Read the Conversation
Meeting highlights:
- CMR Surgical (CMR) – the company behind Versius, a next-generation surgical robotic system – is the world’s second-largest company in surgical robotics, with a clear objective to solidify its position, enter new markets, and expand the use of surgical robotics in minimally invasive surgery.
- Education is crucial for proper product use, which is why CMR has developed a metrics-based training program encompassing the entire surgical team, ensuring high-quality usage standards for Versius.
- The versatility of the Versius system makes it a viable robotic solution for virtually any care setting, including smaller district and general hospitals, as well as large university hospitals. CMR addresses a significant unmet need in urban and semi-urban areas, focusing on the 3As- Awareness, Accessibility, and Affordability.
- Specifically for India, the nation’s demographics, increased healthcare awareness that necessitates earlier intervention across multiple disease states, expanding insurance coverage, rise in government support, and highly skilled healthcare talent pool make this a promising market for exponential growth.
- CMR’s future is centered on incremental to transformational products, innovation, an expanding portfolio pipeline, and consolidating its presence in diverse markets, ultimately broadening and expanding the scope, depth, and reach of robotic surgery.
EF: What attracted you to CMR Surgical?
SD: My career started at Nestle India. Then, after completing my MBA, I spent over 29 years at Johnson & Johnson Medical in various leadership roles, working across multiple geographies, including the UK, the U.S., Australia, Singapore, and India. After a wonderful journey with J&J, I joined the Shalby group, an Indian hospital chain as Vice Chairman. I expanded the footprint of Shalby’s newly acquired orthopedic implant manufacturing company in California, growing its presence in the U.S. and International markets for nearly three years. Then, the opportunity at CMR Surgical came along.
The current Vice-Chairman of CMR, Supratim Bose, a legend in the MedTech world who previously served as Company Group Chairman at my former company, Johnson & Johnson, reached out and invited me to join him. I could not let go of the chance to work with him again.
Moreover, I found CMR’s portfolio of surgical robotics very innovative and unique compared to what was existing in the space. Seeing the opportunity to help accelerate the impact of these technologies on furthering surgeons’ skills and capabilities attracted me to the field. When I looked deeper into CMR's structure, I felt it was a place where I could make a real impact and enjoy the work. I have now been with CMR for eight months, initially as President of the Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa regions. I have recently been promoted to President of International Markets, so I now oversee Europe and Latin America as well.
EF: What are your mission and priorities for your assigned region?
SD: We are currently the world’s second-largest player in the field of surgical robotics. The leader in this space has been in the market for over 20 years, while we launched our product commercially only 6 years ago, with the first clinical procedure taking place in India.
Our primary objective is to firmly establish our market position and standing and rapidly close the existing gap with the market leader. We are focused on consolidating our position and entering into new markets. Recently, we received FDA marketing authorization in the U.S., which is a big step, especially since expanding into leading surgical robotics markets is our top priority. Another major goal for CMR is to revolutionize surgery by making robotic-assisted surgery standard for all minimally invasive procedures. This will involve targeting specific surgical specialties, hospital tiers, and regions where we can make the most impact.
EF: How prepared are emerging markets like India for robotics adoption, and what strategies are you using to capture these opportunities?
SD: While well-established in Europe and the UK, we have also built a strong presence in regions including the Middle East, South Asia, South East Asia, and Australia. We have developed a modular platform with distinct advantages, allowing our system to be used flexibly in surgery. Our system's small and modular design has a very small operating theatre footprint. It can be easily moved between operating theatres, which sets us apart from the single-system setup of some of the competition. This flexibility has allowed us to explore a wider range of surgical specialties, such as general surgery, colorectal surgery, gynecology, and thoracic surgery, and inside every shape and size operating theatre.
India was our first market to launch, and it has been a great success, with over 7,500 procedures performed to date and around 50 installations across hospitals. Our compact and versatile system fits seamlessly into virtually any operating room, making it ideal for both smaller hospitals and larger hospitals, including those in tier-one to tier-three cities. This adaptability has helped us expand beyond large corporate hospitals to reach a much broader audience, which has helped surgical robotic surgery come nearer to the patients. People now do not need to travel long distances to experience the benefits of high-quality robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgery.
EF: Could you elaborate on how you establish partnerships with local medical entities and educate healthcare professionals in using your systems?
SD: One of the key advantages that CMR has is Dr. Mark Slack—a renowned Urogynecologist and the Co-founder of CMR Surgical—who is actively involved in the day-to-day running of the organization as our Chief Medical Officer. Mark has oversight across all the clinical and training programs, leveraging his surgical experience to ensure it exactly meets the needs of other surgeons. At CMR, we follow a strict metrics-based training program, requiring every surgeon to complete hands-on training before using our robot for clinical use. Before any sale, surgeons get the opportunity to try out the Versius system, often using virtual reality simulations to familiarize themselves with its functions, in the presence of our CMR personnel.
