RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – Asensus Surgical, which earlier this year changed its name from TransEnterix, announced that a second Russian hospital has implemented the company’s Senhance® Robotic Surgery program after purchasing the company’s product, the Senhance Surgical System.
The company describes its technology platform as the “first of its kind digital laparoscopic platform that leverages augmented intelligence” in a statement.
Now, a hospital known as Private Healthcare Institution Railway Clinical Hospital RZD Medicine of Rostov-on-Don, or RZD Medicine, will use the robotic surgery program and the surgical system, the second Russian hospital to do so, according to the company’s statement.
The system provides “surgical assurance through haptic feedback, eye-tracking camera control, and 3D visualization,” the company describes in its statement.
The company notes that its product is powered by what it calls the Intelligent Surgical Unit™ (ISU), which enables machine vision-driven control of the camera by a surgeon.
FDA clears machine vision capabilities for Asensus surgical system
The company received 510(k) clearance from the FDA for an expansion of machine vision capabilities of the ISU in September, which had previously been approved for use by the FDA in March following the changing of the company’s name.
The company states that its technology, by responding to a surgeon’s commands, can recognize certain objects and locations in the surgical field, can better enable a surgeon to complete the surgery.
“We are excited to see hospitals in Russia starting to adopt Senhance, and we look forward to partnering with others in the region in the future,” said Anthony Fernando, president and CEO of Asensus Surgical, in the statement.
The company’s stock was trading at about $1.43 per share as of 1:45 p.m. on Monday. The company raised some $79.6 million in a stock offering in January and February, taking a short-term hit on the company’s stock, which fell from a prior high of $3.92 per share on Jan. 27, 2021, to $2.84. The stock offering priced one share of stock at $3.
Asensus (formerly TransEnterix) shares surge to 10 times price a year ago
After the initial fall to $2.84, the company’s stock rose to a high of $6.32 per share on Feb. 10, then fell again in March, around the time company reported quarterly revenues of $1.1 million in an earnings report and a quarterly loss of $13.8 million, both of which were reported by SeekingAlpha as beating analyst expectations. In March, the company’s stock was trading 10 times the stock price from November 2020, when the stock price was $0.42 per share.
