Medical device company Baxano Surgical Inc. has filed a voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition, the company announced Thursday. As Trans1, the company was formerly headquartered in Wilmington but now maintains its base of operations in Raleigh after its June 2013 merger with Baxano.

Company officials said in the release that Baxano’s bankruptcy filing is designed to enable the company to sell its products, in accordance with Section 363 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

"We believe this is the best course of action for the company at this point in time and is in the best interests of all of our stakeholders," Ken Reali, Baxano’s president and CEO, said in the release. "As we move through this transaction process we will continue to focus on supporting our commercial business and the surgeons and hospitals that use our products."
 
The filing was made through the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, according to the release. In conjunction with the bankruptcy filing, Hercules Technology Growth Capital Inc., Baxano’s pre-petition secured lender, agreed to provide "debtor in possession" financing under agreed-upon terms to support Baxano Surgical's continued operations while the sale process is pending, the release stated.
 
All sales must be approved by the bankruptcy court, the release further stated.
 
Founded in 2000, Trans1 was based at 301 Government Center Drive in Wilmington. Baxano's five-year lease of the more than 31,000-square-foot building ends Dec. 8, but the firm has moved out, and the space is currently available for potential tenants, said Steve Hall, a broker with Maus, Warwick, Matthews & Co. who is in charge of leasing the building. Baxano occupied the space for seven years.
 
Since late October, the company has filed notice with the Securities and Exchange Commission of the resignation of three board members. It also filed notice with the SEC that Timothy Shannon, Baxano’s CFO, treasurer and secretary, resigned his position on Nov. 7.

Calls to Baxano's Raleigh headquarters and to Reali were not returned by press time. The company's Wilmington phone number did not appear to be in service.

-Reporter Cece Nunn contributed to this story.