Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) announced April 1 that Ethicon, Inc. a subsidiary of J&J, has completed the acquisition of Auris Health, Inc. for approximately $3.4 billion in cash. Additional contingent payments of up to $2.35 billion, in the aggregate, may be payable upon reaching certain predetermined milestones. With Auris Health’s robotic platform technology, currently used in diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in the lung, Johnson & Johnson will advance its commitment to combatting lung cancer and expand its digital surgery portfolio across multiple surgical specialties.“We are focused on building a connected, data-driven digital ecosystem that pairs our market-leading surgical solutions with advanced technologies to improve the patient experience,” said Ashley McEvoy, executive vice president, worldwide chairman, Medical Devices, Johnson & Johnson. “The passionate team and differentiated innovation from Auris will help us amplify the power of digital surgery to address unmet clinical needs and lead a transformation in surgical care and lung cancer intervention.”
The Auris technology complements robotic platform technologies currently in development in general surgery with Verb Surgical, through the Johnson & Johnson collaboration with Verily, and in orthopedics with the acquisition of Orthotaxy. Johnson & Johnson aspires to bring disruptive innovation to the full continuum of procedures, including open, laparoscopic, robotic and endoluminal.
The company will discuss the transaction further during its next quarterly earnings call on April 16, 2019.