With the addition of New York’s Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Microbot has completed enrolment of clinical sites in a first-in-human trial for its endovascular surgical robot.
The LIBERTY study is being conducted as part of an investigational device exemption (IDE), awarded by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) early last month.
Shares in the company are currently trading around 10% higher than in late May. Microbot has a market cap of $17.2m.
The trial will see Microbot test its Liberty system, which is a single-use endovascular surgical robot designed to remove the need for large and expensive capital equipment.
In May 2023, the system completed more than 100 catheterisations during multiple pre-clinical studies and has achieved a success rate of 95% in meeting pre-determined vascular targets.
Microbot said it believes Liberty has the potential to be the first to democratise endovascular interventional procedures.
Endovascular surgery is a minimally invasive procedure that uses catheters to access blood vessels for the treatment of vascular diseases.
Microbot is also developing remote capabilities for the Liberty system, allowing the surgical procedure to take place without the presence of the surgeon at the concerned site. The company partnered with Corewell Health late last year to develop telerobotic functionality.
The Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York joins Boston’s Brigham and Women's Hospital and Miami’s Baptist Hospital as sites in the LIBERTY trial.
The robotic surgical systems market is projected to grow from $3.3bn in 2023 to $7.2bn in 2033, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.7%, according to GlobalData analysis. The growth of the robotic surgical systems market is attributed to a push for less-invasive procedures in a growing elderly population.
The clinical trial space for surgical robots is advancing – J&J MedTech is eyeing an entry into the space. The company said it plans to submit an investigational device exemption application to the FDA in the second half of 2024. Approval would allow the robot, which can be incorporated into any operating room, to be used in clinical trials later this year.
Meanwhile, Netherlands-based Vitestro reported positive results from a trial evaluating its autonomous blood-drawing device in May 2024.
LIBERTY trial principal investigator Dr Francois Cornelis said: “I’m a great believer in the future of robotics for interventional procedures and the value robotics can bring to physicians and our patients. I am excited to participate in the LIBERTY clinical trial.”
Despite the robotics sector’s growth, there remain several hurdles to the long-term implementation of the technology industries.
