RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., Feb. 16, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Asensus Surgical, Inc. (NYSE American: ASXC), a medical device company that is digitizing the interface between the surgeon and the patient to pioneer a new era of Performance-Guided Surgery™, today announced that the Company has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”) with KARL STORZ VentureONE Pte. Ltd. (“KARL STORZ”), a wholly owned subsidiary of KARL STORZ SE & Co. KG, a global leader in the medical technologies industry, especially in the area of endoscopes, medical instruments, and devices that offers state-of-the-art technology for minimally invasive procedures in virtually all surgical specialties. As a solution-oriented and innovative partner, the independent family-owned company is in close collaboration with surgeons and health care partners around the globe to enable them to perform at their very best every day to improve patients' lives.

The definitive agreements to be developed under the MoU will include the following components:

o  KARL STORZ intends to market and sell Asensus’ Intelligent Surgical Unit™ (ISU™) as a standalone device together with their IMAGE1 S™ Imaging system and OR1™ integration solution.

o  The companies intend to work together on the integration of the ISU into KARL STORZ's laparoscopic vision systems

o  The companies intend to jointly collaborate on developing next-generation instrumentation to be used with Asensus and KARL STORZ surgical platforms

The detailed terms are currently being negotiated, and definitive agreements will be finalized within 90 days.

“We are thrilled to announce this MoU with KARL STORZ, a leader in the field of advanced surgical visualization and instrumentation,” said Anthony Fernando, Asensus Surgical President and CEO. “By leveraging their extensive commercial network, their leading visualization systems and longtime instrumentation expertise, we can bring the tremendous value of augmented intelligence offered by the ISU to operating rooms around the world. Beyond the benefits of their commercial scale, the co-development of new instruments will combine two unique R&D teams at the forefront of their fields to ultimately deliver best in class instruments to surgeons.”

Stephan Abele, Managing Director of KARL STORZ VentureONE, highlights, “As a company, the focus of KARL STORZ has always been advancing the way minimally invasive procedures are performed. This partnership with Asensus is a natural fit as we share a vision for what digital surgery, and especially laparoscopy, could be in the future. We are very excited to bring the novel capabilities of the ISU to our customers, and look forward to working in tandem to bring innovative, patient-centric solutions to the market."

About KARL STORZ SE & Co. KG

The medical technology company KARL STORZ SE & Co. KG was founded in 1945 in Tuttlingen, Germany, and is an international leader in the world of endoscopy. Now in its third generation, the family-owned company employs 8,300 people in 40 countries worldwide. The company portfolio includes more than 15,000 products for human and veterinary medicine. KARL STORZ SE & Co. KG stands for visionary design, precision craftsmanship and clinical effectiveness. Sales for the fiscal year 2021 amounted to 1.97 billion euros. Production sites are located in Germany, the USA, Switzerland and Estonia. Please find more information at: www.karlstorz.com

KARL STORZ VentureONE Pte. Ltd. is a fully owned subsidiary of KARL STORZ SE & Co. KG headquartered in Singapore with a business focus on robotic solutions, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality.

About Asensus Surgical, Inc.

Asensus Surgical, Inc. is digitizing the interface between the surgeon and patient to pioneer a new era of Performance-Guided Surgery by unlocking clinical intelligence for surgeons to enable consistently superior outcomes and a new standard of surgery. This builds upon the foundation of Digital Laparoscopy with the Senhance Surgical System powered by the Intelligent Surgical Unit (ISU) to increase surgeon control and reduce surgical variability. With the addition of machine vision, augmented intelligence, and deep learning capabilities throughout the surgical experience, we intend to holistically address the current clinical, cognitive and economic shortcomings that drive surgical outcomes and value-based healthcare. Learn more about Performance-Guided Surgery and Digital Laparoscopy with the Senhance Surgical System here: www.senhance.com. Now available for sale in the US, EU, Japan, Russia, and select other countries. For a complete list of indications for use, visit: www.senhance.com/indications. For more information, visit www.asensus.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes statements relating to the MOU with KARL STORZ VentureONE. These statements and other statements regarding our future plans and goals constitute "forward looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and are intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that are often difficult to predict, are beyond our control and which may cause results to differ materially from expectations and include whether the companies will be able to negotiate and finalize definitive agreements and whether the collaboration will be successful. For a discussion of the risks and uncertainties associated with the Company’s business, please review our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, filed with the SEC on February 28, 2022 and our other filings we make with the SEC. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward looking statements, which are based on our expectations as of the date of this press release and speak only as of the origination date of this press release. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

INVESTOR CONTACT:

Mark Klausner or Mike Vallie,
443-213-0499
invest@asensus.com

MEDIA CONTACT | ASENSUS:

Isabella Rodriguez,
708-833-1572
CG Life
Email: irodriguez@cglife.com

MEDIA CONTACT | KARL STORZ:

Anja Ebert
KARL STORZ SE & Co. KG
Email: press@karlstorz.com

Source: Asensus Surgical, Inc.