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The $1.64bn acquisition of Mazor Robotics, an Israel-based pioneer in the application of robotics technology and guidance for use during spinal procedures, will allow Medtronic to accelerate the advancement and adoption of robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) systems and play a dominant role in the ever growing global robotic-assisted spinal surgery market, says leading data and analytics company GlobalData.

According to GlobalData, more than three million spinal fusion procedures were performed globally in 2017, with nearly 25% of those procedures performed in a minimally invasive manner. As the adoption of minimally invasive spinal surgery (MIS) continues to grow, the market for robotic spinal surgeries is also expected to expand.

Mazor's Renaissance and Mazor X platforms are designed to improve outcomes for spinal and neurosurgical procedures. The Renaissance system acts as a preoperative planning and intraoperative guidance system while the Mazor X platform goes a step further and includes a surgical arm with a surgeon control panel. Both platforms incorporate the company's Mazor Core technology.

Jennifer Ryan, Medical Device Analyst at GlobalData, says: "As the leader in the global spine market, Medtronic has extensive cross-selling capabilities that can be harnessed to market Mazor's robotic surgical systems. Additionally, in the future Medtronic could utilize Mazor's technology to create an updated platform that uniquely works with its own spine implants, navigation and intra-operative imaging technology, driving further market dominance."

On 20 September 2018, Medtronic agreed to acquire Mazor Robotics. The partners originally signed a multi-phase strategic partnership in May 2016 for co-promotion and co-development, as well as eventual distribution, of a selection of Mazor's products.

Medtronic made further investments in Mazor, reaching a total of $72m, or an 11% stake, in August 2017. At this time, the companies expanded their agreement and Medtronic became the exclusive global distributor of the Mazor X Surgical Assurance platform. Since then, more than 80 Mazor X systems have been installed globally.

Ryan concludes: "With the acquisition of Mazor, Medtronic can provide a fully integrated platform of spinal solutions while Mazor will benefit from improved geographic reach and additional sales channels. The acquisition will also allow Medtronic to compete more readily with Globus Medical and Zimmer Biomet, which market the ExcelsiusGPS and ROSA Spine robotic spinal surgery systems, respectively."