Robotic Surgical Procedures on the Rise as MedTech Firms Raise New Funds and Seek New FDA Approvals

A new fundraising round by the UK’s CMR Surgical, valuing the company at $3 billion, has foisted focus back onto the robotic surgical market. The prevalence of bot-assisted surgeries is growing quickly, but only accounts for as much as 4.0% of all operations. This market is currently dominated by Intuitive Surgical and its fleet of more than 8,000 da Vinci systems, but startups and publicly traded firms alike are vying to be Intuitive’s primary competitor.

Multiple US hospitals recently surpassed milestones between 20,000 – 25,000 total procedures utilizing surgical robots. Evidence from clinical trials shows that robot-assisted surgeries can significantly reduce recovery time and the incidence of complications.

Related Stocks: Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (ISRG), Asensus Surgical, Inc. (ASXC), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Medtronic plc (MDT)

Cambridge-based CMR Surgical, the UK’s largest private company, announced today that it raised $165 million at a valuation of $3 billion. Since rolling out its bots in 2019, CMR Versius system has participated in more than 15,000 procedures globally, covering 130 complex and benign procedure types including colectomies, hernia repairs, hysterectomies, sacrocolpopexies, and lobectomies. CMR Surgical roughly doubled the volume of its surgeries over the past year, announcing the completion of 5,000 procedures in 2022 alone.

According to Financial Times reporting, CMR chief executive Supratim Bose claims that robotic surgery represents only 3.0% to 4.0% of all operations but is already worth more than $7 billion annually. Though that leaves significant room for growth, up to 80% of the market remains dominated by Intuitive Surgical and its da Vinci robotic system. As of Q2 2023, Intuitive’s global installed base had risen to more than 8,000 da Vinci bots, up 13% YoY. Meanwhile, Intuitive brought in revenues of $1.76 billion during the quarter, up 15% YoY, as higher surgery volumes…