Medtronic faces challenges to lead robotic surgery space, says GlobalData

Following the recent enrolment of first patient in Medtronic’s clinical trial for its new Hugo robotic-assisted surgery system for urologic procedures:

James Spencer, Data Scientist at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers his view:

“With a successful clinical trial, this could pave the way for the Hugo system to be approved for urological procedures. However, there is already a very well entrenched market opponent, Intuitive Surgical, which is one of the first players in the robotics surgery market since it was founded in 1995. With an envious DARPA-backed pedigree, it is perhaps easy to understand why Intuitive is the current market leader.

“GlobalData predicts that the global medical robotics market is currently worth about $5.4 billion. It is expected to almost double in size to $10.3 billion by 2030. This is a highly technical field where the main competitor already has many years of head start and patents to fortify its position; this is what Medtronic is up against.

“In 2020, Medtronic announced that it would launch Hugo device in Q3 2022, but has since missed that deadline due to manufacturing issues. Medtronic’s recent tactic has been to trade its normally high confidence when entering markets with restraint and thoughtfulness.

“When asked for a deadline for release, the head of Medtronic’s medical surgery division did not give a straight answer, saying it was up to the approval process. This may be due in part to Medtronic retracting its Hugo device to implement changes based on feedback from trial surgeons. When Bob White, Medtronic’s head of medical surgery, was asked about his plans for the Hugo device, he stated that the Hugo is “excited to be the number two player in this space.

“This may paint a depressing tale for Medtronic’s prospects to dominate yet another market. However, it is a company that has consistently outperformed any market it competes in. If Medtronic is bringing the Hugo to market after extra years spent polishing it, it is confident in its ability to make a splash.”