ClearCam, 2021: Year-In-Review
Dear ClearCam Friends and Investors,
As the year comes to an end, I wanted to connect with you and re-cap what we have accomplished in 2021 and what we are looking forward to in the New Year.
Team and Resources: We have added a new engineer, David Laurion, and are recruiting two more engineers to accelerate the development of new products and maintain our quality systems. Additionally, we will be pursuing a sales rep to augment Dave Poirier’s efforts in the field. We are excited to see the growth that has necessitated the new hires!
We are also moving into a new office and lab! A combination of a strategic shift in business practices at MedtoMarket, and our need for more space, opened up the opportunity to move to a larger office and lab. You will hear more from us on this shortly.
Product Development: Our engineering team has made great progress developing our robotic product and our second generation of the Kelling. Additionally, we have an agreement with Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston to develop a fetoscopic version of our Kelling device. After our team observed Dr. Michael Belfort perform an intra-uterine laparoscopic repair of spina bifida on a fetus, they successfully produced a working prototype that effectively works on his fetoscope. TCH has agreed to fund the development of this product. Finally, our team has produced a software product that objectively evaluates the function of all our lens cleaning products which is allowing the engineers to optimize the functionality and has proven to be a very useful tool.
Intellectual Property: ClearCam now has 13 patents issued and 16 more that are at various stages in the process. We continue to produce new intellectual property on a regular basis as we refine and produce new products.
Commercialization: We are continuing to sell Kelling in the Baylor Scott and White and Methodist systems. We have completed evaluations at many other large health care systems around the country including the Ascension, Providence, and Columbia. The process of navigating through the various committees necessary to obtain approval has proven more challenging than the usual arduous process due to the pandemic and nursing shortages. Despite these challenges we are continuing to advance sales and are optimistic about our growth in 2022.
Manufacturing: 2021 saw us successfully transfer manufacturing from our clean room at Austin Community College to Austin-based contract manufacturer Mainstream Medical Devices. Kelling is fully transferred and validated which is a significant accomplishment.
Discussions with Large Medical Device Companies regarding Strategic Partnership or Acquisition: We have engaged Future of Surgery Advisors – an investment banking firm out of Manhattan that has a niche in the laparoscopic surgery space – to accelerate and facilitate a transaction. We have had excellent meetings with several multinational corporations that have expressed a keen interest. One of them flew to Austin, had a dinner meeting with us, observed cases using the Kelling in the OR, then met the engineering team and saw all of our products in development. They were impressed, and we have now had a follow-up meeting with their senior leadership and discussions will continue in the New Year. We expect this process to get more active in January. Stay tuned!
I hope everyone has a chance to relax and spend quality time with friends and family over the holidays, however you celebrate them. The New Year is looking bright for ClearCam.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and yours!
