Feb 13 2019
Forbes
Forbes recently featured Auris in an article about Johnson & Johnson's $3.5 billion all-cash acquisition of the company. In the deal, Auris is also eligible to receive up to $2.35 billion in additional milestone payments. This deal will boost J&J's plan to expand its robotics program.
Auris was joined in 2007 by one of the pioneers of the robotic surgery, Dr. Fred Moll and since then Auris has raised over $800 million in debt and equity financing to date. Auris's technology, called the Monarch Platform, received FDA approval for use in diagnostic and therapeutic bronchoscopy in 2018. Pitchbook valued Auris at $2.2 billion following its most recent Series D1 funding round in November.
J&J has sought entry into the robotics market since at least 2015, when they entered into a joint venture with Google-parent Alphabet, creating robotic surgery startup Verb Surgical. J&J has also partnered with Auris in the past, with an agreement to combine J&J's Neuwave platform with the Monarch Platform.
Analyst Joanne Wuensch of BMO Capital Markets said of the acquisition, "Investors have been yearning for an acquisition for JNJ's MedTech." Wuensch also believes that the Monarch Platform will complement J&J's current pulmonary hypertension pharmaceutical division.
The deal will help J&J compete with robotic surgery market leader Intuitive Surgical, who are awaiting FDA approval for a robotic-assisted bronchoscope device similar to Auris's Monarch Platform.
Independent investment banking advisory firm Evercore estimates "a 5x enterprise value-to-normalized sales could put the lung biopsy potential revenue opportunity at $700 million."
Read the Full Article on ForbesBronchoscopy:
Complications from bronchoscopy are rare and most often minor, but if they occur, may include breathing difficulty, vocal cord spasm, hoarseness, slight fever, vomiting, dizziness, bronchial spasm, infection, low blood oxygen, bleeding from biopsied site, or an allergic reaction to medications. Only rarely do patients experience other more serious complications (for example, collapsed lung, respiratory failure, heart attack and/or cardiac arrhythmia).
Urology:
Adverse effects from both Mini-PCNL and Ureteroscopy include pain, urinary tract infection, fever, hematuria (presence of blood in urine), exposure to low levels of radiation, retained or residual stones.
Adverse effects from ureteroscopy may include pain, perforation or injury to the ureter, resulting in extravasation of fluid and urine (urinoma), stricture of the ureter with risk of subsequent obstruction (hydronephrosis needing further repair), rare avulsion of the ureter, urinary blood clots, residual stones.
PCNL access may result in minor and major adverse effects. Minor effects include fever and nephrostomy leak. Major adverse effects may include injuries to pleura, liver, spleen, large vessels with related bleeding, gallbladder, duodenum, jejunum, colon with related cutaneous fistula, fever, pain, ileus, elevated counts.
Major adverse effects related to stone removal may include infection and urosepsis, intravascular fluid overload, extravasation of fluid, and post percutaneous nephrolithotomy bleeding.