MÉRIEUX-EQUITY
18.2.2021 08:02:12 CET | Business Wire | Press release
AcuSurgical, a Montpellier-based company focused on robotic microsurgery, today announces a €5.75 million Series A financing round led by Mérieux Equity Partners (via OMX Europe Venture Fund) and Supernova Invest (via Supernova 2 Fund), with Sofimac Innovation (via Pertinence Invest 2 Fund) and IRDI Capital Investissement (via Irdinov 2 and Inn’Vest PME Occitanie Est Funds) participating in the round.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210217005035/en/
Using advanced robotics, AcuSurgical is making ocular microsurgery safer and more accessible by dramatically improving the precision of surgical interventions. A proof of concept of the platform has already been completed with a first prototype validated in a preclinical setting.
The company will use the proceeds of the Series A financing to conduct clinical trials and reach regulatory approval with vitreo-retinal surgery as the first indication, paving the way for future applications that are not within the reach of surgeons today.
Retinal surgeries represent an annual global market of 1.6 million procedures, currently performed by a limited number of specialized surgeons. AcuSurgical’s robotic platform aims to increase the precision of current procedures, filtering tremor and augmenting visualization with the aid of a telemanipulated robot, while the surgeon remains in complete control.
Founded by Christoph Spuhler, serving as Chief Executive Officer, AcuSurgical has already attracted an experienced and highly skilled multidisciplinary team of executives, alongside the scientific co-founders, Prof. Yassine Haddab and Prof. Philippe Poignet, robotics experts at the joint research Unit LIRMM (Laboratory of Computer Science, Robotics and Microelectronics in Montpellier) and Prof. Philippe Gain and Prof. Gilles Thuret, retinal surgeons at the Saint-Etienne University Hospital.
“Our ambition is to enable new treatments for retinal disease that will open new perspectives for the numerous patients who are impacted by these debilitating retinal conditions. We are proud of the vote of confidence by this strong syndicate of investors. This financing will allow us to grow the team and reach key milestones towards certification and commercialisation of a truly innovative surgical solution”, s ays Christoph Spuhler, CEO and co-founder of AcuSurgical.
“We are delighted to partner with such an experienced team and look forward to supporting AcuSurgical in bringing to market a novel solution that will improve ocular surgeries and open new procedures in ophthalmology” , says Valérie Calenda, Managing Partner at Mérieux Equity Partners.
”The robotics platform developed by AcuSurgical aims to help retinal surgeons perform complex procedures more safely and reproducibly. We are very pleased to support this new venture and excellent team” says Celia Hart, General Partner at Supernova Invest.
About AcuSurgical - www.acusurgical.com
Founded in 2020, AcuSurgical is a surgical robotics company based in Montpellier (France). AcuSurgical's mission is to enable top-class treatment to the 300+ million patients suffering from retinal disease worldwide, a debilitating condition including age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy and macular holes. Worldwide, currently 1.6 million retinal surgeries are performed each year, with a yearly growth rate of 7%. This currently represents only a small percentage of actual cases, with the majority of patients, especially in emerging economies, getting inadequate treatment or often no treatment at all. The cutting-edge robotics platform from AcuSurgical aims to change this, bringing a new surgical paradigm to vitreo-retinal surgery based on precision robotics.
About Mérieux Equity Partners - www.merieux-partners.com
Mérieux Equity Partners (“MxEP”) is an investment company dedicated to capital investment in health and nutrition and registered with the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF). MxEP actively supports entrepreneurs and companies with differentiated products and services, giving them privileged access to its sector expertise and international network. MxEP currently manages around €670 million of assets and launched their latest venture capital fund in 2020, OMX Venture Fund, to finance high potential companies in the life science space, in Europe and North America.
About Supernova Invest - www.supernovainvest.com
Supernova Invest is a cutting-edge venture capital firm with a leading position in the French deeptech investment market. It manages and advises five capital funds for a total of €260 million AUM. Supernova Invest specializes in breakthrough technologies, developing start-ups in Industry, Health, Energy & Environment and Digital Technology sectors. Supernova Invest has a strong partnership with both the CEA (the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission) and Amundi (the European leader in asset management).
The FPCI Supernova 2 is an early-stage investment fund managed by Supernova Invest. Its main investors are the Crédit Agricole, the Fond National d’Amorçage managed by Bpi France, the CEA, Michelin, BioMérieux, Vinci, EDF, CGG, UDIMEC as well as entrepreneurs and family offices.
About Sofimac Innovation - www.sofimacinnovation.com
Sofimac Innovation is an independent management company certified by the financial markets regulator (AMF) and dedicated to technological and innovative investment. Based in Paris, Lyon, Rennes and Marseille, Sofimac Innovation supports innovative start-up in their growth projects with a wide range of investment vehicles. Working in a wide variety of technological sectors, particularly in Health and Digital sectors, Sofimac Innovation is currently managing 9 Funds comprising around 90 active companies.
Pertinence Invest 2 is an investment Fund managed by Sofimac Innovation, raised in partnership with prestigious Universities and Schools and renowned industrial corporates. Pertinence Invest 2 is investing in breakthrough technologies in the Engineering Sciences and Health & Nutrition sectors.
About IRDI Capital Investissement - www.irdi.fr
Based in Toulouse, Montpellier, and Bordeaux, IRDI Capital Investissement has been a key player in private equity for more than 35 years, with an investment track record in companies located in the South-West of France and at all development stages. It manages more than €350 million spread across several funds, including IRDINOV 2 and INN’VEST PME OCCITANIE EST which were both leveraged to invest in AcuSurgical.
