Capstan Medical has reeled in $110 million to continue its mission of bringing robotic surgery to a previously untouched sector of medicine: the replacement of cardiac valves to treat structural heart disease.
The series C amount nearly triples the Santa Cruz, California-based company’s previous venture capital fundraising, in which it collected $31 million in August 2023. Both rounds were led by Eclipse, with the latest being joined by returning backers Yu Galaxy and Intuitive Ventures alongside a new investment from Gideon Strategic Partners.
With a focus on treating mitral and tricuspid valve disease, Capstan’s approach begins with the typical transcatheter route to the cardiac muscle, with interventionalists threading a guidewire and a folded replacement implant by hand through an incision in the leg and up through the blood vessels to the heart’s inner chambers.
Once it’s in place, the company’s robot takes over the final steps. Guided by X-ray and ultrasound, the system aims to align a low-profile implant with the moving valve as the heart beats. It is capable of adjusting its position within three dimensions in addition to recollapsing and relocating the replacement valve before its final deployment.
“Percutaneous intervention has the opportunity to dramatically increase the treatment options for the millions of people suffering from heart valve disease. At Capstan, we believe that our robotic platform with a full portfolio of implants can uniquely address the urgent needs of this underserved patient population,” CEO Maggie Nixon said in a statement.
That potentially includes patients whose anatomy may preclude them from other minimally invasive treatment approaches or whose risks may be too high to undergo open surgery, the company said.
The latest funding will help the company expand its team to meet its upcoming development to-do list, including plans for pivotal clinical trials in the future.
“We’re at an inflection point where robotics will play a consequential role in delivering lifesaving solutions to millions of patients across the world,” said Justin Butler, a partner at Eclipse. “Capstan is at the forefront of this wave with their robotic solutions for structural heart disease.”