Capstan Therapeutics, Inc.

California-based Capstan Medical, maker of robotic-enabled tools for heart valve disease, closed an oversubscribed $110 million Series C round led by Eclipse. Existing investors Intuitive Ventures, Yu Galaxy, and new investor Gideon Strategic Partners, participated in the round. WHAT IT DOES The company offers surgical robotics with catheter-based technology and implants to repair and replace heart valves. It will use the funds to advance its reach within healthcare. "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," Maggie Nixon, CEO of Capstan Medical, said in a statement. "We have pulled together the right people at the right time to make this happen and are energized by the incredible support of our investors." MARKET SNAPSHOT Last year, Capstan closed an oversubscribed $31.4 million Series B funding round, which Eclipse also led. According to the American Heart Association, heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S., and has been for more than 100 years. Yet, more than half (51%) of 6,077 adults (aged 18 and over) surveyed in a 2023 Harris Poll survey were unaware of the statistics. Other companies focused on cardiovascular health include Story Health, which offers telehealth, health coaches, AI and connected devices to provide patients with continuous specialty care for heart-related and other chronic conditions. Digital cardiac and lung disease health startup Eko Health received FDA 510(k) clearance for its AI-enabled cardiac tool that helps with the early detection of low ejection fraction, a key indicator of heart failure. Tech-enabled heart disease detection company CardioSignal, cardiology-care platform CardioOne and Moray Medical, the U.S.-based developer of the Coral interventional robotics platform, are also players in the space.

The funding round was led by Eclipse, with participation from Yu Galaxy and Intuitive Ventures, all three of which had previously invested in Capstan. Joining them in the Series C round is first-time investor Gideon Strategic Partners. The latest round brings Capstan Medical’s total funding to more than $150 million. “We had such strong internal support for giving us this runway for the next phase of the business that we only added a single investor into the mix for this round, which was fantastic,” Capstan Medical CEO Maggie Nixon said in an interview with MassDevice ahead of the announcement. “The intent is to fuel this next wave of innovation.” Capstan Medical is developing a surgical robot and catheter-delivered implants for minimally invasive percutaneous replacement of mitral and tricuspid heart valves. The startup hopes to conduct its first-in-human mitral valve procedure by early next year and to follow with the same for its tricuspid valve sometime in 2025. Medical Design & Outsourcing: Capstan Medical CEO Maggie Nixon offers a tech update Capstan Medical remains on track to start a pivotal trial of its mitral system in 2026 and submit it for FDA review as soon as 2028, Nixon said. “Our focus is absolutely mitral,” she later continued. “… Getting that tricuspid through the preclinical phase is is going to be fantastic as well [but] our mitral program is our No. 1 priority and if we ever got into any sort of resourcing conflict, our mitral program would take precedence. So we are looking to do [a tricuspid first-in-human] in the next 12 to 15 months and this raise fuels some of that next implant in our portfolio.” Capstan Medical is targeting the world’s leading cause of death — heart disease — with a less-invasive alternative than open-heart surgery to replace diseased mitral and tricuspid heart valves. Many patients are not eligible for open-heart procedures or even catheter-based procedures. “We’re at an inflection point where robotics will play a consequential role in delivering life-saving solutions to millions of patients across the world,” Eclipse Partner Justin Butler said in a statement shared with MassDevice. “Capstan is at the forefront of this wave with their robotic solutions for structural heart disease.” Intuitive Ventures is the venture investment arm of Intuitive Surgical, the leading surgical robotics developer and manufacturer where Nixon first worked with Capstan Medical founder and Chief Technology Officer Dan Wallace. The Intuitive Ventures funding is not a strategic investment or business development investment by Intuitive Surgical, Nixon said. “This is purely a financial investment on their front. … It is independent. This is not a structured deal,” she said. In October, MassDevice was first to report that Intuitive finance executive Brian King left to join the medical device incubator that hatched Capstan Medical, Occam Labs. “We’re maturing the business right now. We brought Brian King in on the finance side … and we’re in final rounds of interviews on a regulatory head as well,” Nixon said. “This raise just really shows the level of support and momentum around what we’re doing,” she later continued. “That vote of confidence is incredible. It’s our job to execute.” from this interview at Medical Design & Outsourcing.

Led by Eclipse, the round will further allow the company to bring the benefits of robotics to one of the few remaining untouched areas of medicine and structural heart SANTA CRUZ, Calif., Dec. 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Capstan Medical, a developer of robotic-enabled minimally invasive solutions to address heart valve disease, announced today the successful closing of an oversubscribed $110 million Series C to further advance its mission of bringing its innovative structural heart solution to patients. The round was led by Eclipse, with participation from existing investors Yu Galaxy and Intuitive Ventures, and new investment from Gideon Strategic Partners. Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the world, claiming a life every 33 seconds in the U.S. alone. Today, there are more than 7 million people in the U.S. with heart valve disease, a complex condition made up primarily of dysfunctional mitral and tricuspid valves. Current treatment options, typically by open heart surgery, are not viable for most patients and existing catheter-based options have high rates of patient exclusion. Capstan's minimally invasive solution seeks to overcome limitations of current treatment options by bringing together novel heart valve implants and advanced catheter technology, fully enabled through a robotic platform, to treat a broader set of patients. "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," said Maggie Nixon, CEO of Capstan Medical. "We have pulled together the right people at the right time to make this happen and are energized by the incredible support of our investors." Since its founding in 2020, Capstan Medical has built a world-class team with heart valve, implant delivery, and robotics expertise, growing to over 75 employees across engineering, operations, clinical, and regulatory. With this new funding, the team will continue to execute on its plan for expanded clinical and development work leading to upcoming pivotal trials. "We're at an inflection point where robotics will play a consequential role in delivering life-saving solutions to millions of patients across the world," said Justin Butler, Partner at Eclipse. "Capstan is at the forefront of this wave with their robotic solutions for structural heart disease." For more information, visit . About Capstan Medical Founded in 2020, Capstan Medical is creating a new standard for minimally invasive, heart valve intervention. The company is developing a suite of next-generation heart valve implants and a first-of-its-kind catheter-based robotic delivery platform. For more info, visit . SOURCE Capstan WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM? 440k+ Newsrooms & Influencers 9k+ Digital Media Outlets 270k+ Journalists Opted In GET STARTED