Resitu’s Chief Strategy Officer is Named CEO

Resitu Medical has found a new leader within its ranks, appointing core investor and former Chief Strategy Officer Åsa Runnäs as CEO.

Runnäs will build on her 20 years of experience in medical device regulation and commercialization to executive the duties of her new role. Prior to Resitu, she was CEO of several medtech consultancy firms.

Runnäs’s promotion coincides with Resitu’s preparations for the launch of its first device, a vacuum-assisted, minimally invasive, handheld instrument for the excision of breast lesions for diagnostic analysis. Resitu executives recently demonstrated the device to 40 breast surgeons at the Uppsala Breast Meeting, held at Uppsala University in Sweden. During guided workshops, the surgeons experienced hands-on use of Resitu’s devices.

“We are very encouraged by the feedback from surgeons at the workshop. It reinforces our view that the Resitu devices will play an important role in breast tumor management,” Runnäs said. “The feedback also confirms that Resitu’s devices are easy to use, applicable to a wide patient population, and an important response to an unmet global need.”

Resitu’s instrument is developed by surgeons, and the company is determined to ensure that healthcare systems worldwide can access the device as soon as possible.

Breast cancer is the world’s most prevalent form of the disease, according to Resitu. In 2022, approximately 2.3 million cases were diagnosed worldwide, with 670,000 people succumbing to the disease. Half of all cases are linked only to age and gender, and have no predictive or underlying causes.

The impact of breast cancer is felt differently on a geographical basis. In high Human Development Index (HDI) countries, one in 12 women are diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetime, yet only one in 71 women die of it thanks to treatment advancements—effective open surgery, advanced chemotherapeutic agents, and radiotherapy, among others.

In low HDI countries (usually those that are poor), one in 27 women are diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetime, and one of 48 women die from it. In many countries, there are no available treatments.

“By radically rethinking breast tumor management, we will be able to offer healthcare providers a much-needed excision-led, minimal invasive approach for large tissue removal. This solution will not only ease the strain on healthcare systems but, most importantly, it will shorten the stressful time patients experience during the diagnostic process. This is the way forward for 21st century care,” Runnäs stated.

Resitu Medical is a Swedish company that develops instruments that help safely remove whole breast lesions without open surgery, thus potentially revolutionizing the way in which breast cancer is managed. The company was founded in 2019 by Dr. Per Hedén who, in his plastic surgical practice, needed to remove large intact tissue samples. He realized that beyond plastics, the system could be used to remove large tissue samples or whole tumors.

Resitu has progressed through early development stages, and is about to launch of its first device. The company aims to offer the device at multiple ‘bore’ sizes: 9mm, 12mm, 14mm, 16mm and 18mm.

Resitu is first targeting the European and U.S. market, where it already has the backing of key clinicians throughout the Nordics, United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland and United States. From there, it will launch in the Middle East and selected African countries. With this expansion, Resitu plans to make its system available in currently underserved markets, where a minimally invasive, lower-burden approach naturally offers advantages over open surgery.