Romano’s appointment goes into effect on April 1, 2025. She succeeds William Kelly, who announced plans to leave the company in December to pursue other career opportunities. Romano’s responsibilities include overseeing Vicarious Surgical’s financial strategy.
According to a news release, she brings a proven record of driving growth and value creation at public companies to the surgical robot maker. Her experience extends to the healthcare sector and includes successful fundraising and M&A initiatives.
[Vicarious Surgical is one of our 10 surgical robotics companies you need to know in 2025. For more on the wide world of surgical robotics, see our special report on the space.]
“We are delighted to welcome Sarah to the Vicarious Surgical team,” said Adam Sachs, Vicarious Surgical co-founder and CEO. “Her exceptional financial strategy acumen makes her an invaluable asset to our company and the ideal partner to lead our finance organization. I’m confident her expertise and strategic vision will be instrumental in driving our financial objectives and overall success.”
Romano most recently served as CFO at Entero Therapeutics. There, she oversaw financial strategy, operations and compliance, raising significant funding and executing in-licensing partnerships. She also spent time as CFO at Kiora Pharmaceuticals, securing more than $50 million in funding and spearheading M&A activities.
“The energy and momentum at Vicarious Surgical is palpable as we approach our first clinical use cases later this year,” Romano said. “I’m thrilled to bring my experience to the team and play a key role in ensuring we have the financial strength to achieve our milestones and beyond.”
More about Vicarious Surgical and its future plans
Waltham, Massachusetts–based Vicarious develops the Version 1.0 (V1.0) robot aimed at increasing the efficiency of surgical procedures. The company hopes to improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs. With a novel approach, V1.0 uses proprietary, human-like surgical robots to transport surgeons inside the patient to perform minimally invasive surgery.
The company previously eyed first-in-human trials midway through this year, but it pushed V1.0’s timeline back in November 2023. In March 2024, the company maintained its timeline to have V1.0 ready for an FDA submission by early- to mid-fiscal 2026.
Last fall, the company said it planned for a year-end cadaver lab for V1.0, followed by efforts toward verification, validation, and optimization of the system ahead of formal clinical testing.
Vicarious still expects to complete the first patient ventral hernia procedure in mid-to-late 2025. It expects the trial to include 30-60 patients, with procedures conducted primarily at sites outside the U.S. The company maintains its expectations for an early-to-mid 2026 FDA de novo 510(k) submission. It plans to later pursue additional indications for the system, including inguinal hernia repair and procedures related to gynecology, gallbladder and colorectal.
