France: medical robotics company Quantum Surgical gets EIB loan to advance tumour treatment

• Quantum Surgical receives €30 million in financing from EIB
• Support for technology to treat inoperable tumours in abdomen and lungs
• Deal benefits from guarantee under European Commission's InvestEU programme

French medical robotics company Quantum Surgical is borrowing €30 million from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to accelerate the worldwide commercialisation of a technology designed to treat abdominal and lung cancer with minimal invasiveness.

More than 4 million new abdominal and lung cancer cases are diagnosed worldwide every year. Several hundred patients have already been treated using Quantum Surgical's technology, which combines robotics and artificial intelligence and is called Epione.

"This €30 million financing demonstrates Europe's commitment to supporting innovation and promising technologies in the healthcare sector, which are essential for improving the lives and wellbeing of patients on a much larger scale," said EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle.

This financing follows a 2021 EIB loan for the commercial launch of Epione.

"We are delighted to receive support once again from the EIB. This demonstrates that our technology is destined for global adoption to revolutionise cancer treatment," said Quantum Surgical CEO and co-founder Bertin Nahum.

Quantum Surgical, based in Montpellier, sold its first robot in the United States in December 2023 and most recently, in March 2024, the Institut Paoli-Calmettes cancer centre in Marseille acquired Epione.

The EIB's new €30 million loan benefits from a guarantee under the European Commission's InvestEU programme.

Epione enables radiologists to perform safely and effectively a minimally invasive treatment whereby one or more needles are inserted through the skin to destroy a tumour - a procedure known as percutaneous tumour ablation.

Epione meets regulatory standards in Europe for abdominal and lung tumours and has been cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration for abdominal tumours. The technology is available in France at the Gustave Roussy cancer centre in Villejuif, at the Hospices Civils de Lyon and at Institut Paoli-Calmettes in Marseille. In the United States, Epione is available in Miami.

Background information

European Investment Bank

The European Investment Bank (EIB)'s mission is to contribute to the integration, balanced development and economic and social cohesion of the European Union. It borrows large volumes of funds on the capital markets and lends them on very favourable terms to support projects furthering EU policy objectives. The EIB is working to put the European Union at the forefront of the next wave of innovation, especially in the health sector. As the EU climate bank, the EIB is one of the main providers of finance in the green transition towards a more sustainable, low-carbon growth model.

InvestEU

The InvestEU programme provides the European Union with crucial long-term funding by leveraging substantial private and public funds in support of a sustainable recovery. It also helps mobilise private investments for the European Union's policy priorities, such as the European Green Deal and the digital transition. The InvestEU programme brings together under one roof the multitude of EU financial instruments currently available to support investment in the European Union, making funding for investment projects in Europe simpler, more efficient and more flexible. The programme consists of three components: the InvestEU Fund, the InvestEU Advisory Hub and the InvestEU Portal. The InvestEU Fund is implemented through financial partners that will invest in projects using the EU budget guarantee of €26.2 billion. The entire budget guarantee will back the investment projects of the implementing partners, increase their risk-bearing capacity and thus mobilise at least €372 billion in additional investment.

Quantum Surgical

Quantum Surgical is a French medical robotics company co-founded in 2017 by CEO Bertin Nahum. With a dynamic team of over 110 employees, the company is headquartered in Montpellier, France, and has offices in Miami, Florida in the United States. Combining robotics and AI, its Epione® platform is dedicated to the curative and early treatment of cancers. Quantum Surgical thus offers a new approach to cancer treatment by standardising access to care. More patients can benefit from innovative, better targeted and less invasive treatments. Hundreds of patients have already been treated worldwide. Quantum Surgical was awarded the prestigious Prix Galien USA in 2022, the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for biopharmaceutical research, and in 2023 joined the governmental French Tech 2030 programme that supports top emerging actors in disruptive innovation.

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QUANTUM SURGICAL (EGF VD)