MAKO Surgical

About MAKO Surgical

MAKO Surgical Corp. operated as a medical device company, establishing a significant foothold in the orthopedic surgery market before its acquisition. Founded in 2004 by Maurice R. Ferré, M.D., and Rony Abovitz, the company was built on technology developed at a predecessor firm, Z-KAT Inc., which was also founded by Abovitz. Ferré, a serial entrepreneur in medical technology with a medical degree from Boston University, brought experience from his previous successful venture, Visualization Technology Inc., which was sold to GE Healthcare. Abovitz, a biomedical engineer from the University of Miami, contributed a deep background in robotics and computer-assisted surgery.

The company's core business centered on its proprietary RIO® Robotic Arm Interactive Orthopedic System. This platform was developed to assist surgeons in performing minimally invasive orthopedic procedures, specifically for partial knee and total hip arthroplasty. MAKO's business model combined the sale of the RIO system with the recurring revenue from the sale of associated implants and single-use disposable products required for each procedure. The target market consists of hospitals and surgical centers where orthopedic surgeons treat patients suffering from early to mid-stage osteoarthritis.

MAKO's flagship offering was the MAKOplasty® procedure, a surgical solution that leverages the RIO system. The system integrates a surgeon-interactive robotic arm with patient-specific 3D visualization derived from CT scans. This allows for precise, pre-surgical planning of implant positioning and alignment. A key feature is the system's haptic, or tactile, feedback, which creates a virtual boundary to guide the surgeon, preventing the removal of healthy bone and tissue outside the pre-defined plan. This method aims to improve surgical accuracy, enable smaller incisions, and potentially lead to faster patient recovery compared to traditional methods. The company built a substantial intellectual property portfolio, with over 300 patents and applications related to its technology.

Significant milestones included the first MAKOplasty partial knee procedure in June 2006 and an initial public offering (IPO) on NASDAQ in February 2008. The company expanded its technology to total hip arthroplasty in 2010. Acknowledged for its rapid growth, MAKO was named the fastest-growing technology company in 2011 by Deloitte. In a pivotal move for the surgical robotics industry, Stryker Corporation announced its acquisition of MAKO Surgical in September 2013 for approximately $1.65 billion, a deal that officially closed in December 2013.