Johnson & Johnson Delays Ottava Surgical Robot by Two Years
Johnson & Johnson has suffered a "temporary setback" with its Ottava surgical robotic system. Speaking about the company's profit and loss for the third quarter, Executive Vice President Joseph Wolk said that, although J&J remains committed to developing a general surgery offering with Ottava, the platform's development timeline has been pushed back by approximately two years due to a number of factors.
Originally, the Ottava verification and validation processes were expected to begin in 2021, followed by the device's participation in clinical trials in 2022.
“In the third quarter, we recorded partial R&D (research and development) costs of $900 million. Accounting for this payment implies a delay of approximately two years in the first-in-human trial compared with our previous forecast for the second half of 2022. This reflects technical development challenges and disruptions related to the coronavirus, including supply chain constraints that are widespread across all countries and industries. We recognize the importance of a differentiated digital robotic platform for patient outcomes and the market. We continue to invest in the platform and are committed to it, and we will provide updates on this matter to the public as required”
This news means Medtronic continues to outpace J&J in the race against Intuitive Surgical, the dominant player in this field thanks to its da Vinci robotic platform. In October 2021, Medtronic's Hugo platform received European approval.
J&J Executive Vice President Ashley McEvoy said that, although transformative innovation is "exciting," its complexities can lead to technical challenges: "We are absolutely committed to solving our challenges, we continue to invest, and we want to bring a competitive, differentiated offering to market as soon as possible."
During a medical equipment update in November 2020, J&J unveiled a system that was marketed as offering unmatched flexibility and control compared with the rest of the market. The Italian word "Ottava" means playing music one octave higher, which underscores the company's goal of rising an octave higher in medical intervention. This was explained by J&J's Director of Robotics Development, Dr. Frederic Moll, co-founder of Intuitive Surgical, who joined J&J after its acquisition of Auris Health in 2019.
“Currently, there is no modern system that provides robotic control and coordination for the full range of procedures. My team is working to ensure our platform improves outcomes across a wide range of painful conditions”
J&J designed Ottava with six robotic arms to provide greater control and flexibility in surgery, with the manipulators integrated into the operating table. In addition, during the presentation the company said the platform has a deliberately compact design that provides patient access, increases operating room space, and improves workflow.
Robotic surgery remains a hot area in medicine, with Medtronic, J&J, and many smaller companies seeking to compete with Intuitive. In May 2020, J&J planned to present its first robotic operation, but that announcement was made before the coronavirus pandemic hit the US. The company is working on combining technologies that emerged from its earlier collaboration with Verb Surgical and Alphabet's life sciences unit Verily, as well as on its purchase of Auris Health and the Monarch platform for $3.4 billion.
In July 2020, J&J decided to postpone filing for approval with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its then-unnamed general surgery robot. In autumn 2020, Frederic Moll said the company was in an "exciting stage of development" as the platform "comes to life."
J&J says its digital ecosystem, designed to connect surgical and robotic platforms, will support the development of Ottava. The company also plans to combine it with the Auris Monarch robotic surgical platform to access and treat complex anatomy in a minimally invasive way.
Monarch already has FDA clearance for certain indications, but J&J aims to expand the platform to cancer diagnosis and treatment. The company said it sees potential in offering intraluminal drug and energy therapy using the platform. J&J's Global Head of Lung Cancer Initiatives, Avi Spira, said that delivering drugs locally directly to cancerous or precancerous lesions offers minimal toxicity, greater effectiveness, and potential for new treatment approaches.
The company said it plans to begin the first human trials of Monarch in drug and energy therapy. Spira noted: "We believe our unique, unified approach will ultimately extend beyond lung cancer. J&J has the opportunity to further change the trajectory of human health."
