Johnson & Johnson in Advanced Talks to Acquire Auris Health for Over $2 Billion to Bolster Robotic Surgery Portfolio

VCBeat (WeChat Official Account: vcbeat) has learned that Johnson & Johnson (J&J) plans to acquire the surgical robotics company Auris Health for an estimated amount exceeding $2 billion, although the agreement has not yet been finalized.

This acquisition aims to develop a system for robot-assisted bronchoscopic ablation of pulmonary lesions, which is used for the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer and facilitates the research and development of J&J’s surgical robotic products, including orthopedic and general surgery robots currently under development.

On November 28, 2018, Auris Health secured $220 million in Series E financing from Partner Fund Management. Since its inception, Auris Health has raised approximately $730 million, with all funds dedicated to the research and development of the Monarch system.

The Monarch system, approved by the FDA, is primarily used in bronchoscopy procedures. Equipped with a controller interface, the system guides an integrated flexible robotic endoscope into the peripheral lungs and combines traditional endoscopic views with computer-assisted views based on 3D models. The Monarch system employs a game-like controller that offers more intuitive manipulation of the endoscope compared to existing single-handed interfaces.

Last year, Auris initiated a project to add a microwave ablation-capable catheter to the distal end of the robotic bronchoscope on its Monarch platform. This slender, steerable flexible tube is designed to reach hard-to-treat pulmonary nodules, thereby enabling the detection and treatment of lung tumors.

J&J has been committed to the development of digital surgical robots since 2015. By leveraging technology from Alphabet’s Verily Life Sciences, it developed the Verb Surgical prototype robotic-assisted surgery platform. J&J and Verily established a joint venture, Verb Surgical, which completed the development of its first prototype within two years. Currently, J&J and Verily are seeking to utilize new technologies not only to develop more effective surgical robots but also to collect data from the months before and after surgeries to refine their technology and better serve patients. The acquisition of Auris Health can help them achieve this goal sooner.

Auris Health is dedicated to the development of robotic technologies for medical applications, enabling medical interventions by integrating robotics, micro-instruments, endoscopes, sensors, and data into a single platform.

J&J is committed to the research, development, manufacturing, and sales of products in the medical field. The company operates primarily through three business segments: Consumer Health, Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices, and Diagnostics.