Hong Kong SAR/ Shanghai China, 2 November 2021 — Shanghai MicroPort® MedBot (Group) Co., Ltd. (02252.HK, “MicroPort MedBot” or “Company”), a subsidiary of MicroPort Scientific Corporation (00853.HK, “MicroPort®”) today successfully listed on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (HKEX).
MicroPort MedBot, the only surgical robot company worldwide with a product portfolio covering the five major and rapidly growing surgical specialties of laparoscopic, orthopedic, panvascular, natural orifice and percutaneous surgical procedures, currently has one approved and eight pipeline products. The Company’s three flagship products — the Toumai® Laparoscopic Surgery Robot (“Toumai®”), the DFVision® 3D Electronic Laparoscope (“DFVision®”), and the Honghu Orthopedic Surgical Robot ("Honghu") — have been admitted to the National Medical Products Administration’s (NMPA) Special Approval Procedure for Innovative Medical Devices (the “Green Path”). In addition, DFVision® was approved for marketing by NMPA in June 2021.
Dr. Chao He, President of MicroPort MedBot, commented, “Thanks to the support of our controlling shareholder MicroPort® and various pre-IPO investors, MicroPort MedBot has achieved rapid growth and multiple breakthroughs in product development and registration. This listing on HKEX will provide significant financial support for continued strategic expansion in the five major and rapidly growing surgical specialties of surgical robots. In the future, MicroPort MedBot will continue to innovate and accelerate R&D and industrialization efforts to provide patients worldwide with total surgical solutions backed by robotic intelligence that can prolong and reshape lives. ”
Research and development for the surgical robot within MicroPort® began in 2014, leading to the official establishment of MicroPort MedBot in 2015. Since then, the Company has been dedicated to developing a global innovation platform for total solutions driven by medical robotics. Conducting cutting-edge research and industrial integration in the fields of robotics to fulfill the needs of minimally invasive surgery. MicroPort MedBot is committed to providing robotic-assisted and intelligent total surgical solutions that innovatively prolong and reshape lives around the world.
MicroPort MedBot is capable of multi-disciplinary integration and platform-based expansion that brings together optics, mechanics, electronics, control, software, computing, and imaging technologies. In addition, the Company has also developed a holistic technological innovation platform for surgical robots and a robust system for industrial operation that includes R&D, clinical trials, registration, and supply chain management.
Mr. Hongbin Sun, Chief Financial Officer of MicroPort® and Chairman of the Board of MicroPort MedBot, stated, “The listing of MicroPort MedBot on HKEX is yet another important milestone for both MicroPort® and MicroPort MedBot. In the future, MicroPort MedBot will further strengthen its corporate governance, fulfill its mission, assume social responsibility, and devote itself to meeting the needs for cutting-edge minimally invasive surgery to serve patients while ensuring excellent performance to reciprocate the investor community. ”
Surgical robots are of great value in clinical practice, offering the potential to significantly improve the accuracy and reliability of surgery, reduce patients’ postoperative recovery period, and decrease the occurrence of complications. In addition, they help shorten the learning curve of surgeons and reduce radiation exposure. The surgical robots market is growing rapidly as the global robotics industry continues to evolve. According to a report by Frost & Sullivan, the global surgical robots market size increased from USD 3.0 billion in 2015 to USD 8.3 billion in 2020, and is expected to reach USD 33.6 billion in 2026. In China, the surgical robots market is still at a nascent stage of development with an extremely low market penetration rate. However, there is a huge potential for growth due to the large number of patients, coupled with the increasing demand for minimally invasive surgery in China. The surgical robots market in China is expected to reach USD 3.8 billion in 2026 with a global share of 11%, up from 5% in 2020.
MicroPort MedBot is taking an active role in pursuing strategic cooperation worldwide and has established partnerships with many leading international surgical robot companies. It has also accelerated the development of R&D centers in Singapore and a number of other overseas countries and regions in order to leverage global R&D resources, attract the worldwide top talents, file registration and conduct marketing in overseas markets, and build an integrated global innovation platform for technological development and industrial collaboration.
About MicroPort MedBot
Shanghai MicroPort MedBot (Group) Co., Ltd. (02252.HK, “MicroPort MedBot”), a robotics-specialized subsidiary of MicroPort Scientific Corporation (00853.HK, “MicroPort®”), commenced its development for laparoscopic surgery robots in 2014 as an internal incubation project of MicroPort®. By integrating the cutting-edge research and robot ontology, control algorithms, electrical engineering, image-based navigation and precision imaging, MicroPort MedBot provide comprehensive surgical solutions to prolong and reshape the lives of patients.
About Toumai®
Toumai® Laparoscopic Surgery Robot (“Toumai®”) is an independently-developed robot used for laparoscopic surgeries. The high dexterity of the robotic wrist, realistic 3D views provided by the laparoscopic system, and the intuitive and easy-to-use master-slave remote control offer great benefits in clinical use, helping to simplify surgical operations and shorten the operation time. The clinical trial for the application of Toumai® in urological surgery was completed and the application for registration has been submitted, making Toumai® the first and to date the only four-armed laparoscopic robot independently-developed by a Chinese company with clinical trail completed and application submitted. During its clinical trial, Toumai® was successfully used in various difficult urological surgeries, demonstrating the ability of Chinese-developed surgical robots with surgeons in sophisticated surgeries in narrow operating environments.
About DFVision®
DFVision® 3D Electronic Laparoscope (“DFVision®”) adopts homegrown high-definition dual objective lenses and an electronic optical structure solution, which not only provides full HD resolution of dual images, but also significantly reduces the weight of the laparoscope, providing greater convenience for surgeons. It can be widely used in various clinical departments such as general surgery, gynecological surgery and urological surgery. DFVision® has obtained the registration certificate from NMPA in June 2021 and become the first batch of commercially available 3D electronic laparoscopes developed by a Chinese company.
About Honghu
Honghu Orthopedic Surgical Robot (“Honghu”) is an orthopedic surgical robot designed for joint replacement surgery. It is to date the only Chinese-developed joint replacement surgical robot with a self-developed robotic arm robot that can be used in total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Honghu features a preoperative planning system, which can generate a 3D model of the knee joint based on data collected from preoperative CT scans to develop a prosthesis implantation plan tailored to the patient's anatomical profile. It also features a highly dexterous lightweight manipulator that allows for precise completion of osteotomy, which improves the accuracy and efficiency of surgery, providing a better postoperative lower limb alignment than traditional surgeries. The clinical trial for the application of Honghu in robotic-assisted TKA was completedand the application for registration has been submitted thereafter.