Quickly following news that the Dextera Surgical MicroCutter Stapler 5/80 was used in a groundbreaking pediatric surgery, the company formally announced entry into a joint development program with Intuitive Surgical. The partnership intends to bring the MicroCutter technology to Intuitive’s da Vinci Surgical System.
The collaboration is an extension of a long-standing license agreement the companies entered into when Dextera was still known as Cardica, Inc. Cardica switched to the name Dextera in June.
(Image credit: Intuitive Surgical)
The development program places responsibility for the stapler on Intuitive Surgical, while Dextera takes the lead on the stapler cartridge. Dextera touts the MicroCutter 5/80 Stapler as “the smallest-profile articulating stapler available today.”
Dextera Surgical president and CEO Julian Nikolchev celebrated the joint development program in a statement, saying, “This partnership with Intuitive Surgical is a significant step in the progress we have achieved in enhancing and expanding the long term opportunity of the MicroCutter technology. Intuitive Surgical is a leader in advancing robotic and minimally invasive surgery, and we believe Dextera and MicroCutter technology will have a strong role to play in these types of procedures in the future.”
