These 7 trends matter the most for medtech in 2019

1. Every major medical device company wants a robot

The da Vinci SP [Image courtesy of Intuitive Surgical]

Intuitive Surgical (NSDQ:ISRG) remains the dominant robot-assisted surgery company. Other major companies are getting into the game, though, especially in the orthopedic surgery space.

More than five years after spending $1.7 billion to acquire Mako Surgical, Stryker is leading the way bringing robot-assisted surgery to the orthopedic space. Big competitors including Johnson & Johnson’s DePuy Synthes business, Zimmer Biomet and Smith & Nephew have either launched or are preparing to launch their own robots.

In December 2018, Medtronic closed on its $1.7 billion purchase of Mazor Robotics and its robot-assisted surgery platform for the spine. A month later, Medtronic launched its Mazor X Stealth robotic-assisted spinal surgical platform in the U.S.

Intuitive Surgical meanwhile is now in the first phase of launching its da Vinci SP robot for single-port surgery. The robot’s tube is about an inch wide and delivers fully articulating instruments: three that can manipulate things and one that’s a steerable endoscope.

“We design instruments and accessories to enable repeatable, high-quality surgeries that are efficient and cost-effective relating to total cost to treat,” Intuitive Surgical CEO Gary Guthart said in a July 18 earnings call, transcribed by Seeking Alpha.