Forbes has published a feature on cultivate(MD) portfolio company Prana Surgical and its FDA-cleared Prana System, a single-use electrosurgical device that combines CT-guided localization and tissue excision in one instrument.
The article, written by Forbes contributor Geri Stengel, makes the case that lung cancer has become a women’s health issue that the funding and awareness landscape has not caught up to. More women than men are projected to be diagnosed with lung cancer in the United States this year, and the disease is expected to take roughly as many women’s lives in 2026 as breast, ovarian, and cervical cancers combined.
The clinical problem Prana is built around is what happens after a screening scan finds something. Small peripheral nodules frequently sit outside the reach of a reliable needle biopsy but do not justify removing a section of healthy lung. Many patients end up in watchful waiting for years. The Prana System is designed to give thoracic surgeons a precise, minimally invasive way to remove and diagnose those nodules in a single procedure.
“Prana Surgical has addressed the current treatment shortcomings head-on,” said Dr. R. Sean Churchill, managing director of cultivate(MD) Capital Funds, in the article.
Prana received FDA clearance in April 2026 and is now formulating a staged clinical introduction in the U.S.
