Asensus Surgical Inc. grabbed a $10 million lifeline from prospective suitor Karl Storz SE & Co. KG, which has offered to buy the cash-strapped company for 35 cents per share or about $96 million. Asensus signed a non-binding letter of intent to consider and negotiate terms after “an extensive period of consideration of various strategic alternatives.” Under certain circumstances, it could access a further $10 million from Storz prior to a merger. Asensus reported in March that its cash runway would tap out in early July.
The $110 million that Medical Microinstruments Inc. (MMI) recently raised in its series C funding round is testament to its unique position in microsurgery, said Olivier Litzka, a board member at MMI and a partner at Andera Partners. “There are not many companies actually working in that space in robotics,” he told BioWorld.
Broncus Holding Corp. subsidiary Broncus Hangzhou is acquiring Chinese medical device company Hangzhou Jingliang in the form of an equity transfer agreement for ¥5.4 million (US$758,000). The move will strengthen Broncus’ R&D capabilities in the flexible robotic space and will allow the company to offer pulmonology diagnostics and therapeutic solutions covering the complete product life cycle.