Mazor Expects Record Year As Medtronic Helps It Launch Mazor X Robot (MedDeviceOnline)
Mazor Robotics and Medtronic are gearing up for the launch of the robotic spine surgery platform Mazor X as part of their multi-phase deal.
Ori Hadomi, CEO of Mazor, told analysts that the company by late August will start educating Medtronic sales reps at training centers on Mazor X, which is slated for commercial launch this October at the Annual Meeting of the North American Spine Society. During this ramp-up period, Medtronic will be focused on generating demand and interest from surgeons and hospitals, while Mazor will build it client list and take responsibility for closing sales. The Mazor X launch is part of the first phase of the agreement signed by the two companies in May, which includes milestones and conditions.
In the second phase in 2018, Medtronic will assume exclusive global sales and distribution rights for the Mazor X, specifically for the spine (but not brain) market. It will up its stake in Mazor to 10 percent and target annual quotas, with a cumulative potential of hundreds of Mazor X systems by 2021.
Medtronic already has ordered 15 Mazor X systems to be delivered during the second half of 2016. Five robots will be placed in unspecified facilities while 10 will be installed in leading clinical centers, according to Hadomi.
Unveiled in mid-July, the Mazor X platform includes pre-operative analytics to help surgeons plan their operations, intra-operative guidance with robotically placed tools, real-time 3D verification through proprietary fluoroscopy-based technology, and connectivity features, reported MDO.
Hadomi said surgeon feedback so far has been overwhelmingly positive, especially with regard to the system’s pre-op analytics “with all the capabilities of being able to plan and stimulate alignment and then execute it.” The system has been used in over 130 cases to place approximately 1040 implants.
“I believe it will transform and redefine the standard of care for spine surgeries and once again demonstrate our vision of savings reservation. We intend on remaining the market leader and other will be measured by our success. I remain confident about the remainder 2016 being a record year in system sales and utilization and our profits well beyond simply put Mazor is in the right place at the right time with the right technology and the right partner to be the global leader of spine robotics,” Hadomi told analysts during the call, according to Seeking Alpha.
Although Mazor X has different software and hardware components, the new system’s guidance technology is said to have been leveraged from experience with Mazor’s older Renaissance guidance system, which has been used in over 18,000 procedures globally.
Mazor received orders for 11 Renaissance systems during the second quarter, six of which were installed in the United States, including two systems with brain modules, the company reported through a press release. Five systems were delivered internationally. Mazor touted positive data from two studies using Renaissance robots for minimally invasive spine surgery at the 23rd International Meeting on Advanced Spine Techniques in Washington, D.C. held recently.
Hadomi believes that Mazor has tapped only a fraction of the addressable market for Renaissance, which is estimated at over 2,000 facilities which perform over 400,000 procedures.
Mazor reported revenue of $8.3 million for the second quarter, ending June 30, 2016. For the first half of 2016, revenue increased 20 percent to $14.7 million compared to $12.3 million for the same period last year.