Vivani Medical (Nasdaq:VANI) announced today that it set a record date for the approved spin-off of its Cortigent subsidiary.
In May, the Alameda, California-based company announced plans to spin off Cortigent, its division developing brain implants. The company wants to create two focused companies dedicated to driving current and future value in their respective therapeutic areas. Vivani aims to continue advancing its miniature GLP-1 therapeutic implants. The spin-off would enable Cortigent to continue progressing its brain implant devices to help people recover critical body functions.
Cortigent’s portfolio includes the Argus II, an artificial vision device, plus the Orion visual cortical prosthesis system. Vivani CEO Adam Mendelsohn said the soon-to-be independent company can benefit from “renewed excitement” in the brain implant field with brain-computer interfaces coming to the fore.
Vivani set the record date for Oct. 8, 2025. Shareholders holding common stock as of that record date will receive common stock in Cortigent. The company expects Cortigent to trade under the “CRGT” ticker on the Nasdaq market.
“The strategic goal of this transaction is to create two companies dedicated to driving value in their respective areas of expertise,” said Mendelsohn. “This transaction will allow Vivani shareholders to fully and directly participate in Cortigent’s future. We are excited about Cortigent’s prospects as an independent, publicly traded company as it continues to advance its precision neurostimulation technology and build upon the promising results recently achieved in the 6-year Orion early feasibility study in profoundly blind patients.”
More about the planned spin-off of Cortigent by Vivani
Vivani expects the benefits of the spin-off to include enhanced strategic and operational flexibility for each company’s management teams. They can now focus on their respective businesses and adopt an optimal capital structure.
After the spin-off, the company expects to have each board and management team better positioned to facilitate growth and explore acquisitions, strategic alliances and licensing agreements.
When Cortigent spins out, investors can also invest directly in the brain implant maker and its proprietary neurostimulation platform. The company selected Jonathan Adams, Cortigent’s CEO since March 2023, to continue as CEO after the spin. It selected the Los Angeles area for the company’s headquarters.
Vivani expects to complete the spin-off by late 2025.
“The spin-off will position Cortigent among the few public companies focused on neuromodulation and brain-computer interface, or BCI, technologies, a new medical frontier leveraging artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies to address critical unmet patient needs,” said Adams. “Upon closing the transaction, we will proceed towards the planned Orion pivotal clinical trial that is designed to seek FDA approval, and the planned early feasibility study of our stroke recovery system.”
