Nico

NICO Corporation develops and sells an integrated system of neurosurgical devices built around five functions: access, illumination, removal, tissue collection and preservation. Its BrainPath tubular access device enables navigable trans-sulcal, parafascicular entry through the subcortical space and is offered in 13.5 mm and 11 mm diameters across a range of lengths; the company states the design displaces rather than disrupts tissue and is intended to preserve brain tissue, vasculature and white-matter fiber tracts compared with traditional retraction. The NICO Myriad system provides automated, non-ablative, non-thermal resection for brain tumor removal and clot evacuation; the third-generation Myriad SPECTRA adds hand-held white and blue excitation light that can be toggled in-situ to support fluorescence-guided resection. The NICO Automated Preservation System standardizes intraoperative tissue collection with real-time refrigeration and perfusion, allowing samples to be annotated by intratumoral location for molecular profiling and oncology research without a dedicated operating-room staff member. Supporting instruments include meniGLIDE for opening the meninges, the Select-Lock Shepherd's Hook sheath stabilizer and SecureHOLD retractors.

The technologies are applied in minimally invasive parafascicular surgery (MIPS) for intracerebral hemorrhage, brain metastases, primary tumors, brain biopsy and cavernous malformations, as well as ventriculoscopic and transnasal approaches to tumors and cysts. The company positions the platform on both clinical and economic outcomes, citing shorter length of stay, fewer instrument exchanges and simplified operating-room setup, including navigation without pinning the patient.

Business model

NICO manufactures and commercializes proprietary, patent-protected neurosurgical capital equipment and disposables, supported by neurosurgeon training and published clinical and economic evidence.

Sales of neurosurgical devices and associated disposables to hospitals and surgical centers; the company reported 25 percent revenue growth in 2021 and said it was on pace for similar growth in 2022.

Traction

Per company materials: over 250 peer-reviewed published outcomes, more than 50,000 patient lives impacted and over 1,500 physicians trained; the ENRICH adaptive clinical trial in intracerebral hemorrhage was completed and its full data published in the New England Journal of Medicine, described as the first positive trial to improve functional and economic outcomes in ICH.

Latest developments

Full ENRICH trial data were published in the New England Journal of Medicine, and the company introduced the FDA-cleared NICO Myriad SPECTRA third-generation system with toggling white and blue excitation light for fluorescence-guided surgery.