The Vivani Medical Inc. combination appears to be over less than three years since its inception after the company reported plans to spin off Cortigent, the division that develops brain implants. Vivani said it plans to create two focused companies dedicated to driving current and future value in their respective therapeutic areas.

The Vivani Medical Inc. combination appears to be over less than three years since its inception after the company reported plans to spin off Cortigent, the division that develops brain implants.

Second Sight Medical Products Inc. completed a reverse merger with Nano Precision Medical Inc. which leaves the controversial visual prosthetics company holding 23% of the new company, now called Vivani Medical Inc. The deal brings together two unlikely partners, with Nano Precision targeting development of miniaturized, subdermal drug implants for chronic diseases such as diabetes, while Second Sight has focused on bringing its Orion visual prosthetic device to market. The company now trades on the Nasdaq under the symbol VANI.

Pixium Vision SA reported that its merger with Second Sight Medical Products Inc. has foundered. The combination would have eased Paris-based Pixium’s entry into the U.S. market and Sylmar, Calif.-based Second Sight’s access to the European market, which Pixium has previously opposed, and enabled them to jointly develop and market neuromodulation devices that restore some degree of vision to the blind. The deal had been expected to close early in the second quarter of 2021.

It has been predicted that the COVID-19 pandemic would cause business disruption. Now, it has claimed a casualty with Second Sight Medical Products Inc., of Sylmar, Calif., which has been forced to wind down operations, citing the pandemic and the impact it will have on the company’s ability to secure financing. Second Sight, which makes the Argus II retinal prosthesis system, said that effective March 31, 84 of its 108 employees will be laid off.