Medlight

What Medlight does

Medlight S.A. is a Swiss medical device company founded in 1997 and headquartered in Ecublens, Switzerland, that develops, manufactures, and commercializes optical fiber-based light delivery catheters for Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) and Photoimmunotherapy. Since 2020 it has operated as an independently managed subsidiary of Rakuten Medical, the parent group focused on light-activated cancer therapies. The core product portfolio comprises six specialty devices — a Frontal Light Distributor (FD), a Side Firing Light Distributor (FD1-SF2), Cylindrical Light Diffusers (RD and RD-ML), a Diffusing Balloon Catheter (CDB), a Spherical Light Diffuser (SD), and an Isotropic Probe (IP) — each engineered for precise, uniform illumination in specific anatomical contexts such as ENT, biliary, lung, bladder, and oesophageal procedures. The company complements the device line with R&D Services for custom device specification and prototyping, and Swiss-quality Manufacturing Services for prototype-to-scale production under ISO 9001 and ISO 13485 quality systems.

Medlight monetizes primarily through direct hardware sales of single-use sterile devices to hospitals, clinics, cancer treatment centers, and medical research institutions performing PDT and related research, supplemented by contract R&D and contract manufacturing engagements. Distribution is run from the Switzerland office with local agents in international markets; pricing is not publicly disclosed and purchasing is initiated via direct contact, with PayPal accepted for payment. The company holds commercial approval for 2 product categories from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare, and is currently working to restore a valid CE mark under EU Medical Devices Regulation 2017/745 following the May 2021 lapse of the Swiss-EU mutual recognition agreement. With a 1-10 employee headcount and no publicly disclosed revenue, Medlight functions as a specialized, niche supplier within the broader Rakuten Medical oncology ecosystem.

Name

Medlight

Legal name

Medlight S.A.

Website

https://medlight.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Medlight S.A. is a Swiss medical device subsidiary of Rakuten Medical that designs, manufactures, and sells optical fiber-based light delivery catheters for Photodynamic Therapy and Photoimmunotherapy, serving hospitals, clinics, cancer centers, and research institutions performing light-activated cancer treatments.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Medical Devices

NAICS

Surgical and Medical Instrument Manufacturing (339112), Surgical Appliance and Supplies Manufacturing (339113)

SIC

Surgical & Medical Instruments & Apparatus (3841), Optical Instruments & Lenses (3827)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYHLAHADAB

Endoscopy Systems & Accessories (Scopes, Cameras, Light Sources, Insufflation)

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Medical Devices & Diagnostics/Surgical Instruments, Endoscopy & OR Equipment

SECONDARYHLAHAJAI

Glaucoma Diagnostics & Surgical Devices (Tonometry, Gonioscopy, MIGS, Drainage Implants, Laser Trabeculoplasty)

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Medical Devices & Diagnostics/Ophthalmic Devices (Vision Care & Surgical)

Keywords

• Medical catheters
• Photodynamic therapy devices
• Endoscopic light delivery
• Optical fiber diffusers
• Medical device manufacturing

Headquarters

HQ city

Ecublens

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Medical Device Sales: Medlight manufactures and commercializes optical diffusers and ancillary medical devices including needle catheters and balloon catheters. Products are sold as single-use sterile devices for photodynamic therapy procedures. The company also offers custom device development and manufacturing services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Medlight S.A. develops, manufactures, and commercializes a broad range of optical diffusers and ancillary devices (needle catheters, balloon catheters) for Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) and Photoimmunotherapy. The portfolio includes frontal, side-firing, cylindrical, spherical, and balloon-based light delivery catheters that enable precise, uniform endoscopic illumination in hollow organs and body cavities during cancer treatment. The company also provides R&D and contract manufacturing services for custom light-delivery device development.

