SamanTree Medical Secures CHF 9.5 Million Series A Funding to Advance Histolog Scanner for Precision Tumor Resection

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that on May 6, 2019, medical device company SamanTree Medical announced the completion of a CHF 9.5 million (approximately USD 9.34 million) Series A financing round. The round was co-led by Panakès Partners and Sioux Tech Fund, the venture capital arm of Sioux Technologies, with participation from BOM Brabant Ventures and btov Partners.

The funds will be used to advance the commercialization of the company’s Histolog Scanner medical device, including the recently CE-certified Histolog Scanner v2, enabling precise intraoperative resection of tumor tissue. Upon completion of the financing, Fabrizio Landi, Founder and Managing Partner of Panakès Partners, and Arnoud de Geus, Business Development Director at Sioux Technologies, will join the Board of Directors of SamanTree Medical.

SamanTree Medical, a medical device company headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, was founded by CEO Bastien Rachet in December 2014. As a spin-off from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), the company is dedicated to developing medical imaging equipment and data analysis solutions to improve cancer treatment and care protocols. According to Crunchbase, the company has completed four rounds of funding since its inception. Notably, it closed a CHF 4.5 million Series A round in January 2015 and secured €2.3 million in financing in January 2018.

It is well established that early cancer diagnosis and tumor resection surgery offer a high probability of curing cancer. However, during cancer surgery, it is extremely challenging for surgeons to completely remove tumor tissue while preserving the patient’s healthy tissue. Residual tumor tissue left behind during surgery leads to cancer recurrence in 20–40% of patients, necessitating secondary surgical intervention.

SamanTree Medical is developing a medical imaging device called the Histolog Scanner. This device employs microscopy imaging technology to visualize human cells and cancer cells, allowing physicians to clearly view images of various cell types on a screen. The device assists surgeons in differentiating between healthy and tumor tissues during surgical procedures, thereby reducing the reoperation rate for cancer patients and improving their quality of life.

Bastien Rachet, CEO of SamanTree Medical, stated in an interview, “Precise resection of tumor tissue is highly challenging in cancer surgeries, particularly in breast cancer surgery and Mohs surgery (used for treating skin cancer). Typically, physicians must perform a series of complex analyses after the procedure to determine whether all tumor tissue has been removed. However, the Histolog Scanner can generate high-resolution images of a 4 cm x 4 cm area within just two minutes, enabling surgeons to achieve complete tumor resection.”

Panakès Partners, established in December 2015 and headquartered in Milan, Italy, is a venture capital firm. The company is dedicated to providing financial support to healthcare companies in Israel and Europe, with its primary investment areas encompassing healthcare services, biotechnology, in vitro diagnostics (IVD), health IT, and medical devices.

Sioux Tech Fund is the venture capital arm of technology company Sioux Technologies.

BOM Brabant Ventures is a venture capital firm with over 35 years of investment experience. The firm focuses on investing in startups in the fields of agribiotech, life sciences, medical technology, and technology.

btov Partners, established in 2000 and headquartered in St. Gallen, Switzerland, is a venture capital firm focused on investing in European digital technology and industrial technology companies. The firm manages over €420 million in assets and maintains offices in Berlin, Munich, and St. Gallen.

(Compiled by Jiao Yanli)