Mazor sees FDA nod for SpineAssist brain surgery use

At a capital market presentation today, Mazor Surgical Technologies Ltd. (TASE:MZOR) said that its SpineAssist robotic navigation device for spinal procedures has been used in more than 1,400 cases and for 6,000 implants with zero cases of nerve damage. The SpineAssist is now in daily use at 25 hospitals in Israel, Germany, Switzerland, Russia, and the US.

The average price of the system is $500,000. Mazor disclosed that it plans to sell more systems this year for several million dollars more in expected revenue.

Mazor also disclosed it expects that the SpineAssist will obtain US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for brain surgery by the end of this year. Mazor is jointly testing the SpineAssist for this purpose with Israel neurosciences technologies developer Alpha Omega Ltd. The target market is the US.

Mazor said that it plans to register its shares for trading on Nasdaq in 2012.

Asked how Mazor was able to raise the price of the SpineAssist to $500,000, US sales manager Christopher Sells told "Globes", "I am in the robotic surgical industry, and I've known the hospital equipment market for years. I had no doubt that this system was worth many hundreds of thousands of dollars to hospitals. It has clinical and economic value and advantages, which can be easily quantified and estimated. A half-million dollar price tag is provisional and it will not necessary remain that over time.

"The company's management discussed other strategic factors, on the basis of which the updated price was set. I am pleased that the new model has been proven, the first systems have been sold, and many more will be sold later. It's important to stress that, as far as I'm concerned, 'hope' isn't a strategy. You have to know how to demonstrate to the medical team the practical advantages of the product, and from there demonstrate the business model to management."

Mazor's share price rose 2.6% by midday to NIS 10.55, giving a market cap of NIS 214 million.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 28, 2010