Titan Medical Is About to Face Some Major Changes

Robotics might be one of the fastest-growing segments in medtech but that doesn’t guarantee a company's automatic success.

Titan Medical is an example of this, as the surgical robotics specialist announced Thursday that it was reviewing strategic options, which could include a sale of assets.

At one time, the Toronto-based company surged high and was on the list of MD+DI’s 9 Robotic Companies You Should Know.”  But in the past few years Titan Medical has been struggling and even faces delisting from the Nasdaq.

As part of the restructuring process Titan said its board will consider a full range of strategic alternatives including corporate sale, merger or other business combination, a sale of all or a portion of the company’s assets, strategic investment, or other significant transaction.

Cary Vance, Titan’s President and CEO, commented, “Our management team is completely aligned with the Board's decision to explore options to maximize shareholder value. We believe it is prudent to undertake a review of our strategic options to determine the best path forward to realize the value of our innovations in single-access robotic-assisted technologies to maximize shareholder value. Our board and management team remain committed to our strategy of providing patients, surgeons and hospitals with an innovative improved surgical experience."

Titan did not give a timetable for completion of the process.

Titan’s troubles began bubbling up in 2019 when it said it was delaying filing 510(k) clearance of its single-port system called Sport. News of this delay caused the company’s shares to drop by more than 50%.

But it wasn’t all doom and gloom for the company. In September, Titan signed a limited development program with Medtronic. The definitive agreement also includes a preclinical collaboration to evaluate the performance of various instruments and cameras in gynecological procedures and the potential for future activities associated with the commercial supply of instruments and cameras to Medtronic.

In November, the company said that it was ready to commence verification, validation, and safety testing on the delivered unit in support of the planned IDE submission to FDA in 2023 for the Enos system.