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Fusion Robotics develops navigation and robotic targeting solutions for spine surgery. | Credit: Fusion Robotics

Integrity Implants, a company focused on minimally-invasive spine surgery, and Fusion Robotics, a developer of navigation and robotic targeting solutions for spine surgery, have merged. The combined company will be named “Accelus” and will focus on accelerating the adoption of minimally-invasive surgery for spinal care.

Fusion received a 510(k) clearance for its initial product offering and started performing spine procedures in the U.S. market earlier in 2021. Integrity’s flagship FlareHawk Lumbar Interbody Fusion Device received FDA clearance in 2016 and CE mark approval in 2021, and to date more than 10,500 FlareHawk devices have been implanted in more than 8,000 patients.

The benefits of minimally-invasive surgery have been recognized for decades, but adoption in the spine market has been slow compared to orthopedic and interventional procedures. The company’s believe the combination of Fusion’s compact robot and Integrity’s adaptive geometry implants will accelerate adoption.

“This combination of teams and technology represents a transformative opportunity to accelerate innovation in spine,” said neurosurgeon Kevin Foley, M.D., chief robotics officer of Fusion Robotics. “The implant portfolio is complementary to the robotics platform, and with the rapid strides we are making in robotics development—specifically related to our fluoroscopy-based robotics system—the synergies will become even more robust in the coming months.”

Accelus’ corporate office, R&D, distribution and Accelus Clinical Education (ACE) surgeon training facility will be headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Additional ACE labs and R&D centers will be located in Boulder, Colo. and San Diego, Calif.

The company’s Executive Management Team will consist of leaders from both Integrity Implants and Fusion Robotics. Accelus’s Board of Directors will be composed of Fusion Robotics’ founders Alex Lukianov and Brad Clayton; Integrity Implants’ founders Chris Walsh and Wyatt Geist; and current Integrity Implants Directors Nate Ward, Ned Lipes and Paul Birkmeyer.

This is the latest in a string of acquisitions and investments made into surgical robotics companies in 2021. U.K.-based CMR Surgical raised $600 million in Series D funding for its Versius system in June. EndoWays, an Israeli developer of a disposable robotic system for the cathlab, was acquired by Ascendum Capital, a healthcare-focused investment platform founded in 2020.

Edge Medical Robotics and Memic raised funding rounds of $92 million and $96 million, respectively. Vicarious Surgical is going public via a $1.1 billion special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) deal with D8 Holdings. Memic is also reportedly discussing going public via SPAC.

Stryker kicked off the year acquiring OrthoSensor, and its Verasense intraoperative sensor technology, to improve its Mako robots. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.