NDR Medical Technology is looking to expand to China, Japan, and the U.S.
Singapore-based surgical robotics startup NDR Medical Technology has raised SG$8 million (US$5.75 million at current rates) in Series A financing, the company announced in a statement today.
The funding was led by Shanghai-headquartered medical device manufacturer MicroPort Scientific Corporation, the statement said. Singapore Government-owned deep tech investor SGInnovate and Kava Ventures (owned by Singapore-headquartered medtech distributor Transmedic Group) also pitched in.
SGInnovate had previously invested in NDR Medical Technology’s 2018 seed round for an undisclosed amount.
Further, this is MicroPort’s first equity investment in a Singaporean startup, indicating “the company’s growing interest in potential investment and collaboration opportunities within the region,” the statement noted.
NDR Medical Technology is a medical imaging startup founded in 2014 that builds surgical robots for use in automated surgical procedures.
According to the statement, the company will be utilizing the funds to expand into the U.S., process regulatory submissions in other markets, pursue clinical applications of its flagship Automated Needle Targeting (ANT) system, and build internal technical capabilities.
ANT works through artificial intelligence (AI) and medical image processing technology to identify internal damage and plan the insertion trajectory for invasive surgeries.
Chairman of MicroPort Urocare, Yiyun Que said in the statement, “The robotic-assisted ANT is a technology platform that has extensive applications. Considering the current trend for hierarchical healthcare system and AI-driven healthcare industry in China, we believe this technology will benefit more Chinese patients.”
The company has applied for the European Union’s Conformitè Europëenne (CE) certification and also has a clinical trial in the pipeline in Japan, the statement noted. It added that NDR Medical Technology has also set its sights on the Chinese market through a joint venture with MicroPort subsidiary MicroPort Urocare (Jiaxing).
The deal will help the company “accelerate our growth plans in Asia with greater assurance, fulfilling our vision of ensuring safer surgical procedures with better clinical outcome,” NDR Co-founder and CEO Alan Goh said in the statement.
Studies suggest that robot-assisted surgery (RAS) account for as much as 35% of all surgeries in the U.S., with around US$3 billion in yearly revenues that are expected to grow 15% year-on-year till 2022.
Further, the use of RAS for common surgeries grew four-fold between 2012 and 2018, from 1.8% to 15.1%, according to a study conducted in Michigan.
Valued at US$5.5 billion in 2018, some studies expect the market to see a compounded annual growth rate of 24.4% until 2025. Some others, however, suggest that the market may in fact shrink in size due to COVID-19 interrupting surgical schedules.
Header image by Eleventh Wave on Unsplash
