Shortly after securing an FDA clearance this year for its transvaginal robotic surgery system, Memic Innovative Surgery has now raised $96 million to kickstart its marketing efforts and scale up manufacturing in the U.S. and abroad.
The Israel-based company said it sees an opportunity to begin selling its Hominis platform at a price lower than those of other robotic surgery systems, to help provide minimally invasive hysterectomies as well as procedures to remove fallopian tubes, ovaries and cysts if there is no cancer present.
Investors have taken notice as well: Memic’s series D round was led by Peregrine Ventures and Ceros, with additional backing from OurCrowd and Accelmed.
The system received a de novo clearance from the FDA in February, and it includes a pair of articulated instruments that aim to replicate the motions of a miniaturized human arm, with shoulder, elbow and wrist joints.
A third robotic arm guides a laparoscopic video camera through a separate incision to help visualize the removal of the uterus through the vaginal opening—and deliver an overall faster recovery time compared to larger abdominal surgeries. Memic estimates that about 600,000 hysterectomies are currently performed in the U.S. annually, but only about 16% use the transvaginal route.
The latest proceeds will also support efforts to expand Hominis’ use in additional surgeries, including procedures through the belly button, to treat other gynecologic, urologic and general thoracic and abdominal conditions.
Early March also saw the FDA’s green light of Asensus Surgical’s laparoscopic robot for general surgery procedures. Formerly known as TransEnterix, the company’s Senhance platform pairs multiple arms with eye-tracking controls, haptic feedback and the ability to use instruments as small as 3 millimeters.