Johnson & Johnson announces its entry into the US robotic surgery market

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has received marketing authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Ottava robotic surgical system, clearing the healthcare major to enter the fast-growing soft-tissue robotic surgery market. The approval is an important milestone for J&J’s medical technology business as it seeks to challenge Intuitive Surgical, whose da Vinci system dominates robotic-assisted surgery. Medtronic’s Hugo surgical robot was approved last year.Ottava has been authorized for several general surgery procedures involving the upper abdomen. These include gastric bypass, gastrectomy, gallbladder removal, gastric sleeve surgery, appendectomy and hiatal hernia repair.US launch to begin with select customersJ&J said that it would initially introduce Ottava to select customers in the United States. The company also plans to seek approval for additional procedures and expand the system into more international markets. “Our intention is to lead in surgical robotics,” said Hani Abouhalka, chairman of surgery at J&J MedTech.