Livsmed said on the 12th that it acquired technology assets, including patents, from U.S. surgical instrument specialist FlexDex Surgical. With the deal, Livsmed's intellectual property (IP) portfolio grew to 939 items in total, and observers say it further raised the technological barrier to entry in multi-joint, multi–degrees-of-freedom surgical instruments.
Livsmed is a medical device corporations that developed the multi-joint instrument for laparoscopic surgery ArtiSential. Its multi-joint technology, which enables 360-degree rotation up and down and left and right, has drawn attention for allowing precise instrument control in anatomical areas that were hard to access with conventional straight laparoscopic tools.
Building on this technology, the company expanded its product lineup with the vascular sealing device ArtiSeal, the surgical stapler ArtiStapler, and the laparoscopic camera system LivsCam, supplying products to 72 countries worldwide. Livsmed entered the KOSDAQ market on the 24th of last month with a market capitalization of 1.4 trillion won through the technology special-listing program.
The assets acquired this time include a total of 89 intellectual property rights—63 patents, 17 trademarks, and nine designs—held by FlexDex, along with manufacturing facilities, development data, and distribution channels. Through this, Livsmed secured a foundation to simultaneously pursue technology development and business expansion in multi-joint surgical instruments.
Until now, Livsmed has built up patents focusing on core elements such as end-tool structures and drive mechanisms for multi-joint, multi–degrees-of-freedom surgical instruments. By absorbing FlexDex's patents for drive technology based on a "snake joint," the company has created a patent landscape that makes it difficult for competitors to implement instruments with similar structures, according to analysts. The industry views the acquisition as part of a blocking patent strategy that covers the entire multi-joint surgical instrument platform.
The company plans to launch within the year the surgical robot Stark, based on its foundational multi-joint, multi–degrees-of-freedom technology, to build a product portfolio spanning handheld surgical instruments and robots. With this, it aims to promote a step-by-step expansion from laparoscopic instruments to robotic surgery.
Jang Dong-gyu, an executive director at Livsmed, said, "From the early days, we pursued an IP strategy that even considered the possibility of competitors' workaround designs," adding, "This acquisition further strengthens our defenses across the related technology domains."
Lee Jeong-ju, CEO of Livsmed, said, "This is a decision to reliably secure technological competitiveness in multi-joint, multi–degrees-of-freedom surgical instruments," and added, "We will expand our business scope to the overall surgical platform, including handheld instruments and surgical robots."