Vicarious Surgical Appoints New CFO Amid Leadership Changes

Vicarious Surgical, a pioneering company in single-port robotics for surgical applications, has announced significant changes to its executive leadership team. These developments come at a crucial time for the company as it progresses toward its goal of bringing innovative robotic surgery solutions to market.

New CFO Appointment

Sarah Romano has been appointed as the new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Vicarious Surgical, effective April 1, 2025. Romano brings valuable experience from her previous role as CFO at Entero Therapeutics, a biotech company focused on gastrointestinal drug development. Adam Sachs, co-founder and CEO of Vicarious Surgical, praised Romano's "exceptional financial strategy acumen" and highlighted her track record of value creation in public companies through mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and fundraising activities.

Romano's appointment fills a position that has been vacant since January when the previous CFO, William Kelly, departed. Kelly has since taken the role of CFO at Spectrawave, a medical imaging company that secured a $50 million funding round led by Johnson & Johnson in September 2024.

Leadership Transitions

The arrival of Romano coincides with other significant changes in Vicarious Surgical's leadership. John Mazzola, the company's Chief Operating Officer (COO), is set to retire on April 1, 2025. This transition period marks a reshaping of the executive team as the company moves forward with its strategic initiatives.

Financial Outlook and Product Development

As of September 2024, Vicarious Surgical reported $60.9 million in cash and investments. The company has forecasted a full-year cash burn of approximately $50 million for 2025, indicating a focused approach to resource allocation as it advances its product development efforts.

Vicarious Surgical is on the brink of a significant milestone, with CEO Adam Sachs revealing in November 2024 that the company was weeks away from integrating its V1.0 system. The company plans to conduct informal assessments related to durability, biocompatibility, and electromagnetic and environmental compatibility in early 2025. Sachs expressed the ambitious goal of treating the first patient within one year of completing performance and safety tests.

The company is targeting hernia repair as its initial indication, leveraging the advantages of its single-port robotics system. Vicarious Surgical believes that this approach can "streamline procedures and increase surgical throughput" compared to multiport designs like Intuitive Surgical's da Vinci system.