CMR Surgical

Last updated
CMR Surgical Ltd
IndustryMedical devices & equipment
Founded2014
FounderLuke Hares, Keith Marshall, Paul Roberts, Mark Slack, Martin Frost
Headquarters Cambridge, United Kingdom
ProductsSurgical robot
Number of employees
650 approx
Website https://cmrsurgical.com

CMR Surgical is a British medical device company based in Cambridge. It produces a robot-assisted surgery system called Versius. The company achieved Unicorn status in 2019, while in 2021 it received a valuation of $3 billion. [1] [2]

With headquarters at Evolution Business Park, Cambridge and a global manufacturing hub in Ely, Cambridgeshire, the business also has a presence throughout Europe, Latin America, AMEA and Australia. Previously called Cambridge Medical Robotics, it changed name in March 2018. [3]

The Versius Surgical Robotic System is a rival of the established Da Vinci Surgical System and claims to be more flexible and versatile, having independent modular arms which are "quick and easy to set up". Some key patents for the da Vinci system have recently expired. [4]

In the United Kingdom (October 2023), CMR Surgical has 20 NHS hospital partnerships [5] including Guy’s and St Thomas' (London), [6] Royal Papworth (Cambridge), [7] Milton Keynes University Hospital, Western General Hospital (Edinburgh), [8] Gloucestershire Royal, [9] Manchester Royal Infirmary, [10] Lister Hospital (Stevenage), [11] West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals, [12] The University Hospital of Wales (Cardiff), Ysbyty Gwynedd (Bangor), [13] East Surrey Hospital, [14] Great Western Hospital (Swindon), [15] and Frimley Health (Surrey/Berkshire). [16]

In Australia in 2021, Macquarie University Hospital introduced the company's Versius robotics arm for keyhole surgery, following approval from the Therapeutic Goods Administration. [17]

In India, the 1,000th operation was performed by Professor Dr Raj Nagarkar, from HCG Manavata Cancer Centre, India in 2020. He said, “We are seeing clear patient benefits including reduced pain, and length of stay. Additionally, the open console means I can operate comfortably, helping to reduce physical tiredness from surgery. As far as the patient is concerned, obviously there is less pain, less bleeding and less risk of infection. I feel we need to elaborate on the advantages to the surgeon. Without being glued to the console, I could comfortably relax in a chair and operate. I have done six robotic-assisted procedures in one single day, without getting tired, myself.”

In 2021 CMR Surgical raised $600m at a $3bn valuation during a series D financing round. Escala Capital was its biggest investor followed by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 after the financing round. Notable other investors are GE Healthcare and ABB Technology Ventures. CMR Surgical said the funding was the world’s largest private financing round in the medtech sector, citing PitchBook data. [2]

In 2022, the Versius robotic system was adopted for urological procedures in Pakistan [18] and was also indicated for clinical use in thoracic. A successful trial in transthoracic esophagectomy was reported in Nature in October 2022. [19]

In April 2023 CMR Surgical has been honoured in the first ever King’s Award for Enterprise within the innovation category for the Versius Surgical Robotic System. [20] Also in April 2023, it was announced that approximately 350 staff were being made redundant. [21] In June 2023, the Engineers gallery opened at the Science Museum, London, featuring CMR Surgical’s Versius surgical robot arm and prototype. [22] In September 2023, CMR raised $165 million (£133m) as it prepared for the launch of its Versius soft tissue system into additional markets. [lower-alpha 1] [23] In October 2023, it was announced, the opening of a new manufacturing facility in the UK capable of producing up to 500 Versius systems per annum following a £10 million investment. [5]

In February 2024 CMR Surgical unveiled a significant update to Versius, a new imaging technology to visualise ICG (Indocyanine green), which is a fluorescent dye which is used as an indicator substance which is administered intravenously. It will help perform visual assessment of the vessels, blood flow and related tissue perfusion and biliary anatomy using the 3D visualisation of Versius. [24] In March 2024, CMR Surgical announced that over 20,000 Versius surgical cases have now been completed, the 20,000th case was performed at East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, UK. [25] A seven-year-old boy named Reece from Gosport, Hampshire, became the first child in the UK to undergo surgery using the pioneering Versius Surgical Robotic System in 2024. The procedure, aimed at treating a kidney condition, was part of a UK trial led by the NHS, expanding the system's use from adult to pediatric patients. This trial aims to pave the way for more minimally invasive surgeries for children across the UK." [26]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">General surgery</span> Medical specialty

General surgery is a surgical specialty that focuses on alimentary canal and abdominal contents including the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, liver, pancreas, gallbladder, appendix and bile ducts, and often the thyroid gland. General surgeons also deal with diseases involving the skin, breast, soft tissue, trauma, peripheral artery disease and hernias and perform endoscopic as such as gastroscopy, colonoscopy and laparoscopic procedures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laparoscopy</span> Minimally invasive operation within the abdominal or pelvic cavities

Laparoscopy is an operation performed in the abdomen or pelvis using small incisions with the aid of a camera. The laparoscope aids diagnosis or therapeutic interventions with a few small cuts in the abdomen.

