Medical Microinstruments Secures $75 Million to Advance Robotic Microsurgery

By AIT News Desk On Jul 21, 2022

Series B financing will accelerate clinical trials and global commercialization of the company’s Symani Surgical System

Medical Microinstruments, Inc. (MMI), a robotics company dedicated to improving clinical outcomes for patients undergoing microsurgery, announced it has raised $75 million in Series B financing. Deerfield Management led the round with participation from new investors, RA Capital Management and Biostar Capital, as well as existing investors, Andera Partners, Fountain Healthcare Partners, Panakès Partners and Sambatech. The company also announced the addition of three new members to its board of directors.

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“The MMI technology is one of the most significant transformational advancements in surgical robotics that we have seen”

In addition, the company announced its corporate redomicile from Italy to the United States. The recently opened Center of Excellence facility in Pisa, Italy, with 96 employees will continue to be the hub of the company’s research and development, manufacturing, and other business activities.

Proceeds from this financing round and the company’s planned U.S. presence will launch MMI into its next stage of growth as it continues its mission to improve the quality of patient care by pushing the boundaries of microsurgery. The company seeks to expand indications and support ongoing commercialization efforts for the Symani^® Surgical System in Europe where it received CE mark in 2019. MMI also intends to accelerate plans to commercialize in the U.S. and Asia-Pacific, as well as advance clinical research including securing an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to conduct a pivotal study. The Symani System was developed specifically to address the challenges of microsurgery and is the only system that offers NanoWrist^® Instruments designed to improve a surgeon’s ability to access and suture small, delicate anatomy.

“This financing round, coupled with our commitment to access the U.S. market and the addition of visionary leaders to our board, is an exciting moment for the surgical robotics space,” said Mark Toland, CEO of MMI. “We’re pleased to have bridged the Atlantic with premier U.S. life science investors, and existing European investors, who share our same vision of bringing microsurgical robotics to the world.”

The company’s new board members are Andrew ElBardissi, MD, Tess Cameron and Arturo Baroncelli. Dr. ElBardissi is a partner at Deerfield Management, with extensive experience serving as a board member for innovative healthcare companies. Ms. Cameron serves as principal for RA Capital Management and currently sits on the boards of Avilar Therapeutics and Nodexus Inc. Baroncelli previously worked as a robotics business development manager for Comau and will represent MMI’s founders on the board.

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“We are thrilled to add further depth and experience to the MMI Board and look forward to working with our new board members to build the robotic microsurgical space,” said Andrew Cleeland, Chairman of the Board for MMI.

“The MMI technology is one of the most significant transformational advancements in surgical robotics that we have seen,” said Dr. ElBardissi. “Having the world’s smallest wristed instruments opens up the field of ‘micro’ robotics to a completely new level of treatment spanning microsurgery for cancer, trauma, orthopedic, pediatric, and one day, neurosurgery patients. Symani will be the future of how microsurgery is performed worldwide.”

“Robotic microsurgery has enormous potential to both improve the standard of care for patients and help surgeons manage procedures that require delicate precision,” said Ms. Cameron. “I look forward to supporting MMI and its world-class team as it begins this exciting chapter.”

The Symani Surgical System is designed to improve a surgeon’s ability to repair anatomical structures such as veins, arteries, nerves and lymphatic vessels as small as 0.3 mm in diameter. The platform provides motion scaling and tremor reduction to allow precise micro-movements. Its NanoWrist technology is the world’s smallest wristed instrumentation and is intended to improve a surgeon’s natural dexterity and range of motion beyond the capability of the human hand.

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