Intuitive Surgical to Begin Direct Sales of da Vinci(R) Surgical Systems in Japan

SUNNYVALE, Calif., July 1, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Intuitive Surgical (Nasdaq:ISRG) and Adachi Co. Ltd. today announced an agreement to transition Japanese sales, marketing, service, support and training for da Vinci® Systems, instruments and accessories to Intuitive Surgical, a transition that began June 26, 2014. With this agreement, Intuitive Surgical will further expand its presence in the Asia Pacific region.

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Intuitive Surgical and Adachi will work together to ensure da Vinci customers in Japan experience a smooth transition. In addition, Intuitive Surgical will offer employment to a number of Adachi employees who have experience with the da Vinci business. These employees will be added to Intuitive Surgical's existing regulatory team, call center and other departments to further strengthen the highly capable organization.

"Adachi has made a significant contribution to da Vinci Surgery in Japan, establishing the da Vinci Surgical System in the Japanese market," said Gary Guthart, Intuitive Surgical President and Chief Executive Officer. "We are thankful for their contributions. This agreement allows Intuitive Surgical to increase our interaction and collaboration with Japanese customers and is another step in building our long-term capabilities in Asia."

"Japan is a significant country for Intuitive Surgical," said Jeroen M.M. van Heesewijk, Intuitive Surgical Asia Pacific Vice President. "It is the second largest medical device market in the world and an area where we currently have more than 150 customers. With a direct team in Japan, we seek closer collaboration with Japanese customers, surgical societies and leading healthcare providers."

Intuitive Surgical has worked directly with Japan's regulatory body, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), for the past several years to secure regulatory clearance of products and reimbursement. "We look forward to continuing our cooperative relationship with the MHLW," said Seiji Kamijo, Intuitive Surgical Japan, Vice President and Director.

The terms of the arrangement were not disclosed and are not expected to have a material impact on Intuitive Surgical's results of operations.

About Intuitive Surgical, Inc.

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (Nasdaq:ISRG), headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., is the global leader in robotic-assisted, minimally invasive surgery. Intuitive Surgical develops, manufactures and markets the da Vinci Surgical System. 

About the da Vinci Surgical System

The da Vinci Surgical System is a surgical platform designed to facilitate surgery using a minimally invasive approach. The da Vinci Surgical System consists of one or two ergonomic surgeon consoles, a patient-side cart with three or four interactive arms, a 3D HD vision system and proprietary EndoWrist® instruments.

Forward-Looking Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are necessarily estimates reflecting the best judgment of our management and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements should, therefore, be considered in light of various important factors, including those under the heading "Risk Factors" in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, as updated from time to time by our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements using words such as "estimates," "projects," "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," "intends," "may," "will," "could," "should," "would," "targeted" and similar words and expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or release any revisions to these forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

CONTACT: Intuitive Surgical Corporate Communications
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