Intuitive Surgical Archives - Page 2 of 2

Manufacturing matchmaker Fictiv raises $100M for supply chain push

Fictiv co-founder and CEO Dave Evans [Photo courtesy of Fictiv]

Fictiv has closed a $100 million Series E funding round, the on-demand manufacturing technology company said today.

Fictiv focuses on “helping companies produce better products,” co-founder and CEO Dave Evans said, with three main offerings: new product development, engineer-to-order products, and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO).

But the company doesn’t actually own any manufacturing equipment, and instead has built a vetted network of 250 manufacturing partners, Evans told Device Talks Editorial Director Tom Salemi in an interview. After medical device developers upload their designs to Fictiv’s web-based platform, they get instant pricing and help choosing from different manufacturing methods, standards and prices to find the best fit.

“I’m the go-between [with contract manufacturers] bec…

Intuitive eyes sole-source suppliers as it expands capacity

Intuitive Surgical CFO Jamie Samath [Photo courtesy of Intuitive Surgical]

Top executives at Intuitive Surgical (Nasdaq: ISRG) have sole-source suppliers on their minds as they ramp up manufacturing capacity in the face of continued supply chain challenges.

The robotic surgery technology developer’s growth and mindfulness of supply chain resiliency could bring new opportunities for Intuitive’s suppliers — along with competition from others who want in.

Sunnyvale, California–based Intuitive had just more than 10,500 employees at the end of March, CFO Jamie Samath said today on a conference call to discuss Intuitive’s first-quarter financial and operating performance. That employee count is up 26 percent from the same time a year before, and of the 2,100 new employees, he said about 900 work in manufacturing.

The company spent about $95 million on capital expenditures in the first …

Employees say Intuitive, Boston Scientific, J&J, Medtronic best places to work in 2022

Intuitive Surgical, Boston Scientific, Johnson & Johnson and Medtronic were recently named as Glassdoor’s employees’ choice of Best Places to Work in 2022.

Each year, Glassdoor uses feedback that employees have shared on the website over the past year to compile a list of the best places to work for the upcoming year. Employee reviews provide Glassdoor with insights into job and workplace attributes and qualitative feedback about why their employer provides the best place to work and what needs improvement.

Intuitive Surgical ranked 29 out of 100 on the Glassdoor list. The Sunnyvale, California-based company was listed at 41 for the previous year. It received a 4.4 out of 5 star rating over the last year. Some of its top reviews mention a “great work/life balance” with competitive salaries, benefits and stock options. The cons outlined suggest that Intuitive has a “very fast paced environment [with] high-performance expectation…

Intuitive Surgical highlights supply chain risk, addresses Medtronic’s Hugo launch

Intuitive Surgical CFO Marshall Mohr [Photo courtesy of Intuitive Surgical]

Intuitive Surgical executives today said delays and price increases are working their way through the medtech supply chain, likely resulting in higher production costs in the months ahead and the potential for delayed development and regulatory activity.

“I don’t think I can say it’s getting better. it’s a difficult situation and will continue for some time. … I’m not sure I want to say the inflation word, that it has hit us and is here to stay, but we are seeing some suppliers raise costs,” CFO Marshall Mohr said on a conference call to discuss the surgical robotics maker’s performance in the third quarter.

“It’s a problem we highlight just to make sure that you’re aware of the risk,” Mohr said.

Mohr and CEO Gary Guthart said Intuitive has so far been able to resolve regularly occurring suppl…

Intuitive Surgical names new C-suite leaders, reports Street-beating Q3

Intuitive Surgical CEO Gary Guthart [Photo courtesy of Intuitive]

Intuitive Surgical (NSDQ:ISRG) today announced changes in the ranks of its senior leadership as the surgical robotics maker released Q3 results that exceeded expectations.

Sunnyvale, California-based Intuitive launched two new functional organizations — Strategy and Growth, and Global Business Services — and named leaders who will take over effective Jan. 1.

Dave Rosa, a 25-year veteran at Intuitive, will fill the new position of EVP and chief strategy and growth officer, while Henry Charlton (with more than 18 years of experience at the company) will serve as chief commercial officer.

Marshall Mohr, who has served as CFO for 15 years, will take the new position of EVP for Global Business Services. Replacing Mohr at CFO is Jamie Samath, who has been with Intuitive since 2013 and oversaw most finance functions as SVP of finance.

…

What medtech’s top executives learned from their dads

[Image from Pixabay]

For better or worse, parents including dads play a major role in who we become. As we approach Father’s Day in the U.S., Medical Design & Outsourcing and MassDevice reached out to some of medtech’s top executives to ask what they learned from their dads.

