August 2, 2016 – By John Murawski
Morrisville robotics company TransEnterix has sold its first surgical robot, announcing the deal Monday, nearly four months after U.S. regulators rejected the company’s surgical technology in this country.
TransEnterix sold its ALF-X robot to Humanitas Hospital in Italy, which had been testing the system for about a year when it decided to purchase it. TransEnterix did not disclose a price for the sale but analysts have estimated one ALF-X costs between $1.5 million and $2 million.
The sale marks TransEnterix’s first revenue from robotics, and the company said it’s on track to file an application with the Food and Drug Administration this year to have the ALF-X system approved for sale in this country. TransEnterix spent $100 million last year to acquire the ALF-X technology, which is approved in Europe for general surgery, gynecology, urology and thoracic surgery.
In April, the FDA stunned TransEnterix by rejecting the company’s application to sell another surgical robot, the SurgiBot, in this country. The FDA decision forced the company to shift its focus to the ALF-X.
