Shanghai Microport Medbot (Group) Co. Ltd. won China National Medical Products Administration approval of its self-developed Toumai single-arm and single-port laparoscopic surgical robot.
Robocath SAS said it performed the world’s first-in-human remote robotic coronary angioplasty between two cities in China, Beijing and Urumqi, located 1,700 miles apart. The procedure was carried out using the company’s R-One robotic platform, via a 5G connection, and paves the way for long-distance endovascular procedures.
Robocath SAS is about to embark on a limited market release of its robotic platform, the R-One+, which will not only make performing coronary angioplasties easier and safer but will protect cardiologists from radiation, CEO Lucien Goffart told BioWorld in an interview. However, the launch comes on the heels of a decision by Siemens Healthineers Inc. to discontinue its robotic-assisted endovascular cardiology business as it did not meet the company’s “initial expectations.”
China has adjusted the tariff lines and rates for 37 medical devices, including surgical robots, in its newly released Import and export tax rules of the PRC (2023).
Robocath SAS said Cathbot, its joint venture set up in 2020, has enrolled the final patient for its clinical study in China to evaluate the safety and the efficacy of its robotic platform for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). “The completion of our PCI robotic multicenter trial in China is a crucial milestone in our development in this part of the world,” Philippe Bencteux, president and founder of Robocath, told BioWorld.
Shanghai Microport Medbot (Group) Co. Ltd. plans to list on the Shanghai Stock Exchange on the Sci-Tech Board to raise ¥2.8 billion (US$420 million) to progress its surgical robots. The funds raised from the IPO would go toward research and development of the surgical robots, manufacturing, marketing and academic promotion, as well as replenishing working capital. The company also plans shareholder dividend distribution plans within three years following the IPO listing.
Shanghai Microport Medbot (Group) Co. Ltd. started trading its shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Nov. 2, with shares increasing over 6% in the middle of the day. It raised HK$1.56 billion ($201 million) with shares going at HK$43.2 apiece in an initial public offering. The firm plans to use 35% of the proceeds for the development and commercialization of its core product, the laparoscopic surgical robot Toumai.
Chinese med-tech firms are still flocking to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange despite recent disappointing performances. One of these companies is Shanghai Microport Medbot (Group) Co. Ltd., which is looking to raise up to $1 billion in a Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO). Proceeds from the listing will be used for the R&D and commercialization of its core product Toumai Laparoscopic Surgical Robot.
