Creator of FDA Approved Robotics Exoskeleton ReWalk Set at $50M IPO

    The life-shattering news of “you will never walk again” may soon become a figment of the past. ReWalk Robotics, a healthcare company, is one of the leading names revolutionizing the paraplegic world as we know it. It has created an FDA-approved exoskeleton that is helping paraplegics do the impossible- walk again.

    Dr. Amit Goffer, a paraplegic himself, founded and created the company in 2001. ReWalk’s exoskeleton is the first FDA-approved device of its kind to be cleared for personal use. While the systems are priced around $60,000, some might argue that you can’t put a price tag on regaining the ability to walk. With the help of the ReWalk Personal, paraplegics will be able to walk themselves out of rehabilitation centers and into the comfort of their own homes. Though ReWalk reported a $1.6 million revenue last year, the company’s value has soared recently, undoubtedly due in part to the approval. The company’s IPO is currently set at $50 million.

    According to the ReWalk Prospectus, nearly 3.4 million shares are believed to price this Friday from $14 through $16. The company works in alliance with Yaskawa Electric Corporation, which will be a distributor in the Asian markets. ReWalk will go under the symbol of “RWLK” on the Nasdaq, projected for the end of the week.

    ReWalk isn’t the only exoskeleton company to go public this year. In March, Cyberdyne Inc., a Japanese-based company, and no, not the one from “Terminator,” released an exoskeleton called HAL, and again, not the one from “2001: A Space Odyssey,” though you’ve got to applaud their sense of humor. Since then, Cyberdyne’s reach only continues to grow in the robotics industry. Over the past three months, its share price has risen over 105 percent (source S&P Capital IQ).

    HAL(Hybrid Assistive Limb) strives to help workers in nursing homes to lift large objects and also serves to assist people looking to regain strength in their limbs- in part giving users what seems to be a super-human strength. This wearable robot is similar to that of the ReWalk systems in terms of guiding people to regain motion in areas of their bodies that would have otherwise been impossible.

    The reach of medical miracles is continuing to grow thanks to the endless possibilities that the world of robotics has to offer. The increasing presence of exoskeletons will quickly push the entire population, including paraplegics, to stand up and look the future in the eye.

     

     

    By: Erica Allaby, Content Manager, ROBO Global

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