Innovation

Medtech Insight sat down with Intuitive Surgical CEO Gary Guthart at the recent LSI USA conference to discuss the full launch of the new da Vinci 5 robotic system and planned digital enhancements. Guthart also offered his views on health care interoperability, AI regulation, outpatient surgeries, autonomous robots, and how the company is harnessing technology to shape the future of robotic surgery.

Barcelona-based accelerator S2 Xpeed is driving the rapid growth of medtech and hardware start-ups in Europe. Operating under a "sweat equity" model, the program helps early-stage companies move from prototype to manufacturing readiness in exchange for equity. This month, the accelerator will add a fourth cohort of 10 more start-ups, five of which are in the medtech space.

Regenxbio is riding a wave these days, with all three of its clinical-stage programs set to reach critical milestones this year and recent positive news on its DMD gene therapy, just as Sarepta suffered a setback with a death related to its DMD treatment. In Vivo spoke with CEO Curran Simpson about the company’s plans and strategic decisions.

TechBio stands at a critical inflection point, where computational innovation meets the reality of biopharma. Industry leaders have begun to cut through the hype and identify where sustainable value truly lies in this rapidly evolving landscape.

Private Company Edition: There have been five $100m-plus VC rounds so far this month, up from three in all of February. Flagship unveiled Lila Sciences with $200m, while Curevo and Insilico raised $110m in series B and E rounds, respectively. Also, Arbor Biotech garnered $73.9m.

Aurion Biotech is developing a cell therapy for corneal diseases that is cheap enough to produce and can be scaled that it should reach the masses in a way that other cell therapies cannot.

Biotech BPGbio applies causal AI to generate insights from samples from what the CEO says is one of the world's largest biobanks. With several promising late-stage programs, its platform seems to be yielding fruit.

Companies are exploring new mechanisms of action beyond traditional amyloid and tau and both investors and big pharma are willing to make deals when the science is compelling, panelists at Biotech Showcase said.

Close collaboration between industry, academia and government in employing artificial intelligence could solve the looming threat of antimicrobial resistance, a new report co-authored by Google says.

Steven Damon, Micron Biomedical CEO, discusses the promising future of Micron’s microneedle technology, which allows for painless vaccine delivery through pressing a small patch onto the skin.