Dive Brief:

• Medtronic will pay Cosmo Intelligent Medical Devices $100 million upfront to expand a partnership that makes Medtronic the exclusive global distributor of Cosmo’s GI Genius platform.
• GI Genius received de novo clearance in 2021 and uses machine learning to flag regions of interest during a colonoscopy, helping physicians detect lesions, such as polyps or suspected tumors. 
• In addition, Medtronic said it would pay a double-digit royalty on net sales and another $100 million in milestone payments that it expects the partnership to reach by the end of 2024.

Dive Insight:

Medtronic first started working with Cosmo Intelligent Medical Devices, a subsidiary of Cosmo Pharmaceuticals, in 2019. When the Food and Drug Administration cleared GI Genius a few years later, the agency said it was the first device that used machine learning to help clinicians detect lesions in the colon. 

Now, Cosmo and Medtronic are expanding their partnership, including integrating additional AI applications into the system. Cosmo designed its GI Genius module to be able to host third-party AI applications. Earlier this year, Medtronic said it would work with chipmaker Nvidia to incorporate its healthcare platforms into GI Genius, which would enable AI developers to train and validate AI models through the device.

Medtronic Chief Technology Officer Ken Washington said in a statement that this platform is a “springboard for expanding Medtronic's AI's potential in healthcare.” 

CEO Geoff Martha said, “We're setting a new course for the future, where AI-assisted healthcare is not just an option, but a fundamental aspect of patient treatment and outcomes.”