Siemens Healthineers said today that it plans to discontinue the use of its Corindus surgical robotics for cardiology procedures.
On the company’s first-quarter earnings call, first reported by Reuters, CFO Jochen Schmitz confirmed the strategy shift. He said the “use of Corindus robots for cardiology operations did not fulfill our expectations.” Schmitz reportedly added that the timeline for robots for neurological operations to reach the market constitutes “several years.”
In 2019, Siemens Healthineers bought out Corindus for $1.1 billion. Corindus develops the CorPath robot-assisted device for coronary and peripheral vascular procedures.
The business arm aims to provide innovative, image-guided robotic solutions. Its CorPath GRX system supports endovascular procedures.
It officially rebranded to “Siemens Healthineers Endovascular Robotics” in December 2022.
According to Reuters, the company expects to take a $362 million (€329 million) hit from the decision to cut surgical robotics for heart surgery.
The decision to halt surgical robotics for heart procedures follows a 30% dip in second-quarter profits for the company. It reported diminishing demand for COVID-19 tests.
Full-year guidance for Siemens Healthineers falls within a 1% dip to a 1% decrease compared to €21.7 billion last year. The company projects its diagnostics revenue to fall by 23% to 26%. That marks a further slide in Siemens Healthineers’ forecast as the company previously set expectations for between 19% and 21%.