The company inked a deal with UMass Memorial Medical Center intended to support adoption and utilization of its robotic system.
With the latest developments at the company, co-founder and CEO Adam Sachs says the company is moving closer to bringing its surgical robot technology to patients.
Waltham, Massachusetts–based Vicarious designed its robot to increase the efficiency of surgical procedures. The company hopes to improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs. Through a novel approach, the Version 1.0 (V1.0) system uses proprietary, human-like surgical robots to transport surgeons inside the patient to perform minimally invasive surgery.
The company previously set its sights on first-in-human trials midway through this year. However, it pushed V1.0’s timeline back in November 2023. In March 2024, the company maintained its timeline to have V1.0 ready for an FDA submission by early- to mid-fiscal 2026.
Last fall, the company said it planned for a year-end cadaver lab for V1.0, followed by efforts toward verification, validation, and optimization of the system ahead of formal clinical testing.
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Vicarious still expects to complete the first patient ventral hernia procedure in mid-to-late 2025. It expects the trial to include 30-60 patients, with procedures conducted primarily at sites outside the U.S. The company maintains its expectations for an early-to-mid 2026 FDA de novo 510(k) submission. It plans to later pursue additional indications for the system, including inguinal hernia repair and procedures related to gynecology, gallbladder and colorectal.
“Following years of meticulous work to develop and advance our surgical system and proprietary decoupled actuating technology, we are just a few quarters away from our biggest milestone yet – our first clinical patients. 2025 will be the year Vicarious Surgical evolves into a clinical-stage company and demonstrates the immense value of our single-port surgical system,” Sachs said in a news release. “We are more excited than ever to direct our efforts towards the precise and timely execution of the essential steps for success in the clinic. In the first quarter, this included crucial procurement and manufacturing build efforts, which our team successfully advanced. We look forward to providing updates on our progress over the coming months.”
More on the Vicarious Surgical hospital partnership
The deal with UMass Memorial Medical Center aims to utilize enhanced perioperative practices, surgeon education and other engagement strategies to support the Vicarious robotic system.
UMass Memorial Medical Center, the largest not-for-profit hospital in Central Massachusetts, has 826 licensed beds. It’s also the clinical partner of the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School.
The collaboration focuses on strategic operational efforts. Those include streamlining inventory management and sterilization protocols and standardizing pre-procedure processes and post-procedure care. It also includes case observation for surgeons and Vicarious Surgical system testing. Collaboration efforts include sharing insights on research, peer-to-peer education and promoting best practices.
“We’re excited to work with UMass Memorial Medical Center to drive excellence in the application of our robotic technology,” said Adam Sachs, CEO and Co-Founder of Vicarious Surgical. “This collaboration will allow us to develop and implement optimized perioperative workflows and initiatives that are critical for successful adoption and utilization of our system. UMass Memorial’s regional leadership and commitment to advancing surgical care make them an ideal partner.”
More on the quarterly earnings report
Vicarious Surgical reported first-quarter operating expenses of $15.7 million. That marked a 2% decrease from expenses totaling $16.1 million in the same period a year ago.
R&D expenses totaled $9.4 million, compared to $10 million in 2024. The company reported $5.3 million in general and administrative expenses for the quarter, which is slightly more than $5 million a year ago. Sales and marketing expenses reached $1 million, just shy of the $1.1 million tally a year ago.
Vicarious Surgical reported adjusted net loss of $15.3 million, equaling $2.58 per share. That came in 10¢ behind expectations on Wall Street.
The company reported $37.4 million in cash and investments as of March 31, 2025. Its cash burn rate for the first quarter came in at $11.7 million. It expects its full-year cash burn in 2025 to come in at $50 million.
The analysts’ take
BTIG analysts Ryan Zimmerman and Iseult McMahon maintained a “Neutral” rating for Vicarious Surgical. They took positives from the updates but still have questions over Vicarious.
“Timelines remain on track and RBOT continues to prepare for its first clinical patients later in FY25,” the analysts wrote. “While development progress is encouraging, RBOT’s capital position remains an area of concern as RBOT exited 1Q25 with only ~$37.4M in cash and continues to expect ~$50M in cash burn for FY25. We continue to believe RBOT will need to either reduce cash burn or find some sources of non-dilutive financing.
The analysts also note that clinical trial sites are ramping up and patients are expected to be treated by the end of next year. That falls in line with prior timelines, with an FDA submission still slated for late 2026.
Vicarious built its first patient cart and surgeon console for formal preclinical testing and began system integration, the analysts said. Management noted that it has construction for a second console and cart underway for use in the first human cases. Additionally, it has preparations in the works for upcoming biocompatibility and sterility testing on new inventory. The company also plans to send additional instruments for sterilization and performance and safety testing in the near term.
For the hospital agreement, the analysts note that management says the partnership will focus on refining peri-operative practices, enhancing surgeon education and establishing ambassadorship activities to drive best practices and robot adoption.