IRDINOV 2 - supported by the Fonds National d’Amorçage (FNA) - is a capital seed fund specialized in financing technological companies.
INN’VEST PME OCCITANIE EST is a co-investment fund supported by the European Investment Fund (EIF) and the Région Occitanie under the FOSTER TPE PME fund of funds.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210217005035/en/
Link:
About Business Wire
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
International Human Rights Lawyer Jared Genser and Former White House Counsel Lanny J. Davis Join Legal and Advocacy Team Supporting Cambodian Businessman Yim Leak, Seiden Law LLP Announces18.9.2026 19:52:00 CEST | Press release
Jared Genser, one of the world's most recognized international human rights lawyers, and Lanny J. Davis, an adviser to former presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, join the legal and advocacy team for Cambodian businessman Yim Leak and challenge what they call a coordinated smear campaign in Thailand. International human rights lawyer Jared Genser and Lanny J. Davis, who has close ties to two former US presidents and a worldwide reputation for defending those under attack with lies and smears, and for repairing the damage done to their reputations, have joined the legal and advocacy team supporting Cambodian businessman Yim Leak, Seiden Law LLP, which serves as Yim Leak's chief global counsel, announced today. Their first move is to hold the Thai government accountable, framing its conduct as either complicit in or willfully blind to a sustained smear campaign against Yim. Genser is Managing Director of Perseus Strategies, an international law firm. Over more than two decades, he
Ningbo FEED Meeting Confirms Full Confidence in Q1 2027 FID for Allied Biofuels’ US$6.1 Billion Presidential Decree-Backed SAF and e-SAF Project18.9.2026 17:38:00 CEST | Press release
Allied Biofuels has held a major Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) meeting at Sinopec’s office in Ningbo, China, bringing together Allied Biofuels, Sinopec Engineering Group Co., Ltd. of China, Topsoe A/S of Denmark, Sasol South Africa Limited, and Plug Power of the United States — the principal international engineering and technology providers supporting its US$6.1 billion Presidential Decree-backed Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and e-SAF project in Uzbekistan. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260918708077/en/ FEED Meeting - Ningbo, China At the joint FEED meeting of the project’s core engineering and technology stakeholders, the discussions established clear alignment on engineering responsibilities, technology interfaces, design deliverables, project integration and the coordinated execution programme required to advance the project through FEED. All stakeholders working on the project expressed full co
Corcept Announces CHMP Opinion Recommending EU Marketing Authorization for Lifyorli® (Relacorilant)18.9.2026 14:00:00 CEST | Press release
Corcept Therapeutics Incorporated (NASDAQ: CORT), a commercial-stage company engaged in the discovery and development of medications to treat severe endocrinologic, oncologic, metabolic and neurologic disorders by modulating the effects of the hormone cortisol, today announced that the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has recommended that the European Commission (EC) should approve relacorilant, combined with the chemotherapy drug nab-paclitaxel, for the treatment of patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. The CHMP’s recommendation is based on positive data from Corcept’s Phase 2 and pivotal Phase 3 ROSELLA trials, in which patients receiving relacorilant combined with nab-paclitaxel experienced improved progression-free and overall survival compared to patients who received nab-paclitaxel alone. The safety profile of relacorilant plus nab-paclitaxel in these trials was consistent with the safety profile of nab-paclitaxel monoth
Enhertu® Recommended for Approval in the EU by CHMP as Adjuvant Treatment for Patients with Residual Disease After Neoadjuvant Treatment for HER2 Positive Early Breast Cancer18.9.2026 14:00:00 CEST | Press release
Recommendation based on DESTINY-Breast05 phase 3 trial results that showed Enhertu reduced the risk of invasive disease recurrence or death by 53% versus T-DM1 Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca’s Enhertu has the potential to become a new standard of care in this early breast cancer setting Enhertu® (trastuzumab deruxtecan) has been recommended for approval in the European Union (EU) as a monotherapy for the adjuvant treatment of adult patients with resected HER2 positive breast cancer who have residual invasive disease after neoadjuvant taxane-based and HER2 targeted treatment. Enhertu is a specifically engineered HER2 directed DXd antibody drug conjugate (ADC) discovered by Daiichi Sankyo (TSE: 4568) and being jointly developed and commercialized by Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca (LSE/STO/NYSE: AZN). The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) based its positive opinion on results from the DESTINY-Breast05 phase 3 trial presented at th
CHMP Recommends EU Approval of New Indication for Alfasigma’s Jyseleca® (filgotinib), Treatment of Adults With Axial Spondyloarthritis18.9.2026 12:58:00 CEST | Press release
The information contained within this press release is for the purpose of scientific exchange.It is intended for scientific, financial and investor media only.If approved, Jyselecawill be indicated for the treatment of patients with active axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA), both non-radiographic and radiographic forms of the disease, who have responded inadequately to conventional therapy.Despite the availability of multiple treatment options, nearly half of people living with axSpA do not respond adequately to current therapies, and just 10-20% reach inactive disease within 16-24 weeks of initiating treatment.CHMP’s positive opinion is based on findings from the OLINGUITO Phase 3 study, where improvements in the signs and symptoms of axSpA with filgotinib were observed early and maintained over 52 weeks of treatment.Jyselecais already approved in Europe and the United Kingdom, for the treatment of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis and ulcerative colitis. Alfasigma S.p.A, a global
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom