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JOHNSON & JOHNSON BUYS AURIS HEALTH’S ROBOTIC PLATFORM FOR $3.4BN CASH Pharma giant Johnson & Johnson has acquired Auris Health’s Robotic Platform for $3.4bn in cash.
a visionary in the field of surgical robotics, will be joining Johnson & Johnson upon completion of this transaction.
A further $2.35bn will be payable if Auris hits certain milestones.
“We’re thrilled to be joining Johnson & Johnson to help push the boundaries of what is possible in medical robotics and improve the lives of patients across the globe. Together, we will be able to dramatically accelerate our collective product innovation to develop new interventional solutions that redefine optimal patient outcomes,” said Dr Moll. “This combination is a testament to the incredible work of the Auris Health team and the innovation engine behind the Monarch Platform, which represents a huge step forward in endoluminal technology. We look forward to continuing to shape the future of intervention with the added expertise and resources of the world’s largest healthcare organization.”
The deal expands Johnson & Johnson’sDigital Surgery Portfolio. Auris Health is a privately held developer of robotic technologies, initially focused in lung cancer, with an FDA-cleared platform currently used in bronchoscopic diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. A statement from Johnson & Johnson said that this acquisition will accelerate its entry into robotics with potential for growth and expansion into other interventional applications. “In this new era of health care, we’re aiming to simplify surgery, drive efficiency, reduce complications and improve outcomes for patients, ultimately making surgery safer,” said Ashley McEvoy, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Chairman, Medical Devices, Johnson & Johnson. “We believe the combination of best-in-class robotics, advanced instrumentation and unparalleled end-to-end connectivity will make a meaningful difference in patient outcomes.” With this acquisition, Frederic Moll, MD, CEO and Founder of Auris Health and regarded by Johnson & Johnson as
The company statement went on to say: “Johnson & Johnson is continuously working to disrupt medical innovation. With Auris Health’s current focus on lung cancer, the Monarch Platform robotic technology will play an important role within the Lung Cancer Initiative at Johnson & Johnson (LCI), enabling the development of a differentiated digital solution that addresses key steps in the lung cancer care journey, from diagnosis to early stage intervention, that are central to the company’s commitment to develop solutions that prevent, intercept and cure this deadly disease.”
ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION SECTORS EXPECT FURTHER GROWTH IN 2019 SAYS VDMA Last year the German robotics and automation sector achieved record sales of €15bn, an increase of 4%. Wilfried Eberhardt, Chairman of the VDMA Robotics and Automation Association, said: “The new record shows that worldwide demand for robotics and automation technologies from Germany remains high. However, the general political uncertainty and cooling of the global economy led to a more moderate growth than originally expected. “Continuing global economic uncertainties do not permit a precise forecast for 2019. We are currently expecting growth of between 2% and 5% in the current year.”
sub-sectors varied: with an increase in sector sales of 9% to a total of 8.3 billion euros, Integrated Assembly Solutions was able to continue its dynamic growth course of the previous year. This was due, in particular, to a very high order backlog and strong domestic business. “In 2018, Machine Vision was able to maintain the record level of 2.6 billion euros set in the previous year. Robotics, on the other hand, only slightly missed the previous year’s sales record of 4.2 billion euros and closed 2018 with industry sales of 4.1 billion euros. This is mainly attributed to the weakness in automobile sales – especially in the main market China.”
The VDMA statement added: “According to a preliminary analysis of the 2018 data, the development in the
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