Globus Inks Deal for Robotic Surgery Company

Globus Medical Inc., a leading musculoskeletal implant manufacturer, has acquired Excelsius Surgical.

Excelsius is developing a next-generation surgical robotic positioning platform for the spine, brain and therapeutic markets. The Excelsius Surgical system is a robotic surgical aid for navigating and facilitating surgical access, implant sizing, positioning and placement, and is designed to enable surgeons to perform procedures more quickly and with greater accuracy, safety and reproducibility than is currently available in the marketplace today, according to Globus officials.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“We are very excited by the strategic fit and potential of Excelsius Surgical. Our product development efforts focus on products designed to minimize tissue disruption, blood loss and surgical complications, and we believe that the use of advanced technology solutions, such as the Excelsius Surgical system, will enable surgeons to consistently achieve better surgical outcomes,” said David Paul, chairman and CEO of Audubon, Pa.-based Globus. “Recent trends in the adoption of navigation technology as well as advancements in imaging only serve to reinforce our belief that technology will play an increasingly greater role in surgery in the future. We believe that this acquisition positions Globus to be a leader in this important area.”

The Excelsius Surgical robotic positioning system is being designed to integrate intra-operative digital imaging with a sophisticated robotic surgical assistant that maintains anatomical positioning during the surgery with sub-millimeter accuracy. The technology was developed in conjunction with Dignity Health’s Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, Ariz. Co-founders Neil R. Crawford, Ph.D., associate professor of spinal biomechanics at Barrow, and Nicholas Theodore, M.D., neurosurgeon and chief of spine surgery at Barrow, led the development of the technology.

Globus expects to obtain U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance for the system in 2015, with commercial sales expected in 2016.

“We started Excelsius Surgical to develop a surgical technology that would improve clinical outcomes,” said Nicholas Theodore, M.D., co-founder of Excelsius Surgical. “We combined robotics and imaging with the goal of enabling surgeons to reproducibly and cost effectively perform robotically assisted, minimally invasive surgery with fewer complications and less trauma, as well as reducing radiation exposure for patients, surgeons and operating room personnel. We are proud of our development progress to date and believe that Globus will be a great partner to bring this technology to the market.”