MVS: The integration that changed surgery

Andrey Kobets, CEO of MVS, and Kirill Zaputryaev, Chairman of the Board of Directors of MVS, talk about how the story of the integrated operating theatre began and how they managed to bring a Russian product to the leading position.

 

 

- How and who came up with the idea of the startup, why medical technologies, how the concept was born?

 

Andrey Kobets (A.K.): We can say that everything started in 2015. At that time, we already had a team working on cleanroom developments across the country. We were implementing German HospitalTechnik (HT) modules and slowly started our own production. At that time we also started looking for a new product with perspective and innovation.

There were many ideas, but we wanted to focus on our own developments and technology, as we already had competences in the field. But at the same time, we wanted to remain in medicine. We also planned to enter the international market. Then the first strategic session took place, where we and our team of six people (besides us - Vladimir Krivenko, Elizaveta Shalunova, Nikolay Kovtykh, Pavel Egorov) formulated our strengths, opportunities, and most importantly - what we want to do next.

We started searching for a concrete idea that would fit our requirements. And at a medical exhibition in Düsseldorf, we met manufacturers of integrated operating theatres and realised that this was it. 

 

- What resources did you have at the start - financial and labour?

 

Kirill Zaputryaev (K.Z.): At the time MVS started operating on the market, we already had a company and a team whose resources we invested in the development of new products. If we talk about financial investments, it was millions of dollars.

A.K.: However, it was those six people who started the addition of the new business line - integrated operations, which has now become the flagship business line. We were able to believe in the idea of a new market, which was just emerging in the world and was absent in Russia.

 

- Where and how did you start, did you have an office and employees?

 

K.Z.: MVS was born in St. Petersburg at 12 Levashovsky Street, and to this day the company is located here. We co-operate comfortably with landlords and see this place as a stronghold of stability.

A.K.: In the ‘glass room’ (part of the office with panoramic windows on the ground floor) we came up with a logo and name, and formulated the company's mission. Everyone was involved in the process, everyone contributed to the creation of the new product. This is very unifying and inspiring for the team, which is still working together today.

 

- What technical difficulties did you encounter?

 

A.K.: In the first year after the first kit was sold, we realised that the product had to be more flexible and immediately started creating a new generation of the Lyra complex for surgeons. A year later we realised that we were too dependent on foreign components and software, so we switched to Linux and a wide range of components. In the future, this helped us to successfully overcome the turbulence during the sanctions. Over the following years, we reduced the number of suppliers and replaced the tools with in-house manufactured components. 

Another important point is that we managed to reduce the video delay in the video management system from 1s to 120 ms, which is a very significant achievement. The speed of signal transmission is extremely important, especially where people's health is concerned. 

Touch screens of the size used in our systems were not manufactured in Russia or China. Now we also make them ourselves, so we can't give up on our idea (laughs). 

Another challenge was the system interface, which we created from scratch. We didn't like the interfaces of other manufacturers and wanted to develop an elegant and intuitive control module for the user.

 

- How did you create the first prototype? How long did it take?

 

A.K.: The first prototype was created by three people, the development took about half a year. And then we started the full-fledged development of the product for obtaining a registration certificate and subsequent sale. 

In 2020, we started discussing Medikt because we wanted to give physicians access to best practices in their field. We made an MVP in a year and a half, deployed it on Amazon hosts, at the time they were the leader in virtual space rentals. In 2022, our MVP was shut down, we tried to take all the development back, but deploying it on homegrown capacity still didn't work. So we started over. Today, Medikt is gaining its first users and is running successfully.

 

- Who was your first client and how did you reach them?

 

K.Z.: The perinatal centre in Surgut, where 11 operating theatres have been equipped. It was the first medical centre to receive a telemedicine system after receiving a registration certificate for a medical device. 

One of our companies at the time, HospitalTechnik (HT), was the designer, supplier and builder of clean rooms - operating theatres in the institution. HT was a distributor of the German manufacturer HT Group. During the negotiations we managed to explain the possibilities and benefits of equipping the centre with integrated operating theatres. We were also able to justify the advantage of our Russian system in relation to the foreign analogues already existing at that time.

 

- Why did you decide to turn to investment and how did you come to KAMA FLOW?

 

K.Z.: Active development, the desire to achieve ambitious goals, the aspiration to become the leader of the Russian market and one of the leading competitive players in the global market led to the realisation of the need to attract an additional resource, financial capital. 

The choice was between ‘reduce the pace of growth and development of the company’ or ‘consider a model using venture capital financing’. In addition, it was crucial for a young company to obtain external professional expertise and evaluation to confirm the relevance and value of its activities.

Having analysed the Russian investment market and talked to more than 15 funds, we noted that the market is wary of financing young technology companies because of the risk of competition with foreign manufacturers. We have received offers from large state-owned companies to buy a controlling stake, but this would lead to a bureaucratised system and an inability for flexible active growth.

However, at one of the industry events - Telemedforum 2022 - Pavel Okhonin, a representative of KAMA FLOW, became interested in our presentation. So began our acquaintance, and then the processes of discussing and forming the terms of the deal. 

The guys turned out to be active, involved and interested in supporting the development of domestic technologies. They were ready to listen to the peculiarities of the company's activities. These facts became the foundation for fruitful co-operation, and the result was one of the largest investment rounds in medtech in 2022.

KAMA FLOW allowed the investor to look at the business from the investor's perspective, develop financial and strategic planning in line with corporate documentation requirements, and fine-tune corporate governance procedures. 

The company is actively involved in increasing MVS's visibility in the marketplace, as well as attracting partners to grow the business. Plus recommendations, assistance in obtaining ‘National Champions’ status and credit financing from SME Bank.

 

- Where are your technologies used and are they favourable compared to foreign analogues?

 

K.Z.: Our technologies are used in operating theatres of any profile. Due to the current situation, there are practically no foreign analogues in Russia now. But we have taken a leading position in the market not because foreign competitors have left Russia, but because our developments are really much better than theirs.

It is also worth noting that trends in the medical market (and not only now) are focussed on domestic manufacturers. 

Our company has a ‘Made in Russia’ certificate, which gives us a certain advantage. In addition, for us the concept of an ‘Integrated Operating Room’ differs from that of other manufacturers. That is, they can only integrate with their own equipment, while our software can integrate with all the equipment present in the operating theatre.

A.K.: We created and developed the market for integrated operating systems in Russia. Foreign manufacturers did not see value in the product, and it was always just an application, which few people in our country needed. We always spend a lot of time immersing doctors in the system, training and supporting them not only at the start, but throughout their interaction with the system.

 

- What prospects do you see for yourself now?

 

K.Z.: The company's key goal is to become an expert and technological leader in integrating high-tech digital services into operating theatres and intensive care units. Simply put, to become the leader in medtech in Russia. All of the company's divisions are focused on achieving this goal. We have achieved a high share of integrated operating theatres across the country and intend to maintain it. Work is already underway to bring our endoscopic equipment to the market. 

We have also begun actively recruiting physicians to Medikt, a cloud-based platform where the country's leading surgical communities meet and share their experiences.

All of this should lead MVS to create an ecosystem around the surgeon in the operating room and the surgical community as a whole. You could say that we see the goal through the prism of the immediate needs of our customers.

A.K.: Back in 2018, at the first strategy session, I set a goal for the team - to become the market leader in integrated operations. The goal has been achieved, it's time to set the next one.