Remote surgery is the ability for a doctor to perform surgery on a patient even though they are not physically in the same location. It is a form of telepresence. A robot surgical system generally consists of one or more arms, a master controller (console), and a sensory system giving feedback to the user. Remote surgery combines elements of robotics, telecommunications such as high-speed data connections and elements of management information systems. While the field of robotic surgery is fairly well established, most of these robots are controlled by surgeons at the location of the surgery. Remote surgery is remote work for surgeons, where the physical distance between the surgeon and the patient is less relevant. It promises to allow the expertise of specialized surgeons to be available to patients worldwide, without the need for patients to travel beyond their local hospital.

Medical tourism is the practice of traveling abroad to obtain medical treatment. In the past, this usually referred to those who traveled from less-developed countries to major medical centers in highly developed countries for treatment unavailable at home. However, in recent years it may equally refer to those from developed countries who travel to developing countries for lower-priced medical treatments. With differences between the medical agencies, such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or the European Medicines Agency (EMA), etc., which decide whether a drug is approved in their country or region, or not, the motivation may be also for medical services unavailable or non-licensed in the home country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robot-assisted surgery</span> Surgical procedure

Robot-assisted surgery or robotic surgery are any types of surgical procedures that are performed using robotic systems. Robotically assisted surgery was developed to try to overcome the limitations of pre-existing minimally-invasive surgical procedures and to enhance the capabilities of surgeons performing open surgery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intuitive Surgical</span> American biotechnology company

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. is an American biotechnology company that develops, manufactures, and markets robotic products designed to improve clinical outcomes of patients through minimally invasive surgery, most notably with the da Vinci Surgical System. The company is part of the Nasdaq-100 and S&P 500. As of 31 December 2021, Intuitive Surgical had an installed base of 6,730 da Vinci Surgical Systems, including 4,139 in the U.S., 1,199 in Europe, 1,050 in Asia, and 342 in the rest of the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ara Darzi, Baron Darzi of Denham</span> Armenian-British surgeon (born 1960)

Ara Warkes Darzi, Baron Darzi of Denham, is an Armenian-British surgeon, academic, and politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Papworth Hospital</span> Hospital in England

Royal Papworth Hospital is a specialist heart and lung hospital, located on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus in Cambridgeshire, England. The Hospital is run by Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Computer-assisted surgery (CAS) represents a surgical concept and set of methods, that use computer technology for surgical planning, and for guiding or performing surgical interventions. CAS is also known as computer-aided surgery, computer-assisted intervention, image-guided surgery, digital surgery and surgical navigation, but these are terms that are more or less synonymous with CAS. CAS has been a leading factor in the development of robotic surgery.

da Vinci Surgical System Robotic surgical system

The da Vinci Surgical System is a robotic surgical system that uses a minimally invasive surgical approach. The system is manufactured by the company Intuitive Surgical. The system is used for prostatectomies, increasingly for cardiac valve repair and for renal and gynecologic surgical procedures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MAKO Surgical Corp.</span>

MAKO Surgical Corp. was a publicly traded medical device company based in Florida. On September 25, 2013, the Board of Directors of Mako Surgical accepted a deal to be acquired by Stryker for $1.65B. The deal closed in December 2013.

The Medical Technology Group (MTG) is a not for profit organisation in the United Kingdom comprising patient groups, research charities and medical device manufacturers. Its stated aim is to "work together to improve patient access to effective medical technologies". The Group launched in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prokar Dasgupta</span>

Prokar Dasgupta is an Indian-born British surgeon and academic who is professor of surgery at the surgical academy at King's Health Partners, London, UK. Since 2002, he has been consultant urologist to Guy's Hospital, and in 2009 became the first professor of robotic surgery and urology at King's, and subsequently the chairman of the King's College-Vattikuti Institute of Robotic Surgery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bertin Nahum</span>

Bertin Nahum is a French-Beninese entrepreneur in surgical robotics. He is the CEO and co-founder of Quantum Surgical based in Montpellier, France. He previously founded in 2002 Medtech S.A; specialized in the design, development and marketing of surgical assistance robots that was sold to Zimmer Biomet in 2016.