After purchase, surgeons will train at our various training facilities located around the globe, guided by our dedicated and certified Professional Education team. Most surgeons who undergo training with us are already skilled in laparoscopic surgery, which eases their transition to Versius due to its similar port placement. This alignment simplifies adaptation and ensures a much easier learning curve than other robotic systems available in the market.
When a surgeon does their first procedure, a CMR professional education trainer and a CMR clinical implementation specialist are present in the operating room along with a CMR field service engineer. We also offer a proctorship program, allowing new surgeon users to observe experienced surgeons who have completed over 100 Versius procedures. Additionally, on-site simulation enables surgeons to practice with a simulation trainer model at their facility, developing hand-eye coordination in a controlled environment. No surgeon operates on a patient with Versius until fully trained and certified.
EF: Could you discuss India’s strategic role for CMR Surgical and how you leverage the country’s capabilities to expand your market and drive innovation?
SD: India’s healthcare sector holds immense potential, driven by its large, diverse population and growing middle class. Healthcare awareness has significantly improved compared to 10-20 years ago, with more people prioritizing preventive care and early diagnosis through regular checkups, enabling timely medical and surgical interventions.
Insurance coverage has expanded to about 30-35% of the population, including government-backed schemes, fueling growth in the sector. However, challenges remain. India’s cost-sensitive market makes introducing newer, advanced technologies difficult, as patients and providers often hesitate to pay for them. While private healthcare facilities are adopting cutting-edge technologies, such adoption in public facilities still lags. Greater public-sector investment in advanced technologies could unlock even more opportunities for the healthcare sector in India.
Surgery growth today in India is in the mid-double digits, extending beyond metros into smaller cities and towns. Improved healthcare facilities in tier-two and tier-three cities mean patients no longer need to travel far for complex procedures. While we focus on driving growth in the large corporate hospitals and metro cities in India, our continued attention also remains on smaller and mid-sized hospitals in these regions, addressing the demand for surgeries in urology, colorectal, gastrointestinal, thoracic, oncology, and gynecology.
As specified earlier, success in India hinges on awareness, accessibility, and affordability. Compared to many of the competition, our cost-effective products make advanced care more accessible in these cost-sensitive markets, providing a compelling value proposition with the benefits offered through Versius. Educating patients and providers about the benefits of minimally invasive and robotic surgery—such as reduced pain, faster recovery, and better infection control—is essential. Public awareness campaigns, supported by government initiatives, can further drive adoption.
India also benefits from highly skilled surgeons, many of whom are trained in top institutions locally and internationally. Increasingly, these surgeons are also shifting from the large cities, starting their practice and establishing hospitals in their hometowns. This entrepreneurial shift is expanding access to quality surgical care across the country, bringing advanced healthcare closer to patients.
EF: Where do you see yourself and the company in five years?
SD: This company has a bright future, driven by CMR’s iterative approach to innovation. CMR refines its existing offering and develops new products based on surgeon feedback. Founded in 2014, it launched its first product in 2019, thanks to visionary co-founders and leaders like our CTO Luke Hares and CMO Dr. Mark Slack.
Our technology is highly software-driven, allowing updates and improvements without replacing the entire system. This design makes it easy to upgrade technological improvements, keeping the robot modern and aligned with advancements, positioning CMR as a leader in innovation over the next five years.
During this time, we aim to reach more patients and increase access to robotic surgery; a market that remains largely underpenetrated, presently sitting at only 7-8% globally. CMR can play a major role in increasing global access to robotic surgery.
We currently have a presence in over 30 countries with over 170 installations and more than 27,000 procedures completed using Versius globally while maintaining our proud Cambridge legacy.
EF: If you were to launch your own health tech startup in India, what ideas would you consider?
SD: After 30 years in healthcare, I deeply desire to give back to the community. In my previous company, J&J, we practiced our credo, a living document that prioritized patients, employees, the community, and shareholders in that order. If I were to start a business, I’d aim to make it both profitable and impactful, addressing unmet healthcare needs. This could take the form of multidimensional elements, be it a hospital, a telehealth platform to improve accessibility, or a tech-driven initiative reaching more people through partnerships. My personal goal would be to balance community impact with profitability rather than focusing solely on financial profits.
EF: Is there any final message you want to share with our readers?
SD: If the last decade in healthcare was defined by rapid advances in pharmaceuticals, this decade will belong to advancements in medical technology. To drive this forward, we need more committed talent and forward-thinking people in this space, bringing diverse perspectives across R&D, technology, commercial, service, and education. Pharmaceuticals transformed the landscape by addressing unmet needs and attracting talent, focusing on strategic vision, building public-private partnerships, and engaging government support while bringing down the costs of delivery. The same can happen in medical technology, but it only starts with talent. With the right people steering the right vision, the medical technology industry can innovate and reshape healthcare.
