IPO Filing: MAKO Surgical Corp.

MAKO Surgical Corp. has filed to come public in an initial public offering and for nominal filing purposes, it lists that it will sell up to $86.25 million in securities.  MAKO is taking the "MAKO" ticker on NASDAQ.  The lead underwriters are J.P.Morgan and Morgan Stanley, and co-managers are listed as Cowen & Co. and Wachovia.

The company appears to be a revlutionary robotic device maker for less invasive knee surgery.  It markets an advanced robotic solution and implants for minimally invasive orthopedic knee procedures under the name MAKOplasty, frequently to early to mid-stage osteoarthritic knee disease. MAKOplasty is FDA-cleared for its Haptic Guidance System, a interactive haptic robotics platform that utilizes tactile-guided robotics and patient-specific visualization.  Unlike conventional knee replacement surgery, which requires extraction and replacement of the entire joint, MAKOplasty optimizes localized resurfacing of the specific diseased compartment of the joint by using the robotics technology to achieve consistently reproducible precision and optimal implant placement and alignment.

According to Frost &  Sullivan, the total U.S. market for total knee replacement and knee resurfacing procedures was greater than $2.7 billion in 2006, and is expected to grow at approximately 8% per year to more than $4.6 billion by 2013.  MAKO’s total sales in 2006 were $62.57 million and its loss attributable to shareholders was listed as $12.493 million (-$10.8 million from operations), but over 90% of that came at the end of the year after this started to be marketd.  In the first 6-months of 2007, MAKO generated $205.94 million in revenues and net loss for shareholders was listed as  $9.219 million (-$7.9 million from operations).

Jon C. Ogg
September 19, 2007