Johnson & Johnson

Explainers

Plain-language answers to the questions people ask about Johnson & Johnson, from DEPLOY’s explainer library. Each is written in the language of the question and cross-checked against this registry.

• What is a surgical robot?

  A surgical robot is a computer-assisted operative platform that places robotic arms, instruments, and visualization systems between the surgeon and the patient. The 2026 commercial cohort includes Intuitive Surgical (da Vinci + Ion; 11,395 + 1,041 systems installed per SEC 10-Q), Medtronic Hugo, CMR Surgical Versius, Asensus/Karl Storz Senhance, Stereotaxis Genesis, Distalmotion Dexter, Moon Surgical Maestro (ScoPilot is the cohort's genuine shipped surgical AI standout, FDA-cleared with a Predetermined Change Control Plan), and Brain Navi NaoTrac (autonomous registration, not tissue manipulation). J&J Ottava (De Novo submission January 2026) and Vicarious Surgical V1 remain pre-market research per DEPLOY's FDA-clearance-as-gating-event framework. The autonomy spectrum runs from teleoperated baseline through analytics AI to narrow autonomous registration; tissue-manipulation autonomy remains research demos on production hardware, not shipped product.

• What is Johnson & Johnson Ottava?

  Johnson & Johnson Ottava is a surgical robotics platform under development by J&J. Per Agent A foundational ingest, Ottava submitted a De Novo to FDA in January 2026; FDA records list Ottava as 'not authorized to be marketed.' Per DEPLOY's FDA-clearance-as-gating-event framework, Ottava sits at research tier despite J&J's corporate scale. Maturity: research. The pre-market positioning despite J&J's massive medical-device portfolio is the editorial throughline: DEPLOY's framework treats Ottava at the same research tier as Vicarious Surgical V1's distressed pre-market state because both lack the verified gating event. Surfacing this transparently demonstrates the framework discipline applied to household-name corporate scale.

Current leadership (2)

• Joaquin Duato Chairman & CEO
• Joaquin Duato CEO, Johnson & Johnsonreported, not verified

Safety record

Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.

Incidents affecting Johnson & Johnson (1)

• Johnson & Johnson submits OTTAVA robotic surgical system to FDA for de novo classification2026-01-07 · Regulatory action

Includes incidents linked directly to this company, to its models, or to deployments of its models or under its operation. Retracted incidents are excluded from this view but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.

Peer companies

• Intuitive Surgical2 models
• LEM Surgical2 models
• MicroPort MedBot2 models
• Neocis2 models
• Stryker2 models
• Vantis2 models

Financial state

Reporting basis

aggregator_estimate

Lifecycle stage

mature

Counterparty risk class

low

Each numeric field carries its own basis marker. Aggregators report a number; this surface preserves the source class so verification depth travels with the value.

Partnerships (1)

• Johnson & Johnson x Ronovo Surgical with Ronovo Surgicaldevelopment

Acquisitions (1)

• acquired Auris Healthfull acquisition

Recent activity

Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.

• Superseded updatedJul 11, 2026

  johnson-johnson -> johnson-and-johnson

• Review status verified✓VerifiedJun 20, 2026

  unreviewed -> reverified

• Verified media added✓VerifiedJun 11, 2026

  The Next Era of Surgery | J&J MedTech

• Verified media added✓VerifiedJun 5, 2026

  J&J MedTech surgical robotics (featuring Ottava)

• Record createdJun 3, 2026

  Added to the verified registry

Full change history →

Sources (3)

1. https://www.jnj.com/media-center/press-releases/johnson-johnson-submits-ottava-robotic-surgical-system-to-the-u-s-food-and-drug-administration ↗
2. https://www.medtechdive.com/news/jnj-layoffs-auris-california-robotic/644544/ ↗
3. https://www.fiercebiotech.com/medtech/jj-to-take-over-verb-surgical-its-robotics-venture-verily ↗

Common questions

What is Johnson & Johnson?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) is a global healthcare and pharmaceutical company with a surgical robotics division that develops the MONARCH platform for bronchoscopic procedures and the OTTAVA surgical robotics system. The company's robotics portfolio spans robotic-assisted surgery, digital surgery, and minimally invasive interventions.

What does Johnson & Johnson make?

Johnson & Johnson has 3 robot models on the DEPLOY registry: J&J OTTAVA, Johnson & Johnson Ottava, Ottava (Johnson & Johnson builds both physical robots and the AI that runs them).

Is Johnson & Johnson publicly traded?

Yes. Johnson & Johnson is publicly traded on public markets, per the DEPLOY registry.

Who competes with Johnson & Johnson?

On the DEPLOY registry, peer companies to Johnson & Johnson building in the same form factors include Intuitive Surgical, LEM Surgical, MicroPort MedBot, Neocis.

Who is the CEO of Johnson & Johnson?

Joaquin Duato is the ceo of Johnson & Johnson, per the DEPLOY registry.