The company also named Roche to its board of directors. In his role, Roche will lead U.S. and European expansion initiatives for the Dexter surgical robot, helping with the next phase of Distalmotion’s growth.
“We are incredibly proud to welcome Greg to Distalmotion’s leadership team,” said Rick Anderson, Distalmotion board chair. “Greg’s global experience in the space, proven U.S. launch track record and depth of understanding of our market segment is an extraordinary fit and sets the company up for a very exciting future.”
Roche joins Distalmotion with more than 20 years of commercial and executive experience in the medtech industry. His background spans laparoscopic surgery, endoscopic visualization and surgical robotics. Most recently, Roche served as CEO of AvateraMedical, a soft tissue robotics company.
Before that, he was global president, robotics and technology, at Zimmer Biomet. There, he led the global launch of the Rosa robotic knee system and helped deliver growth for the orthopedic giant. Previous roles included U.S. commercial and leadership posts at Stryker as well.
Roche takes over for Michael Friedrich, who intends to continue on with Distalmotion as COO.
“I am thrilled to join Distalmotion – we have an incredible and talented team that has positioned Distalmotion to become a leader in the next generation of surgical robotics,” Roche said. “Dexter is an exceptional product that will help empower wider access to robotic surgery. I look forward to making this innovative solution a standard of care in minimally invasive surgery and build upon the body of evidence that has been generated in nearly 800 cases and over 35 different surgical procedures.”
More about the Distalmotion Dexter surgical robot
Dexter easily integrates into clinical practice, the company says. It requires no additional infrastructure, fits into every clinical setting and features mobility for sharing across departments. Institutions can then scale robotics programs across surgical disciplines, enhancing the standard of care.
Previously, Friedrich explained that Dexter allows for on-demand robotics, enabling best-in-class minimally invasive care. The platform provides surgeons access to the benefits of both robotic and laparoscopic surgery.
Surgeons can choose to initiate entire procedures robotically or easily switch between modalities to perform specialized tasks.
Currently in day-to-day clinical use in Europe, Dexter treats patients across complex and high-volume procedure types. That includes general surgery, gynecology and urology. Distalmotion earlier this year raised $150 million to push toward FDA approval, plus continued acceleration of clinical experience in Europe.
Distalmotion and Dexter featured on MassDevice’s list of eight surgical robotics companies you need to know. Read more about the outlook for surgical robotics in the coming years HERE.
