Monogram is an AI-powered robotics company dedicated to improving human health, including an early specialization in orthopedic surgery. This summer, it has been inching closer to its vision for the commercialization of its surgical robot.
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00:00Welcome, Benzinga Nation.
00:03Today we've got two great guests lined up for us here today.
00:06You've got Dr. Fabio Orozco and also Dr. Robert Jamieson, both of them that are orthopedic
00:11surgeons and very well known in the space.
00:13Now today we're going to speak on the great robotic surgical innovations that Monogram
00:17Orthopedics is working on.
00:19Ticker on the NASDAQ is MGRM.
00:21Doc, welcome to the show.
00:23Hey, thanks.
00:24Thank you for having us.
00:27You know, there's so many cool things to talk about here because typically in robotic surgeries
00:30we see them kind of in movies, but y'all are applying these technologies just about every
00:35day I would assume.
00:36So I'll start with you, Dr. Orozco.
00:38Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your practice?
00:41Where did you get your fellowship and, you know, how many knees do you operate on a year?
00:45That's a good one for me to ask.
00:46Yeah.
00:47Well, absolutely.
00:48Thank you very much for having me.
00:49It's a pleasure to be here with all of you guys.
00:53So yes, I do hip and knee replacements is what my practice in orthopedics is.
00:58I only do hips and knees and I do all my surgeries with robotics.
01:03I did my training in terms of residency and a fellowship in hip and knees at the Thomas
01:09Jefferson University in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania and I practice at the Shore area in South
01:15Jersey.
01:16I only do robotics and I do about a thousand hip and knee replacements a year.
01:21Wow.
01:23That's quite a bit.
01:24Now, what robot do you currently use and why that specific one?
01:28Well, currently I use a Mako, which is a very good robot that I've been using for the last
01:3310 years and is the one that I use for every one of my hips and knees.
01:38Now what's so compelling about the Monogram offering?
01:41What is it about them that you feel like is going to have the best robot in the market?
01:46I truly believe that when Monogram becomes a reality, we're going to go to a different
01:52level and a Mako is an excellent robot, but I do believe that when you bring Monogram
01:57to the table, it's going to make a significant difference in the way that we practice orthopedics.
02:03There is a multitude of new features that Monogram will bring and the 3D printing of
02:09the implants is also something very attractive.
02:12So I cannot wait to see Monogram in the market.
02:15You know, anytime we have something like this, especially in the medical field, you want
02:18to know what the advantage is.
02:19So how will Monogram's robot help you in your practice?
02:23Well, the beautiful thing about Monogram is that it's being a new robot that has tremendous
02:30amount of precision and very easy to use.
02:36It will simplify robotic surgery significantly.
02:40At the same time, it will be different level of other technologies that we can utilize
02:46in a seamless way with robotics, especially the 3D printing of the implants.
02:50I appreciate the insights from your side.
02:52Dr. Jamieson, you know, I know you're passionate about this topic as well, but before we dive
02:57in, tell me a little bit about yourself, your practice, where did you do your fellowship?
03:01And of course, how many knees did you work on a year?
03:04And are you also a Mako user?
03:07Yeah, no, I appreciate it.
03:09Thanks for having me on.
03:11So I have been involved in robotics for a long time.
03:15My practice was in Northern California, just outside of Sacramento for the last 10 years.
03:20At that time, I was able to work with a guy named Bill Barger.
03:23And he's kind of one of the really pioneers in the orthopedic robotic realm.
03:28He helped develop a robot in the late 80s with IBM, actually, while he was at UC Davis.
03:35And so I was able to really kind of get involved in robotics with him and just pick his brain
03:41and look and really, his mind is amazing, just how he thinks about robotics in the future.
03:47So that was a great opportunity.
03:50Just about the last six weeks, I actually moved down to Southern Utah to St. George
03:53and joined Intermountain Health.
03:55And so now my practice is down there.
03:58And same thing, I focus on hips and knees, do about 650 of them a year.
