Dive Brief:
- Surgical robotics company Vicarious Surgical received a delisting notice from the New York Stock Exchange because the average closing price of its stock was less than $1 in the last month.
- Shares of the company traded at $0.66 on Monday, and fell below a dollar in early August when the company announced a $45 million stock offering.
- A potential delisting could pose a barrier to the company’s plans to run a clinical trial of its surgical robot for hernia repair.
Dive Insight:
Vicarious is developing a robot for minimally invasive surgeries that it hopes could someday rival market leader Intuitive Surgical. The Waltham, Mass.-based company went public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company in 2021, but has since faced delays in bringing its surgical robot to market.
The company initially planned to seek 510(k) clearance, but last year said it would file for de novo clearance, pushing out the expected date for regulatory approval to late 2024. That date was pushed back again in a July earnings call, when CEO Adam Sachs said the company expected the first procedure in a patient to take place in mid-2024, followed by a regulatory submission in early 2025. The company also laid off about 14% of its staff earlier this year in a move it said would provide a cash runway of about two years.
Vicarious has six months to regain compliance with the NYSE’s minimum share price requirement, according to the Friday announcement. The company said it plans to confirm with the exchange its intent to fix the stock price deficiency. It also said it would consider available alternatives to improve its stock price, including a reverse stock split, subject to board and shareholder approval at its next annual meeting.