Titan Medical (TSX:TMD;OTC:TITFX) has been able to resume product development of its single-port robotic surgical system, CEO David McNally said today in a letter to shareholders.
Titan is back working on its system thanks to a $10 million license payment and $1.5 million loan as part of its new development deal with Medtronic (NYSE:MDT). Titan also recently brought in $20 million from a public equity raise.
McNally said that the opportunity for single-port robotic surgery appears promising. He noted the clinical success that surgeons are reporting while using Intuitive Surgical’s da Vinci SP — presently the only commercially available single-port offering — but the success involves surgical indications outside the initial target area that Titan is pursuing.
“We believe that our robotic-assisted surgical system, having been designed with a focus on single-port surgery, may provide competitive advantages for physicians and their clinical teams, hospitals and patients,” McNally said. “Should we be able to complete product development and achieve regulatory clearance in a timely manner, upon commercialization we expect our single-port system to expand the market for robotic-assisted surgery with attractive pricing, a reduced operating room footprint and greater portability within the hospital.”
Titan Medical plans to focus early commercialization efforts on U.S. ambulatory surgery centers wishing to perform benign procedures in a lower-cost setting compared to hospitals.
Under its agreement with Medtronic, Titan Medical stands to receive a series of license payments totaling up to $31 million. Said McNally: “Our engineering team and product development partners are working toward the achievement of the first milestone in October 2020. If successful, Titan will receive a payment of $10 million before proceeding to the second of the three development milestones, to be completed in 2021.”