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Google, Johnson & Johnson Team Up for Surgical Robots - Analyst Blog

Search giant Google Inc. GOOGL continues to expand its empire in every possible sector. It recently entered into a strategic alliance with leading health care products manufacturer, Johnson & Johnson JNJ. Per the alliance, Google will build a robotic-assisted surgical program in a bid to extend its footprint in the health care sector.

The collaboration is between the life-sciences division of Google X — the research unit behind projects such as self-driving cars, delivery drones, Internet balloons — and Ethicon, a medical device unit in J&J’s family of companies. The deal will be completed in the second quarter of the year after receiving approval from U.S. antitrust authorities. However, the financial terms of the deal have been kept under wraps.

Under the partnership, the companies will use their capabilities, intellectual property and expertise to search for ways to include highly developed imaging and sensors in surgical tools to complement surgeons’ abilities and assist surgeons in the operating theater by giving them real-time advice. Google will provide its resources and intellectual property to the pharmaceutical firm for the purpose.

Robotic technology has been gaining popularity in operating theaters as more and more patients now choose “minimally-invasive” procedures, which require doctors to make smaller incisions. These help in reducing pain and scarring and also enable faster healing than in case of open operations. Nearly 3 million of such lighter-touch operations are carried out in the U.S. every year.

This is not the first time that Google is trying to push into health care. Last year, it collaborated with biotechnology drugmaker, AbbVie, a spin-off from Abbott Laboratories, for a joint venture to formulate treatments for cancer and Alzheimer’s.

It also launched Google Fit health data platform, an open multi-OS API for fitness apps and devices. The program will allow developers to track fitness data, sync it across devices and store it in a central place. The Google Fit service is similar to the recently introduced services from Apple and Samsung.

The recent move will help Google to expand its reach in the ever-expanding field of medicine and create high revenue generating prospects going forward.

Google has been struggling to maintain its lead in the search and advertising market with competitors like Yahoo YHOO and Microsoft MSFT doing their best to pick up market share.

Therefore, the company has been firing on all cylinders, ranging from the high-speed Internet access business to advanced research on self-driving cars and robotics, to grow. If successful, these efforts could help it diversify its revenue source and expand its business beyond search.

Google has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).


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