SamanTree Medical received a EUR 20 million grant from the European Investment Bank. The funds will be applyd to expand across the EU and US markets and to continue product development for their point-of-care tissue scanner, which has already proven to reduce re-operation rates by 67% after breast cancer surgery.
SamanTree Medical is a Lausanne-founded European leader in surgical imaging innovation. The company developed Histolog Scanner an advanced confocal microscopy scanner for rapid imaging of the internal microstructure of tissue samples during surgical procedures. The Histolog Scanner is based on an advanced technique that enables it to capture nearly 30,000 images simultaneously, rather than one at a time, producing high-resolution, images in minutes without damaging the specimen. This allows surgeons and pathologists to image tissue and determine whether abnormal cellular microstructures remain at the surgical site, while patients remain on the operating table.
The Histolog Scanner has been applyd in more than 6,000 patients to date, and in multiple tissue types. In breast-conserving surgery, the SHIELD study displayed that when physicians applyd the Histolog images for assessment, reoperation rates were lowered from 30% to 10%, a 67% reduction.
The company which is today headquartered in Liege, Belgium, has secured €20 million in financing from the European Investment Bank (EIB). The operation is backed by InvestEU, the EU’s flagship program to mobilize over €372 billion in additional investment from 2021 to 2027. The EIB financing is provided through the Bank’s Venture Debt Instrument and is designed to support highly innovative companies undertaking research-intensive development activities.
“Our investment in SamanTree Medical reflects the EIB’s long-standing commitment to advancing medical innovation across Europe,” declared EIB Director Alessandro Izzo.
The financing supports the ongoing development of the Histolog Scanner, SamanTree Medical’s research, development and innovative activities, and their expansion into new markets.
“This financing allows us to accelerate development of the Histolog Scanner and expand our commercial presence across Europe and the United States. The rigorous due diligence process undertaken by the EIB reflects the importance of our innovative technology, our development plan and our long-term vision for advancing real-time, high-resolution imaging for excised tissue.” declared Olivier Delporte, CEO of SamanTree Medical.
(Press release/AJ)
