bariatric/gastroenterology Archives - Medical Design Sourcing

Another surgical robotics CEO says GLP-1s could boost bariatric surgeries

Levita Magnetics founder, CEO and President Dr. Alberto Rodriguez-Navarro [Photo courtesy of Levita Magnetics]

The rise of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) weight loss drugs will likely increase demand for bariatric surgeries in the long run, according to Levita Magnetics founder, CEO and President Dr. Alberto Rodriguez-Navarro.

He’s the latest CEO of a surgical robotics developer to weigh in on how these novel drugs could affect demand for bariatric procedures and the wave of robotic systems being launched to perform them.

In an interview with Medical Design & Outsourcing, Rodriguez-Navarro says he views GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy in the same way as previous advances like intragastric balloons that were hailed as obesity solutions.

“Down the line, you stop using those treatments and the people regain the weight, because obesity’s a multifactorial, very complex diseas…

How Medtronic evaluates its exposure to GLP-1 drugs

Medtronic Chief Scientific, Medical and Regulatory Officer Dr. Laura Mauri drills into GLP-1 drug trial results to estimate their impact across the portfolio.

“We’ve done all the analysis” on GLP-1 drugs across Medtronic’s portfolio, said CEO and Chair Geoff Martha. [Photo courtesy of Medtronic]

The impact of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy on medtech manufacturing is one of the biggest uncertainties heading into 2024.

Industry leaders like Medtronic, Stryker and Intuitive have faced questions from investors about whether these weight loss drugs will reduce demand for certain medical devices and procedures.

Despite a portfolio spanning some of the fields that would seem likely to be affected — such as cardiovascular, diabetes, surgical and neurovascular — Medtronic Chair and CEO Geoff Martha recently said the drugs won’t impact his company’…

Medtronic weighs in on GLP-1 impact for device manufacturers

Medtronic CEO and Chair Geoff Martha [Photo courtesy of Medtronic]

Medtronic is the latest — and largest — device manufacturer to weigh in on GLP-1 weight loss drugs and how they could affect demand for medical devices.

Medtronic Chair and CEO Geoff Martha today said the world’s largest medical device company doesn’t expect GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy to take a big bite out of its business.

While Medtronic said the drugs have had a “modest impact” on the bariatric surgery market, Medtronic thinks that is only temporary. The rate of decline in Medtronic’s bariatric business has already stabilized, Martha said on the company’s second-quarter earnings call, adding, “I think we see that coming back in the coming year.”

“We feel strongly that we don’t see these drugs impacting Medtronic’s growth, medium …