Quantum Surgical gets €30M loan from EIB to advance tumour treatment

Quantum Surgical, based in Montpellier, sold its first robot in the United States in December 2023 and most recently, in March 2024, the Institut Paoli-Calmettes cancer centre in Marseille acquired Epione.

French medical robotics company Quantum Surgical is borrowing €30 million from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to accelerate the worldwide commercialisation of a technology designed to treat abdominal and lung cancer with minimal invasiveness.

More than 4 million new abdominal and lung cancer cases are diagnosed worldwide every year. Several hundred patients have already been treated using Quantum Surgical’s technology, which combines robotics and artificial intelligence and is called Epione.

“This €30 million financing demonstrates Europe's commitment to supporting innovation and promising technologies in the healthcare sector, which are essential for improving the lives and wellbeing of patients on a much larger scale,” said EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle.

This financing follows a 2021 EIB loan for the commercial launch of Epione.

“We are delighted to receive support once again from the EIB. This demonstrates that our technology is destined for global adoption to revolutionise cancer treatment,” said Quantum Surgical CEO and co-founder Bertin Nahum.

Quantum Surgical, based in Montpellier, sold its first robot in the United States in December 2023 and most recently, in March 2024, the Institut Paoli-Calmettes cancer centre in Marseille acquired Epione.

The EIB’s new €30 million loan benefits from a guarantee under the European Commission’s InvestEU programme.

Epione enables radiologists to perform safely and effectively a minimally invasive treatment whereby one or more needles are inserted through the skin to destroy a tumour – a procedure known as percutaneous tumour ablation.

Epione meets regulatory standards in Europe for abdominal and lung tumours and has been cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration for abdominal tumours. The technology is available in France at the Gustave Roussy cancer centre in Villejuif, at the Hospices Civils de Lyon and at Institut Paoli-Calmettes in Marseille. In the United States, Epione is available in Miami.