Here’s what they said:

“My father built a business in the defense technology sector with some long-term colleagues as co-founders. Around the dinner table and over coffee for years, we’ve discussed the need for leadership excellence, technology excellence and empathy in bringing science-based business to the market. What a wonderful stroke of luck to have him in my life.” – Gary S. Guthart, CEO of Intuitive

Medtronic CEO Geoff Martha’s father, during his young days. [Image courtesy of Medtronic]

“My Dad has always been a strong s…

8 medical device companies that beat the COVID-19 pandemic and prospered

[Image from unsplash.com]

Some medical device businesses not only survived the COVID-19 pandemic but actually thrived — with many producing the medtech needed to fight the coronavirus’s spread.

Medical Design & Outsourcing recently analyzed financials for 20 of the largest medical device businesses in the world. Not only was revenue only slightly down for the 20 during 2020, but it was actually up for eight of the 20 companies.

For many of the eight companies that saw sales increase, there was a common theme: They pivoted their focus to the diagnostics imaging and personal protective equipment needed to against COVID-19.

“We had different kinds of companies that were able to benefit on some level from COVID and shutdowns,” Richard Newitter, senior research analyst at SVB Leerink, told MDO.

Overall, medtech sales declined in Q1 and Q2 but then bounced back in a V-shaped recovery fo…

How big medtech fared during a year of COVID-19

[Photo from Unsplash]

Despite numerous challenges, the medtech industry showed itself to be fairly recession-proof in 2020, according to a Medical Design & Outsourcing analysis of financials.

Annual reports recently released by 20 of the world’s largest medical device companies showed only a slight dip in revenue during 2020 — a year in which medtech held the front lines against the COVID-19 pandemic. Employment was also up slightly amongst the top earners, while R&D spending held its own.

The 20 companies included in the MDO analysis include 3M Healthcare, Abbott (medical device segment), Alcon, Align Technology, Baxter, Boston Scientific, Danaher (life sciences and diagnostics segment), Dentsply Sirona, Edwards Lifesciences, GE Healthcare, Henry Schein, Intuitive Surgical, Johnson & Johnson (medical device segment), Medline Industries, Owens & Minor, Royal Philips, Smith+Nephew, …

Could artificial intelligence boost surgical robotics to new heights?

Goldberg and his team trained a da Vinci surgical robot to automatically perform peg transfer slightly faster and more accurately than an experienced surgical resident. [Image courtesy of the Autolab at UC Berkeley]

Ken Goldberg thinks artificial intelligence will enable surgical robots to achieve their best function — not replacing surgeons but augmenting their work by reducing the monotony of specific subtasks like suturing.

The William S. Floyd Jr. Distinguished Chair in Engineering at UC Berkeley, Goldberg and his research team have continued to advance the field.

The group — which includes postdoctoral researchers Minho Hwang and Jeffrey Ichnowski and PhD student Brijen Thananjeyan — has demonstrated how a deep neural network plus 3D-printed depth-sensing markers can train a da Vinci surgical robot to automatically perform peg transfer slightly faster and more accurately than an experienced surgical…

These medtech stocks performed the best in 2020

(From Ishant Mishra on Unsplash)

While 2020 did not go as planned for anyone, with the twists and turns came opportunities for medtech companies to power forward.

Innovations came both as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and perhaps in spite of the challenges brought on by the virus, highlighted by the increased efforts to produce vaccines and testing while pivoting to artificial-intelligence-based and remote care.

Companies like Moderna arose from nowhere, climbing from a share price of $19.52 to $104.47 over the course of the year as it established itself as a frontronner in the race to get a COVID-19 vaccine to the public, eventually becoming the second vaccine authorized in the U.S.

MassDevice’s MedTech 100 Index — which includes stocks of the world’s largest medical device companies — has hit new heights over the course of 2020, indicating the upward trajectory of the industry. Ove…

What medtech’s top CEOs are saying about COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic is drying up sales for many large medical device companies, but there’s hope for a recovery later this year.

That’s the big message from medtech’s top CEOs as they issue financial predictions and engage in earnings calls with analysts.

Governments around the world are calling on medical device companies to make the supplies that health providers need to manage the virus: respirator masks, ventilators, infusion pumps, virus and antibody tests, and more.

At the same time, the same companies are taking a hit related to the devices and products used in elective procedures — and even procedures that people actually need — as hospitals focus on saving people with COVID-19.

It’s little wonder then that MassDevice’s MedTech 100 Index — which includes stocks of the world’s largest medical device companies — remains down about 10% from its pre-pandemic Feb. 19 high point. (It’s still in better shape than the Dow Jones Industrial Averag…