Sir Andrew Valentine Morris Hon FRCP is a former British hospital administrator who was the chair of NHS Improvement from October 2021 until the body's abolition in June 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert MacLaren</span> British ophthalmologist

Robert E. MacLaren FMedSci FRCOphth FRCS FACS VR is a British ophthalmologist who has led pioneering work in the treatment of blindness caused by diseases of the retina. He is Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Oxford and Honorary Professor of Ophthalmology at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology. He is a Consultant Ophthalmologist at the Oxford Eye Hospital. He is also an Honorary Consultant Vitreo-retinal Surgeon at the Moorfields Eye Hospital. MacLaren is an NIHR Senior Investigator, or lead researcher, for the speciality of Ophthalmology. In addition, he is a member of the research committee of Euretina: the European Society of Retina specialists, Fellow of Merton College, in Oxford and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Shafi Ahmed is a chief surgeon, teacher, futurist, innovator, professor and entrepreneur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Urology Foundation</span> Charity organization

The Urology Foundation (TUF) is a charity that works across the UK and Ireland with the aim of improving the knowledge and skills of surgeons who operate on diseases of the male and female urinary-tract system and the male reproductive organs and funds research to improve outcomes of all urological conditions and urological cancers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Challacombe</span> British urological surgeon

Benjamin James Challacombe is a British consultant urological surgeon at Guy's & St Thomas' Hospitals, and at King’s College London, who specialises in the treatment of kidney and prostatic disease using robotic surgery. In 2005, he was part of the team that published the results of a randomised controlled trial of human versus telerobotics in the field of urology and renal transplant, one of the first of its kind.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Griffin (surgeon)</span> British upper gastro-intestinal surgeon

Selwyn Michael Griffin, OBE, MD, FRCSEd, FRCSEng, FRCPE, usually known as Michael Griffin, is a British surgeon and clinical researcher known for his work in the early diagnosis and radical treatment of gastric and oesophageal cancer.

References

  1. ↑ "Cambridge medical robotics pioneer CMR scales hugely as $240m Series C earns unicorn status" . Retrieved 2023-04-25.
  2. 1 2 "UK surgical robotics start-up CMR raises $600m at $3bn valuation" . Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  3. ↑ "Robotics pioneer changes name to CMR Surgical". Business Weekly. 8 March 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  4. ↑ "New Versius robot surgery system coming to NHS". BBC. 3 September 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  5. 1 2 "CMR Surgical strengthens UK innovation ecosystem by opening only global surgical robotics manufacturing facility in the UK". Cambridge Network. 2023-10-05. Retrieved 2024-04-01.
  6. ↑ "Next-generation robot lands at Guy's and St Thomas'". NHS. 22 December 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  7. ↑ "Royal Papworth Hospital robot to carry out thoracic surgery". NHS. 23 March 2023. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  8. ↑ "1,000 operations completed with CMR Surgical's Versius robot". Cambridge Independent. 2 December 2020. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  9. ↑ "Gloucestershire Royal Hospital Adopts CMR Surgical's Versius". Surgical Robotics Technology. 22 July 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  10. ↑ "Manchester Royal Infirmary leading the way in robotic surgery". NHS. 22 September 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  11. ↑ "Lister Hospital patient hails 'pain-free' robotic surgery after being one of the first to benefit from new Versius robot". NHS. 24 November 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  12. ↑ "West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Adopts Versius Surgical Robot". Surgical Robotics Technology. 8 April 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  13. ↑ "Milestone of 100 robotic operations reached in Wales". NHS. 27 April 2023. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  14. ↑ "Robotic surgery first at East Surrey Hospital". NHS. 29 June 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  15. ↑ "Major investment into new surgical robot". NHS. 3 March 2023. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  16. ↑ "New era in robotic surgery at Frimley Health". NHS. 1 October 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  17. ↑ "Australian world leader adopts CMR's surgical robotics technology". Business Weekly. 5 February 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  18. ↑ Technology, Surgical Robotics (2022-01-20). "CMR Surgical Announces Adoption of Versius for Urological Procedures in Pakistan". Surgical Robotics Technology. Retrieved 2022-01-26.
  19. ↑ "Feasibility of transthoracic esophagectomy with a next-generation surgical robot". Nature. 26 October 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  20. ↑ "CMR Surgical wins an inaugural King's Award for Innovation" . Retrieved 2023-04-23.
  21. ↑ "Shock for CMR Surgical staff as wave of redundancies announced". Cambridge Independent. 2023-04-06. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
  22. ↑ "Major new gallery engineers opens at the science museum". Science Museum. 2023-06-23. Retrieved 2024-04-01.; "Engineers". Science Museum. Retrieved 2024-04-01.
  23. ↑ Whooley, Sean (2023-09-20). "CMR Surgical brings in $165M to support surgical robot". MassDevice.
  24. ↑ Quested, Tony (2024-02-09). "CMR Surgical unveils Versius update". Business Weekly. Retrieved 2024-04-01.
  25. ↑ "CMR Surgical Announces 20,000 Procedure Milestone for Versius®". Surgical Robotics Technology. 2024-03-21. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
  26. ↑ White, Marcus; Fee, Alastair (1 August 2024). "First UK child has surgery in robot device trial". Archived from the original on 1 August 2024. Retrieved 1 August 2024.

Notes

  1. ↑ The funding round was led by Ally Bridge Group, Cambridge Innovation Capital, Escala Capital, LGT, Lightrock, RPMI Railpen, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Tencent and Watrium.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.