SamanTree Medical Raises CHF 9.5 Million to Assess the Margins in Cancer Surgery Following the promising clinical results achieved with its CE mark device, SamanTree Medical has recently closed a CHF 9.5 million Series A financing round for developing its commercial operations. SamanTree Medical has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No. 823284. Health © SamanTree Medical SA SamanTree Medical, committed to reducing the need for cancer surgery re-operation particularly in breast surgery, announced today the successful closing of its CHF 9.5 million Series A financing. Proceeds will be used to commercialize the patented Histolog™ system, notably the recently CE mark Histolog™ Scanner v2, for enabling precise tumor removal at first surgery. Panakès Partners, the Medtech European leading venture capital mixing strong corporate and investment expertise, has led this round, alongside the Sioux Tech Fund, the venture arm of Sioux Technologies, a company with expertise in high-tech manufacturing, software development and data analytics. Existing shareholders and new investors BOM Brabant Ventures and btov Partners were participating as well. “The timing is impeccable with the recently awarded European project, we are combining the right supports for executing on our mission to bring the Gold Standard in the Operating Room,” said CEO and Co-Founder Bastien Rachet. The European Innovation Council awarded SamanTree Medical with a EUR 2.3 million grant in September 2018, via its H2020 SME’s Instrument Program. More than 500,000 lumpectomies are performed annually in the USA and Europe alone and up to 25% require re-operation. Additional operation is a burden for the patient and it increases the stress relative to the treatment; it also results in annual costs of $2.7 billion. Surgeons face a difficult trade-off: maximize confidence in removal of the entire tumor and minimize removal of healthy tissue. The “Gold Standard” for margin assessment is histopathology microscopy – these laboratory results, however, aren’t available until days after surgery. Surgeons need faster support for margin assessment in the operating room, ideally in real-time and with accuracy comparable to this “Gold Standard”. SamanTree’s Histolog™ is the only solution that enables a global mapping of a lumpectomy for full margin control with histology-grade confidence in few minutes before closing the incision. With this innovative and highly practical imaging modality, the clinician is one touch-on-the-screen away from visualizing cancerous cell on a surgical specimen immediately during surgery. Enhancing the decision-making process during the surgery, this solution carries the promise of a better patient care, by increasing the confidence in a complete tumor removal at first surgery. Fabrizio Landi, Managing Partner at Panakès, former General Manager and one of the founders of Esaote Medical Imaging, joins SamanTree’s board: “I’m impressed with the platform built by SamanTree, that has clinically proven cancer detection accuracy equivalent with the Gold Standard. Quasi real-time, fresh-tissue histology is a major breakthrough that can solve the re-operation issue in cancer surgery.” Arnoud de Geus, Director of New Business Development at Sioux, who also joins SamanTree’s board, said, “SamanTree’s IP portfolio and product pipeline enable sustainable competitive advantage; massively parallel confocal microscopy is a unique, patented technology platform. Histolog enables real-time histology of all tissue types - it will have a big impact on tumor surgery, digital pathology and precision cancer treatment”. About SamanTree Medical: SamanTree Medical, a spin-off company from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), develops disruptive imaging modalities and data analytic solutions for improving cancer treatment care. Founded in December 2014, SamanTree is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. www.samantree.com / Contact : info@samantree.com About Histolog™ Scanner: The Histolog™ Scanner v2 (CE mark end 2018) provides a breakthrough innovation for checking complete tumor removal during surgery. Offering surgeons and pathologists the real-time ability to identify cancerous tissues and react immediately. Keywords closing, funding, H2020 programme, SamanTree Medical, Histolog Scanner, Histolog System, BOM, The Sioux Tech Fund, Panakès, btov Partners, confocal microscopy, scanner, cancer treatment, tumor removal, disruptive technology, medtech, innovation, health, healthcare, surgery, breast cancer, breast surgery, new technologies, EPFL spin-off, cancer surgery, tumor, AI, lumpectomies, margin assessment, microscopy, lumpectomy, imaging modality, cancerous cell, cancerous tissues, digital pathology, tumor surgery, real-time histology, Swiss made