Product overview

Medlight is a Swiss medical device company that develops, manufactures, and commercializes a broad range of optical diffusers and ancillary devices for Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) and Photoimmunotherapy. The product portfolio centers on six core optical fiber-based light delivery devices: the Frontal Light Distributor (Model FD), Side Firing Light Distributor (Model FD1-SF2), Cylindrical Light Diffuser (Models RD and RD-ML), Diffusing Balloon Catheter (Model CDB), Spherical Light Diffuser (Model SD), and Isotropic Probe (Model IP). These devices are designed for endoscopic use to deliver precise light illumination in hollow organs and body cavities during PDT procedures. The company also offers R&D Services for custom device development and Manufacturing Services for production, providing a comprehensive solution from concept through commercial production. Medlight operates as a subsidiary of Rakuten Medical, having joined the group in 2020.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Frontal Light Distributor (Model FD) A light delivery catheter consisting of a fused silica laser fiber with a proximal standard laser connector and a distal microlens tip, designed for endoscopic use through standard flexible endoscopes. It transmits light from a laser source to produce a uniform circular illumination spot and is intended for medical facilities performing Photodynamic Therapy.
• Side Firing Light Distributor (Model FD1-SF2) A sterile, 4-meter long fiber optic catheter that guides light from a laser source and emits light perpendicularly to the catheter axis for Photodynamic Therapy applications. Spot diameter is adjustable based on distance from target tissue; 2.5mm diameter for endoscopic use.
• Cylindrical Light Diffuser (Models RD and RD-ML) Optical fiber-based catheter for endoscopic delivery of light in hollow organs during Photodynamic Therapy, with uniform light distribution along the illumination tip. Single-use sterile device; Model RD-ML uses glass optical fiber with consistent transmission across visible/NIR wavelengths.
• Diffusing Balloon Catheter (Model CDB) Soft cylindrical balloon catheter with translucent diffusing walls used with a radial light diffuser (Model RD or RD-ML) to guarantee homogeneous illumination of biological tissues. The compliant walls adapt shape to lumen geometry for accurate light dosimetry.
• Spherical Light Diffuser (Model SD) Optical fiber-based catheter with a 3-meter glass optical fiber that isotropically emits light at the distal illumination tip, primarily designed for bladder treatment applications.
• Isotropic Probe (Model IP) Optical fiber-based catheter designed to collect light at its distal extremity in a large solid angle and guide it to a proximal optical detector, used for measuring diffused light intensity in human body organs during PDT dosimetry.
• R&D Services Research and development support services including device specification definition, new concept verification, design validation, prototyping, technical documentation, clinical validation, and regulatory requirements assistance for PDT light delivery devices.
• Manufacturing Services Swiss-quality contract manufacturing services from prototypes to large-scale production, compliant with medical device standards, provided to customers developing PDT and light-delivery medical devices.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• biolitec: biolitec is one of the few companies globally that pairs medical laser sources with fiber-optic light delivery systems for PDT across multiple oncology indications. Its LEONARDO and CERALAS lasers coupled with dedicated fiber applicators compete most directly with Medlight's catheter portfolio as an integrated PDT hardware offering.
• Cook Medical: Cook Medical manufactures a broad range of specialty catheters and endoscopy accessories used in gastroenterology, urology, and ENT. Like Medlight, it sells sterile single-use devices to hospitals and supplies custom catheter solutions, making it a direct comparable on catheter engineering, regulatory burden, and hospital channel.
• Pinnacle Biologics: Pinnacle Biologics specializes in PDT pharmaceuticals (Photofrin/porfimer sodium) used in esophageal and lung cancers, indications for which Medlight's cylindrical and side-firing diffusers are designed. They co-define the PDT clinical workflow, making Pinnacle a tightly coupled peer in the same end-procedure stack.
• Steba Biotech: Steba Biotech develops Tookad-mediated vascular-targeted PDT for prostate cancer and operates an integrated drug-plus-light-delivery program. It is a direct peer in the sense that it controls both the photosensitizer and the light-delivery workflow for a specific PDT indication, overlapping with Medlight's prostate/bladder illumination use cases.

Emerging players

• Asclepion Laser Technologies: Asclepion Laser Technologies manufactures medical laser systems used in dermatology, aesthetics, and select surgical applications. It is an emerging player in light-based medical devices and a potential source of complementary or competing laser–fiber combinations adjacent to Medlight's catheter portfolio.
• AngioDynamics: AngioDynamics develops specialty ablation and catheter-based oncology devices (NanoKnife, Solero, etc.) that compete for the same hospital interventional oncology budgets as PDT. While its modality is different, its customer base and procedural positioning partially overlap with Medlight's hospital oncology users.
• Photocure: Photocure markets Hexvix, a photosensitizer used in photodynamic diagnosis (PDD) of bladder cancer — an indication Medlight's spherical diffuser and bladder dosimetry probes specifically address. While Photocure sits upstream in the drug rather than the device, the two products are used together in the same clinical workflow.

Broad incumbents

• Olympus Medical: Olympus is the global leader in flexible endoscopy systems and sells a wide portfolio of light sources, scopes, and accessories used in the same procedures that Medlight's catheters plug into. As the dominant platform vendor, Olympus controls the procedural workflow in which Medlight's diffusers are deployed.
• Boston Scientific: Boston Scientific has a large endoscopy and urology franchise including single-use devices used in similar hollow-organ procedures (cystoscopy, bronchoscopy, GI endoscopy). It is a broad incumbent whose presence in hospital endoscopy channels shapes pricing and formulary access for niche specialty devices like Medlight's.
• Karl Storz: Karl Storz is a leading endoscopy systems vendor with strong presence in ENT, urology, and thoracic endoscopy. Its light sources and rigid/flexible endoscopes are used in the same PDT procedures as Medlight's fiber-optic catheters, making it a relevant channel and platform peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/medlight-sa

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Medlight