CMR Surgical aims to get into the top tier of the global medical devices industry – if it’s not snapped up first
In an unassuming two-storey former chicken shed in a business park near Cambridge, a four-limbed creature performs an elaborate dance. Versius, the first UK-built surgical robot, is used in the NHS and hospitals around the world, typically to perform abdominal, urological and gynaecological procedures. A surgeon can sit in front of its 3D screen and operate the robot by manipulating two joysticks.
“Cambridge is a good place to do technology,” says Luke Hares, the chief technology officer at CMR Surgical, the company behind Versius. CMR has grown rapidly since its foundation in 2016 and now employs 750 people. As it ramps up exports, with dozens of its $1m-$1.5m (£750,000-£1.1m) robots lined up and awaiting shipment at the firm’s headquarters, it has just announced it will open another factory in nearby Ely to more than triple manufacturing capacity.