French startup Robocath raises $5.5M for CV robotics platform

French medtech startup Robocath has raised 5 million euros—the equivalent of $5.5 million in U.S. currency—in support of its cardiovascular robotics system, the company announced this month.

Rouen-based Robocath’s first development, R-One, attempts to optimize the safety of robotic-assisted coronary angioplasty, according to a release. In the statement, Lucien Goffart, appointed as the CEO of Robocath after a decade of leadership by founder Philippe Bencteux, MD, called R-One a unique product that has “significant potential on the market.”

“It’s an honor for me to begin work today as CEO of Robocath,” Goffart said. “I’m impressed by the progress the company has made since it was founded and I’m excited to be working with such a young and dynamic team. I’m looking forward to starting clinical studies and writing a brand new page in the history of interventional cardiology.”

Bencteux said Goffart’s appointment was made at a “particularly auspicious” time since Corindus Vascular Robotics, Robocath’s only direct competitor, was recently bought out by Siemens for $1 billion.

The company’s fresh $5.5 million in capital, provided by both longstanding shareholders and new supporters, will reportedly be used to roll out the R-One robotic platform in a number of target European countries. Robocath had previously raised 6.4 million euros, or $7 million, in 2017.