Dedicated to shaping the next frontier of surgery, Johnson & Johnson announced an agreement to acquire the remaining stake in Verb Surgical Inc. following a collaboration with Verily, an Alphabet company. Verb Surgical's world-class robotics and data science capabilities combined with Johnson & Johnson's health care leadership and global reach advance the company's vision to make medical interventions smarter, less invasive and more personalized. 

"We have reached this important milestone thanks to the progress the Verb Surgical team has made with their digital surgery platform and the strong collaboration with Verily, Ethicon, and the clinicians around the world who shared their passion, deep insights and clinical expertise," said Ashley McEvoy, Worldwide Chairman, Medical Devices, Johnson & Johnson. "We are building a truly differentiated digital surgery ecosystem to change the standard of care for generations to come, and our collaboration with Verily has enabled us to advance our vision to help improve outcomes for patients around the world."

Andrew Conrad, CEO of Verily, added, "With Verb Surgical, we set out with an ambitious mission to successfully harmonize the talent and expertise of two pioneers to design a platform with the potential to transform surgery. This evolution in the collaboration recognizes the significant achievement toward that mission and I'm excited for the future of this technology in Johnson & Johnson's hands."

Combining groundbreaking robotics, enhanced visualization, advanced instrumentation, machine learning, data analytics and powerful end-to-end connectivity, Johnson & Johnson continues to strengthen its digital surgery portfolio. With a community of world-class experts, including Dr. Fred Moll, robotics pioneer leading digital surgery development; Ethicon's deep knowledge in surgery and instrumentation; Verb Surgical's leading-edge robotics and data science expertise; and Verily's digital technology and engineering expertise, Johnson & Johnson is well-positioned to bring its unique insights and experience in science, medical technology and digital solutions to medical interventions, including open surgery, laparoscopic, percutaneous and endoluminal procedures.

"The ability to shape the future of medical interventions with the largest health care organization in the world is what inspired me when Johnson & Johnson acquired Auris Health Inc.," said Dr. Fred Moll, Chief Development Officer, Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices Company. "With Verb Surgical's talent and technology, we will strengthen our portfolio and our ability to deliver our digital ecosystem to make a clinical difference for patients."

Johnson & Johnson has a presence in almost every operating room in the world and market-leading surgery products used in 75 million procedures each year. The acquisition of Auris Health Inc. earlier this year accelerated Johnson & Johnson's entry into digital surgery with the Monarch Platform, kicking off a strong cadence of launches that will take place over the next several years. VELYS Digital Surgery will pave the way in orthopedics with a platform that consists of connected technologies that leverage data insights for patients, surgeons and health care systems across the entire care continuum, before, during and after surgery.

The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2020, subject to antitrust clearance and customary closing conditions. Financial terms of this transaction are not being disclosed.