04:04Not quite the 1,000, but we do a lot of them.
04:08And about half of those are knee replacements.
04:11I have done, I have had experience with Mako, both on the hip and knee side.
04:16But a couple years ago, VELUS, which was DePue's robot, came out, and they only have their
04:21platform for knee replacements, but that's what I typically use for all my knees.
04:27And the same thing, I think, with Monogram is really what I feel is what Monogram's doing
04:32is taking what's good about all these robotic platforms, navigation, all these things, and
04:37putting them into one robot, which will allow us to take, like Fabio just said, it's going
04:43to allow us to take it to the next level.
04:46And I think that that's really where the excitement is on Monogram is, we always talk about robotics,
04:52and it's kind of the, it's like if you had, you're playing golf and you had a driver and
04:57you knew you could hit that ball to the exact, not only just hit it the same way, but actually
05:01hit that spot every single time.
05:04And then to add into, so, you know, the robot's going to help us do that, but then also on
05:09top of that, be able to add the excitement and kind of the advancement of implants to
05:15be able to kind of just create the ultimate patient-specific knee or hip for patients.
05:21And Monogram's going to help, is really kind of the lead in the way in that.
05:25Yeah, look, I went to med school in Grey's Anatomy, so if there's anything I know, it's
05:29that precision and accuracy matters that much.
05:32So, you know, I assume you see kind of the same advantages that Dr. Orozco pointed out,
05:37and safe to assume that you'll use Monogram in your practice as well, yeah?
05:40Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely.
05:42And I think that those are, you know, I've been able to work with Dr. Yunus for a long
05:46period of time, and him and I worked together on another robotic platform about 10 years
05:49ago.
05:50Well, yeah, 8 to 10 years ago, and so a lot of these things we've been able to, I've been
05:55able to really watch Monogram go from zero to where it's at today, and it's just super
05:59exciting and definitely something that I'm interested in bringing into the practice once
06:03we get the approval and everything.
06:06I do want to ask you, what does Monogram Orthopedics have in terms of competitive edge that you
06:12feel like others don't, right?
06:13What advantages can you get over the big boys, the big companies in this particular space?
06:18Yeah, you know, I always say that big corporations is where technology goes to die.
06:25You know, I mean, I think it's not just in this robotic realm, but, you know, with Monogram,
06:31it's so focused on robotics, and again, having Doug and some of these people that are kind
06:39of at the beginning of all of this and the knowledge they've had in robotics, they're
06:44able to take the different, like I said earlier, the different benefits of all the different
06:48robotics and navigation and put it into one realm.
06:52When we go to the bigger companies, it just is harder because they have so many areas
06:56to focus on that robotics, being able to really delve just specifically in robotics, I think
07:03Monogram's got that advantage of it just being, that's all they have to think about night
07:06and day.
07:07They eat, drink, and sleep robotics, which is awesome.
07:12And then add in the 3D printing, and it just allows them to be a little bit further advanced
07:17than some of these other companies and the robots that are on the market right now.
07:20The 3D printing side of things is very exciting for me personally.
07:23Let me ask you, what opportunities do you see for Monogram as they go from Gen 1 to
07:28Gen 2?
07:29Yeah.
07:30You know, I always, I actually was just having this conversation with them as we were talking
07:35about, I look at, I look at the iPhone, right?
07:38If you look at, if I were to give you an iPhone 1 now, you'd almost not even know how to,
07:42you know, get into it, you know?
07:44Is it the thumb?
07:45Is it whatever?
07:46And I think that a lot of the robotics are those Gen 1s.
07:48The advantage that I think that Monogram has coming into market is that it's already
07:53at kind of this iPhone, you know, 5, you know, 10, you know, where they're able to come into
07:59the market because they've seen all these other things.
08:01And so they're able to kind of come in as the newest technology that's on the market
08:08and put it into one robotic system.
08:10Yeah.
08:11You know, I'm not the biggest fan of change to the point where I stuck with my iPhone
08:148, even though there was a 12 out there because I didn't want to get rid of my home button.
