Dextera and Intuitive Surgical Initiate Joint Development Program on New Robotic Stapler Products for da Vinci Surgical System

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Aug. 01, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dextera Surgical Inc. DXTR today announced that the company has entered into a joint development program with Intuitive Surgical, Inc. ISRG, the global leader in robotic-assisted surgery, on a surgical stapler and cartridge for use with Intuitive's da Vinci^® Surgical System. The initiation of this development agreement follows the successful completion of a six-month feasibility evaluation of Dextera's MicroCutter technology as part of an ongoing license agreement between the two companies.

Under the terms of the joint development program, as specified in an amendment to the license agreement in December 2015, Intuitive Surgical will be responsible for the development work on the stapler and Dextera Surgical will be responsible for the development work on the stapler cartridge. 

"This partnership with Intuitive Surgical is a significant step in the progress we have achieved in enhancing and expanding the long term opportunity of the MicroCutter technology," said Julian Nikolchev, president and CEO, Dextera Surgical. "Intuitive Surgical is a leader in advancing robotic and minimally invasive surgery, and we believe Dextera and MicroCutter technology will have a strong role to play in these types of procedures in the future."

"For more than 20 years, we have focused on delivering high-value solutions that improve surgical outcomes," said Bob DeSantis, senior vice president, Instrument Engineering, Intuitive Surgical. "Working to integrate MicroCutter technology and expand our stapling product offerings will only enhance that effort."

About Dextera Surgical
Dextera Surgical designs and manufactures proprietary stapling devices for minimally invasive surgical procedures. In the U.S., surgical staplers are routinely used in more than one million minimally invasive laparoscopic, video-assisted or robotic-assisted surgical procedures annually.

The company's signature proprietary technology, the MicroCutter 5/80 Stapler, is the world's first and only five-millimeter surgical stapler that articulates to 80 degrees in each direction. As the smallest-profile articulating stapler available today, the MicroCutter 5/80 Stapler may reduce the amount of dissection and tissue handling required to position the stapler in confined spaces, enabling access to difficult-to-reach anatomy.  The cartridge-based device's small size and wide articulation range are designed to enhance the surgeon's access and visualization at the surgical site and to mitigate limitations on the advancement of minimally invasive surgical approaches created by larger stapling devices.

Dextera Surgical also markets the only automated anastomosis devices for coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery on the market today: the C-Port® Distal Anastomosis Systems and PAS-Port® Proximal Anastomosis System. These products, sold by Dextera Surgical under the Cardica brand name, have demonstrated long-term reliable clinical performance for more than a decade.

MicroCutter Indication Information
The MicroCutter 5/80 Stapler is manufactured and cleared for use in the United States for transection and resection in multiple open or minimally invasive urologic, thoracic and pediatric surgical procedures, as well as application for transection, resection and/or creation of anastomoses in the small and large intestine, and the transection of the appendix. The MicroCutter 30 White Reload has application in vascular tissue. 

Forward-Looking Statements
The statements in this press release regarding Dextera Surgical's beliefs as to the benefits expected to be obtained from the use of the MicroCutter 5/80 Stapler, are "forward-looking statements." There are a number of important factors that could cause results to differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements, including: that Dextera Surgical may not be successful in its efforts to complete the development of its combination device (designed to use two different size cartridges) or achieve optimization of Dextera Surgical's supply chain for its combination device; that Dextera Surgical may not receive regulatory clearance for indications not currently cleared; as well as other risks detailed from time to time in the company's reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2016, under the caption "Risk Factors." Dextera Surgical expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein. You are encouraged to read Dextera Surgical's reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, available at www.sec.gov.