RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK — After an executive shakeup in recent months, robotic surgery firm TransEnterix is getting ready to take center stage at a major medtech conference this month.

Its new chief executive, Anthony Fernando, who has been at the job for four months and with the company since 2015, is slated to present at the 38th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference at The Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco that’s set for Jan, 13-16.

 

He heads out west with the firm after having tapped seasoned exec, Brett Farabaugh, as its interim chief financial officer. Farabaugh replaced Joe Slattery who retired this past December.

Farabaugh has served as CFO of Tryton Medical, Inc., a developer of coronary stents based in Durham since August 2008, and as CEO of Tryton Medical since August 2019. Prior to that, he served as CFO of Strikeiron, Inc., an information technology company, from 2006-2008.

Farabaugh also held various roles at Nuada Pharmaceuticals and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Mr. Farabaugh holds a B.S. in Commerce with a concentration in Accounting from the University of Virginia and is a licenced CPA.

“We are very excited to have Brett join the TransEnterix team. He brings a wealth of experience providing financial leadership to high growth healthcare and technology companies,” said Fernando in a statement. “I believe Brett’s in depth knowledge of the medical device industry and his background of successfully guiding innovative companies will be very valuable during this critical period as we focus on taking the actions needed to implement changes in our commercial strategy that I believe will drive shareholder value.”

TransEnterix is a developer of robotic and flexible instrument technology for use in surgery. It is focused on the commercialization of the Senhance® Surgical System, which digitizes laparoscopic minimally invasive surgery. The system allows for robotic precision, haptic feedback, surgeon camera control via eye sensing and improved ergonomics while offering responsible economics.

Over 6 million applicable procedures are performed annually in the United States and the European Union.