Cathay Health-Backed Moon Surgical Raises Additional $55.4 Million and Appoints Fred Moll, MD, as Board Chair
Fresh financing to accelerate commercialization of Maestro System
PARIS and SAN FRANCISCO, May 17, 2023 — Today, Cathay Health announced a follow-on investment in the latest funding round of its portfolio company Moon Surgical, a French-American pioneer in collaborative surgical robotics. Following its initial investment in the company’s $31M Series A in June 2022, Cathay Health joins the latest financing round of $55.4M to support the continued development and commercialization of Moon Surgical’s flagship Maestro System.
The Maestro represents a new category of surgical robots that addresses inherent shortcomings present in the systems on the market today. Designed to be used in minimally-invasive surgeries, it offers better value propositions in workflow, adaptability, space and economic considerations, and promises to transform surgical care for patients by empowering surgeons with superior control.
The company’s new financing follows its recent regulatory milestone achievements, including the European CE Mark this past April, and US FDA clearance in December of 2022. This round is co-led by Sofinnova Partners and NVIDIA’s venture capital arm, NVentures, with participation from surgical robotics veteran Fred Moll, MD, and Josh Makower, MD. Apart from Cathay Health, existing investors GT Healthcare Capital, Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation, Sofinnova Partners’ MD Start and others also joined in the round.
In addition, Moon Surgical announced the appointment of Fred Moll, MD, as an independent Chair of the Board. Gérard Hascoët will remain a Board Director. Antoine Papiernik, Chairman of Sofinnova Partners, will also be joining Moon Surgical’s Board of Directors, while Mohamed (Sid) Siddeek, Corporate Vice President and Head of NVentures (NVIDIA), will join as Board Observer. Cathay Health continues to be represented by Venture Partner Steve Oesterle, MD.
“Not even a year after the last one, this new financing is extremely exciting as it will enable us to focus on the upcoming commercial launch of our Maestro System. The support of Sofinnova Partners, NVIDIA, Fred Moll, Josh Makower, and our existing investor base is further validation of the mission of Moon Surgical and the achievements of our team.”
— Anne Osdoit, CEO of Moon Surgical
“Surgery by its nature involves more than two hands. With Maestro, the surgeon can fully control the tasks that would otherwise be done by an assistant but in a much more fluid and more convenient way. It’s a capability that has not been developed before in Robotic Surgery and delivers value in any operating room where laparoscopy is performed.”
— Fred Moll, MD, Chair of the Board of Moon Surgical
“At Cathay Health, we are thrilled to continue our support for Moon Surgical. Surgical robots are only used in under 10% of the soft tissue surgeries today. Moon Surgical has the potential to change this by offering a truly differentiated product that is well-suited to be deployed in a wide variety of clinical settings. We are confident that it will emerge as a leader in its field and make a real impact on patients’ lives by improving surgical outcomes all over the world.”
— Hongjie Hu, Co-founder & Managing Partner at Cathay Health
About Moon Surgical
Moon Surgical, based in Paris, France, and San Francisco, California, believes the future of the operating room lies in the hands of the empowered surgeon. By equipping surgeons with complete control, renewed confidence, and technology adaptable to any situation they encounter, Moon Surgical strives to improve efficiency in operating rooms and provide better surgical care for patients. The minimalistic, co-manipulation Maestro System uses tomorrow’s technology to deliver this capability today. Professor Brice Gayet, a world-renowned laparoscopic surgeon, founded Moon Surgical in 2019. The company was incubated by Sofinnova Partners’ MD Start in 2020.
Visit www.moonsurgical.com to find out more.
About Cathay Health
Cathay Health, affiliated to Cathay Capital, is a global fund investing at the convergence of healthcare, life sciences and technology. As a multi-stage venture and growth fund, it backs convergence medicine companies across Europe, North America and Asia whose tech-enabled solutions catalyze groundbreaking advances in medicine. Its global platform brings together startups, established companies and large corporations to fuel cross-border, cross-industry collaboration and growth with direct access to new markets, partners and patients. From the world’s leading life sciences and technology hubs, including San Francisco, New York, London, Cambridge, Paris, Basel and Shanghai, Cathay Health partners with future leaders in the data-driven medicine era that will transform human health and care in all its dimensions.
For more information, please visit us on the web or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter @CathayHealth