 December 2025 the FDA approved the ProVee System, according to the company and UroToday. The approval rested on ProVIDE, a randomised, double-blind, sham-controlled trial that the company says met all primary and secondary endpoints, with symptom relief and better urinary flow through 12 months and no device- or procedure-related serious adverse events.
Four months earlier, ProVerum had closed an $80 million Series B led by MVM Partners, with OrbiMed and the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund joining Gilde Healthcare, Lightstone Ventures, Atlantic Bridge and Enterprise Ireland. Trinity College Dublin called it the largest round ever raised by an Irish university spin-out. The company said the proceeds would be used "to prepare for commercialization".
The Technology: Holding the Urethra Open
ProVee takes a mechanical route rather than removing or destroying tissue: a stent-like expander, delivered through a scope the same diameter as the one urologists use to diagnose BPH, so it can be placed in an office setting. The company says it preserves sexual function and does not require a catheter after the procedure.
"FDA approval of the ProVee System marks a major step forward for ProVerum and for men living with BPH."
Paul Bateman, CEO, ProVerum, December 2025What the EIC Award Was, and What the Record Shows
The June 2021 award to ProVerum was equity only: no grant, and therefore no CORDIS project or report. Silicon Republic reported it among five Irish EIC winners in October 2021. The funded technology, the ProVee System, has since been approved. But the EIC Fund is not named in the January 2022 Series A announcement or in the 2025 Series B, and we found no public record of an EIC Fund investment.
- A pivotal US trialDeliveredProVIDE, sham-controlled, met all endpoints per the company.
- FDA approvalDelivered9 December 2025.
- Private follow-on capitalDelivered€30M Series A and $80M Series B.
- EIC equity investedNot disclosedEIC Fund not named in any round.
What Has Happened Since the Award
The Money
ProVerum's early public funding came from EIT Health (€50,000 in 2016), the EIC pilot grant (€2.5 million in 2020) and Ireland's Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (€2.94 million in 2021), according to EIT Health. The private rounds that followed were far larger: the Series B alone, reported at €68.6 million by EU-Startups, was more than 25 times the EIC grant.
What cannot be checked
Whether the EIC's 2021 equity award was invested, declined or cancelled, and on what terms, is not public. ProVerum's sales since approval are not published.
Why Europe Should Care
ProVerum is an Irish university spin-out that has taken a medical device all the way to FDA approval, with Irish state funds among its investors. Its first market is the US, where the company says more than 12 million men are actively managed for BPH. European patients would need a CE mark, which we found no announcement of.
What the EIC backed
ProVee II: a simple, safe, office-based BPH treatment, supported with EIC equity.
What the record shows
FDA approval and more than €98M of private funding, but no disclosed EIC Fund investment and no European approval yet.
The Verdict
A success the EIC may not own
By every public measure ProVerum is a success: a randomised trial, FDA approval and the largest round ever raised by an Irish university spin-out. The EIC's 2020 grant helped early on. Whether the EU also holds a stake from its 2021 equity award, and so shares in the upside, is something neither the EIC nor the company has made public.
ProVerum has not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records, company statements and EU announcements, linked throughout.
