Vivani Medical to Spin Off Cortigent Neurostim Biz

Vivani Medical, a clinical-stage company developing miniature, long-acting drug implants, revealed its intent to spin off Cortigent, its division that develops brain implant devices, as a publicly-traded company.

Cortigent’s precision neurostimulation tech aims to offer meaningful visual perception for blind people. This involves implanting a micro-electrode array on the cortex to deliver electrical pulses to neuron bundles, eliciting spots of light called phosphenes.

“Since the merger of legacy companies Nano Precision Medical and Second Sight Medical Products in August 2023, and the formation of Cortigent, we have been committed to identifying and pursuing strategic options to advance Cortigent’s pioneering technology,” said Vivani CEO Adam Mendelsohn, Ph.D. “We expect that Cortigent will continue to be a leader in discovering, developing, and commercializing innovative therapies for vision, stroke recovery and other critical body functions that can benefit from neurostimulation technology,”

“Today’s announcement is a major milestone for Cortigent,” added Cortigent CEO Jonathan Adams, MBA. “As an independent company, we will intensify our efforts to develop and commercialize life-changing medical devices for people with critical unmet medical needs such as blindness, paralysis due to stroke, and potentially other conditions.”

Adams has been Cortigent’s CEO since 2023 and will keep that position following the spinoff. Before joining the company, he founded and was CEO of biopharma company BioVie. Cortigent will also keep its headquarters in the Los Angeles area. The spinoff’s completion is expected during or prior to Q3 2025.

Vivani now plans to exclusively focus on developing its NanoPortal drug implants.

“We believe that the best way to realize the full potential of Cortigent is to enable it to operate independently with a management team dedicated to advancing its proprietary neuromodulation technology and developing medical devices that address human conditions where there is significant unmet medical need,” said Dr. Mendelsohn. “Our mission at Vivani remains unchanged as we continue to leverage our proprietary NanoPortal implant technology and advance the development of our portfolio of miniature, subdermal GLP-1 implants with once or twice-yearly dosing for chronic weight management, type 2 diabetes, and other chronic diseases.”