Intuitive Surgical is on track to take the da Vinci 5 robot from a limited rollout to a broader launch in mid-2025.
Intuitive placed 110 da Vinci 5 systems in the third quarter, up from 70 in the second quarter, bringing the total installed base to 188, executives said on an earnings call Thursday. Customers so far have completed more than 12,000 procedures with the new platform over about the past six months, they added.
Da Vinci 5 installations are “well ahead of lofty buy-side expectations,” said BTIG analyst Ryan Zimmerman. “Limited launch or not, that’s a lot of [da Vinci 5] demand,” the analyst wrote in a note to clients after the call. BTIG estimated the number of cases completed with da Vinci 5 equals nearly 32 procedures per system per quarter.
Intuitive introduced the latest version of its flagship multiport system to the market on a limited basis after gaining Food and Drug Administration clearance for the upgraded features in March. Da Vinci 5 incorporates advances such as force feedback sensing, improved ergonomics and a smaller physical footprint.
Intuitive President David Rosa said customers have reported console time savings with da Vinci 5, compared with the earlier Xi system. One surgeon who focuses on the impact of gentler surgery on recovery in colorectal patients said da Vinci 5 showed a further reduction in force of about 20% when force feedback is used, Rosa relayed. Force feedback technology allows surgeons to sense instrument pressure on tissue during surgery.
Surgeons have used the new platform across various surgical specialties, Rosa said. Intuitive is now incorporating input from its early customers into software updates for da Vinci 5 and has begun shipping its broad launch hardware. Rosa said the company is ramping up manufacturing operations and expects to be at scale for the mid-2025 broad launch.
The surgical robotics leader filed a CE mark submission in Europe, received clearance for da Vinci 5 in South Korea last week and is working through Japan’s regulatory process.
BTIG’s Zimmerman said that with regulatory approvals for da Vinci 5 slated to open new geographic markets, “we expect the pace of [da Vinci 5] growth to continue even into the broader launch” in the second half of the year.
Overall, Intuitive placed 379 da Vinci surgical systems during the third quarter, compared with 312 in the same period last year. Worldwide da Vinci procedures grew about 18% from a year ago. The total installed base of da Vinci robots stood at 9,539 systems as of Sept. 30.
Stifel analyst Rick Wise said the company’s installed base growth rate was one of the fastest in years. “Intuitive could very well approach 10,000 robots installed by year-end,” Wise wrote in a note, adding that the company should “easily exceed” 2.5 million annual procedures in 2024.
Intuitive continues to anticipate pressure on bariatric procedures due to the increased popularity of new weight loss drugs, challenges from the ongoing physician strike in Korea and weaker capital placements in China.
