Rouen, France, April 29, 2020 – Robocath, a company that designs, develops and commercializes cardiovascular robotic systems for the treatment of vascular diseases, today announces it has secured €40 million ($43M) in a series C round of financing. This was led by MicroPort Scientific Corporation (HKG:853), a major listed industrial player in the cardiovascular field, with participation from institutional investors (Zhejiang Silk Road Fund, Luxembourg CLIIF managed under TUS-Holdings, CS Group and Anaxago)
as well as existing Robocath investors[1].
The financial payment of €40M ($43M) will enable the company to aggressively expand its sales and marketing efforts for its first robotic-assisted platform, R-One™. It will also allow the company to broaden and accelerate the product development of its second-generation robot to address more PCI procedures and start peripheral and neurovascular applications.
On completion of this operation, existing Robocath investors[1], as well as Philippe Bencteux, chairman and founder of the company, will hold more than two thirds of the company’s capital.
In connection with this investment, Robocath and MicroPort have also signed a strategic agreement to set up a China-based joint-venture company. With over 7,000 global employees, MicroPort has an established expertise in medical devices manufacturing and commercialization dating back to its founding in 1998 and is a leader in its domestic Chinese market in the cardiovascular field. The company has a full line of stents and balloons products worldwide and generated revenue of $793M (€729.5M) in 2019 (approximately one third from its cardiovascular business). Over the last five years, the company had an average turnover growth of +17%. MicroPort has been listed on the Hong-Kong Stock Exchange Market since September 2010.
Capitalizing on this shared expertise and through this joint-venture, Robocath will open the Asian market with the commercialization of its first robotic-assisted platform. This expansion will be facilitated by local manufacturing of consumables and robot’s assembly to ensure optimal distribution of Robocath products in this market. Both companies will also carry out research and development activities related to next generation long-distance, remote control over 5G network technologies and will develop artificial intelligence algorithms to be used with robotic-assisted platforms.
“We believe that the future growth of medical device therapies will be driven by innovative robotics platform technologies to facilitate procedures and open up next generation capabilities such as remote and AI,” said Dr. Alex He, general manager of Medbot (MicroPort’s robotics subsidiary). “We are thrilled to partner with Robocath to commercialize its highly innovative proprietary vascular robotics platform in the Chinese market.”
“This financial round gives Robocath the resources to achieve its overall ambitions,” said Lucien Goffart, CEO of Robocath. “MicroPort’s commitment demonstrates the relevance of our value proposition. Thanks to the excellent technological and commercial synergies between our companies, we will accelerate our development and together build a great future in the vascular robotic field. This will benefit patients, physicians and ultimately healthcare systems.”
“With this financing round, Robocath enters a new phase in its strategic development. I am proud of how far we have come since the creation of the company and would like to thank all our historical shareholders for their renewed support and our new shareholders for their strong buy-in to our plans,” said Philippe Bencteux, chairman and founder of Robocath. “I’m delighted to welcome Mr. Jonathan Chen, chief international business officer at MicroPort, Dr. Alex He, general manager of Medbot, a MicroPort’s robotics subsidiary, and Mr. Haitong Wang, managing partner at Zhejiang Silk Road Fund, to our strategic committee.”
For this operation, Robocath was advised by MAVIE Technologies and Bionest Partner Finance, fundraising advisors, and Dechert and L2B law offices.
About Robocath
Founded in 2009 by Philippe Bencteux, MD, Robocath designs, develops and commercializes robotic solutions to treat cardiovascular diseases. As an active player in the evolving medical robotic industry, these innovative solutions aim to make medical procedures safer thanks to reliable technologies, while complementing manual interventions.
R-One™ is the first solution developed by Robocath. It uses a unique technology that optimizes the safety of robotic-assisted coronary angioplasty. This medical procedure consists of revascularizing the cardiac muscle by inserting one or more implants (stents) into the arteries that supply it with blood. Every 30 seconds, somewhere in the world, this type of procedure is performed.
R-One™ is designed to operate with precision and perform specific movements, creating better interventional conditions. Thanks to its open architecture, R-One™ is compatible with market-leading devices and cath labs.
In a prospective, randomized, controlled pre-clinical trial, R-One™ demonstrated safety and efficacy as it achieved 100% technical procedure success and no MACE (Major adverse cardiovascular events). R-One™ received the CE marking in February 2019 and started its clinical application in September 2019. Currently R-One™ is available in Europe and Africa.
Robocath aims to become the world leader in vascular robotics and develop the remote treatment of vascular emergencies, guaranteeing the best care pathway for all.
Based in Rouen, France, Robocath has more than 30 employees and is financially supported by regional investment funds (GO CAPITAL, NCI, Normandie Participations), national investment funds (M Capital, Supernova Invest), by several business angels and financial institutions (Caisse d’épargne, BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole) and Bpifrance.
About MicroPort
Founded in 1998 in Shanghai (China) with the common belief that advancements in medical technology can transform patients’ lives, MicroPort is a global leading developer, manufacturer and operator focusing on minimally invasive intervention products for the treatment of vascular diseases and pathological changes.
Over the last two decades, MicroPort has taken important steps towards fulfilling its mission of providing access to the best means of prolonging and reshaping lives and today provides over 300 devices and technologies, currently approved for use in nearly 10,000 hospitals worldwide.
At MicroPort innovation is part of our DNA¸ not only in the treatments and services we develop but also in the way we foster innovation.
With a vast global footprint of R&D and manufacturing sites (Shanghai; Memphis (TN) in the United States; Clamart in France; Saluggia in Italy; Santo Domingo in Dominican Republic), a strong focus on technology innovation with over 4,000 patent applications, and a global workforce of over 7,000 employees, MicroPort is committed to its vision of building a People Centric Consortium of companies focused on Emerging Medical Technologies.
About Zhejiang Silk Road
Zhejiang Silk Road Fund is a Chinese private equity fund focusing on cross-border investments across various sectors, including healthcare, advanced manufacturing, TMT, and consumer.
The fund is managed by Zhejiang United Investment Group (‘ZUIG’), an investment firm backed by eight Zhejiang-based entrepreneurs. ZUIG currently has about RMB 12 billion ($1.7b) assets under management and has offices in Hangzhou, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Shenzhen.
About TUS-Holdings
TUS?Holdings originated from the former Tsinghua University Science Park (TusPark), the largest University Park in the world. It operates over 200 parks/incubators in China and globally, having a full supply?chain of incubation with the unique model of “incubation + investment + M&As”.
The group has demonstrated return?focused fund management capabilities with currently more than 35 venture and industry funds. This investment in Robocath is through its Luxembourg CLIIF fund. TUS is actively expanding its healthcare sector through investments focusing on IVD and precision medicine, medical instruments and healthcare services. The total investment in this sector has reached over €300 million ($326M).
About CS Group
CS Group is an US based advisory and investment company in healthcare technologies and medical devices.
About Anaxago Group
Created in 2012, Anaxago Group is a 100% digital investment company based in Paris (France), accessible to private and professional investors, combining impact and performance. With over 90,000 members, 230 companies and more than €200 million ($217M) invested, Anaxago stands out due to the selectivity and support of the investment projects offered on its platform. Its investment activity in innovative companies is focused on three sectors: Healthcare, Proptech and Fintech. Anaxago is an independent group mainly owned by its three founders. It currently has 40 employees.
[1] GO CAPITAL, NCI, Cardio Participations, M Capital, Supernova Invest, Normandie Participations, Crédit Agricole Normandie, Unexo, Caisse d’Epargne Normandie