08:18I was stubborn, but the apps just said I had to.
08:22So then I upgraded and, you know, I would love it.
08:24I wouldn't do anything.
08:25I wouldn't go back, I guess is what I'm saying.
08:28Let's talk about the good old FDA.
08:30Why is the FDA submission and clearance going to be such a big deal for Monogram in your
08:34opinion?
08:35Well, I think it's everything.
08:36I mean, once that goes through, then it's going to allow us to do a lot more as far
08:42as clinical, if we need to do any kind of on the clinical side of things and be able
08:45to advance it from that standpoint and then start utilizing it in practice.
08:50So this is really the key is getting it through the FDA and getting everything submitted and
08:55getting the approval from them.
08:57But you can't really do anything until that approval comes.
09:00And so it's an exciting time.
09:04It's obviously always the most difficult, one of the most difficult steps is to just
09:10make sure that all the T's are crossed, I's are dotted and, you know, for that matter,
09:16making sure it's safe for patients.
09:18And so I think it's real, it's important and it's just exciting.
09:23All right.
09:24Final question for you.
09:25And then Dr. Orozco, I'll ask you the same thing as well.
09:27Monogram stock at the moment is currently trading in the mid $2 range.
09:31What do you think about this value compared to the other publicly traded robotic companies
09:35based on your product experience that is?
09:38I think that, you know, what we have on the market today isn't bad.
09:42I mean, both Dr. Orozco and I use it and we have great outcomes with it.
09:47I don't think that it's, that we're trying to get rid of something that isn't working.
09:52I don't think that that's what Monogram is doing.
09:54I think what it really is allowed is really the vision of it is going to be able to take
09:58all of, like I said, everything that we have that works really well, combine it and then
10:04take it to that next level.
10:05And that's what it's going to do.
10:07I think that, you know, as far as the trading, it's definitely much more on your end.
10:11You know, I get to put all this stuff in.
10:13You guys get to decide what that number gets to.
10:16But I think that there's just a lot of excitement with Monogram in the orthopedics realm because
10:23of what it can do as far as the robotic platform, but also what it's going to do on the 3D
10:28printing side of things, on the implant side of things.
10:30So super exciting.
10:32You guys get to be the ones that decide what that number goes to, I think.
10:35But from our standpoint, I'm pretty excited to use it in the clinical realm and with patients.
10:42Understood.
10:43Dr. Orozco, your thoughts?
10:44Yeah.
10:45You know what?
10:46I think that I agree with Rob that, you know, the number is something that is not my expertise.
10:51What I do see is that the future of Monogram is bright and is big.
10:59And once we're able to get this to a reality where we can truly use it in patients on a daily basis,
11:08that number is going to have to change.
11:10But most important than that number to me is just to have the ability to work with something
11:16that brings precision, that brings better patient care, that can improve outcomes, and that continues
11:24to get technology to another level.
11:27So as orthopedic surgeons, we think we're doing a very good job.
11:30And as doing hip and knee replacements, which are one of the most successful surgeries in the history
11:35of medicine, we think we're doing great.
11:37But when you start doing robotics and you start thinking about 0.5 millimeters and 0.5 degrees
11:42and be able to reproduce your plan exactly to reality in the patient, and you start seeing rapid
11:48recoveries and people that don't need six months to recover from surgery or don't need therapy
11:53or things like that, that's when you see that this is the excitement that got me into medicine
11:57and surgery, right, is to be able to be better.
11:59And you are better when you use technology.
12:02And when you use technology like Monogram, you continue to be better and better.
12:06I appreciate the insights, and I can clearly feel the passion that you both have.
12:10And now I've got two doctors to go to when maybe in 50 years I need to get some things changed
12:15with my hips and knees.
12:16I appreciate you both so much.
12:17Thank you for your time here today.
12:18Thank you, guys.
12:19Appreciate it.
12:20Thanks for having us.
12:21Absolutely.