Auris Launches Monarch Platform

Auris is featured in this TechCrunch article, titled “Monarch is a new platform from surgical robot pioneer Frederic Moll,” for the reveal of its robotic endoscopic technology called the Monarch Platform. With the use of the Monarch Platform’s flexible robotics and controller, a physician can navigate to hard-to-reach places in the periphery of the lung. Auris’s goal is to help clinicians diagnose and treat lung cancer in the early stages, because the prognosis for lung cancer is worse for the patient if it is discovered at an advanced stage.

Dr. Moll, Auris Health CEO, spoke with TechCrunch for the article. He pointed out that traditional manual techniques make it difficult for the physician to get an accurate diagnosis during a bronchoscopy procedure. Manual techniques can also be more traumatic and difficult on the patient. According to Dr. Moll, 40% of the time, there is no diagnosis with manual bronchoscopy techniques. While bronchoscopy is the Auris’s first application for the Monarch Platform, the article also mentions Auris’s plans to apply the platform’s technology to other endoscopy procedures in the future.

Auris raised $500 million in funding through investors like Mithril Capital Management (cofounded by Peter Thiel and Ajay Royan), Lux Capital, Coatue Management and Highland Capital. With funding secured and FDA approval obtained, Auris hopes to bring this technology to hospitals and outpatient centers by the end of the year.