Over the past year, the Cambridge, U.K.–based maker of the Versius surgical robotic system has moved forward on several vital initiatives to set itself up for success:
- The development of a next-gen system and new products;
- A reorganization to be more focused on the commercialization of the existing system, including the hiring of Johnson & Johnson and Smith+Nephew veteran Massimiliano Colella as chief commercialization officer;
- Continuation of a targeted commercial collaboration with J&’s Ethicon business, with J&J saying in a shared statement that it “underscores Ethicon’s commitment to providing healthcare partners with best-in-class surgical solutions that focus on the unique needs of every patient;”
- Opening a roughly 75,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Cambridgeshire, U.K. to support expansion;
- Surpassed the company’s fundraising goals with a new $165 million (£133 million) round.
“I think it has been a great year of trying to do what is good for the company,” Bose said in a recent interview with MassDevice. (Hear more from Bose, co-founder and CMO Mark Slack and co-founder and CTO Luke Hares at DeviceTalks Boston, May 1–2, 2024. Register here.)
CMR Surgical’s growth strategy
A week ago, The Wellington Hospital in London became the first hospital in the British private sector to install Versius. Versius installations have already taken place across the country’s National Health Service.
In 2023, CMR Surgical’s installed base grew 50% to 160, and annual surgical procedure numbers grew 60% to 17,000.
Bose said CMR has even scored about half a dozen installations at health providers that used to be accounts for Intuitive’s da Vinci robots, the longtime, dominant systems in soft-tissue surgery.
“That is the best proof of anything,” he said.
Intuitive started pioneering surgical robotics in the 1990s and remains the leading company. Medtech giants Medtronic and J&J are seeking to compete, along with a host of smaller companies such as CMR Surgical.
Bose maintains that CMR Surgical has an offering that can navigate between where Intuitive’s da Vinci is and where it will go. Just a week ago, Intuitive announced that it is seeking FDA clearance for its next-gen da Vinci 5.
Adoption of robotic surgery is still low worldwide, with plenty of room for growth, Bose said.
“The penetration levels are so low it cannot remain at that,” he said. “And it won’t happen with a single entity. Not possible.”
Bose ticked through the advantages of Versius, including a smaller mobile design that allows it to be wheeled around health facilities, an open console that enables surgeons to guide their operating room staff better, and a more affordable price point.
Its minimally invasive approach — with small, fully wristed instruments and 3D vision — assists surgeons in accessing the lungs, thymus and esophagus. The British company’s cases for Versius span more than 130 complex and benign procedure types.
This year, CMR Surgical is rolling out enhancements in vision technology, instrumentation, and digital products to strengthen Versius’ value further.
“Mark and Luke created a system that could be adapted to any operating room. … The hospitals, in terms of resources and investments overall for the life of this system, find Versius more of a value to them,” Bose said.
