SANTA CLARA, Calif. – May 28, 2025 -- Johnson & Johnson MedTech, a global leader in surgical technologies and solutions, today announced that results from the TARGET study have been published by CHEST Journal. This landmark study demonstrated that clinicians were able to reach small and peripherally located lung nodules in more than 98% of cases with the MONARCH Platform and biopsy them with a safety profile comparable to non-robotic bronchoscopy techniques.
The TARGET (Transbronchial Biopsy Assisted by Robotic Guidance in the Evaluation of Tumors in the Lung) study followed 679 patients across 21 global sites in the U.S., Canada and Hong Kong as part of a single-arm prospective multicenter study. Patients were followed for at least one year.
The study, published on April 26, 2025, was designed to measure clinical safety, navigation success and diagnostic yield across a broad range of patients in a real-world setting. Investigators reported that the robotically-guided MONARCH bronchoscope reached the lesion in 98.7% of cases with a diagnostic yield of 83.2%* and a safety profile that is comparable to non-robotic bronchoscopy[i].
In addition to endpoints for safety, navigation success and diagnostic yield, investigators also noted learnings about variables found to be significantly associated with higher diagnostic yield, including history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)/emphysema and presence of a bronchus sign. To build deeper understanding of robotic-assisted bronchoscopy, investigators are continuing to explore these areas, analyzing and reporting data related to patient stature/height, subsolid nodules, atypical cells and performance of biopsy tools in RAB, with results intended for presentation and publication.
“Contributing to the body of evidence for emerging technology, especially as a non-university, community tertiary care hospital, is an important part of advancing healthcare, and I am proud to have been part of the TARGET study,” said Dr. Faisal Khan*, one of the TARGET study investigators and currently Medical Director, Interventional Pulmonary & Endoscopy, at Franciscan Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana. “The results of this important study can help raise awareness of robotic-assisted bronchoscopy as a safe, effective option for physicians to raise the standard of care for patients.”
This latest publication adds to a growing list of high-quality clinical research sponsored by Johnson & Johnson MedTech supporting Robotically-Assisted Bronchoscopy, including abstracts from TARGET data subsets recently published at the American Association of Thoracic Surgeons meeting in Seattle on May 2, 2025 as well as the Association of Thoracic Surgeons meeting held this month in San Francisco. Additional TARGET subset abstracts are expected for submission at upcoming major medical conferences.
“Johnson & Johnson is committed to generating evidence that demonstrates the safety and efficacy of our products and advances innovation in areas with significant unmet needs,” said Dr. Ray Fryrear, Vice President of Scientific Affairs for Robotics and Digital at Johnson & Johnson MedTech. “As the pioneers in the field of robotic-assisted bronchoscopy, we are committed to evolving its potential to change the way clinicians diagnose and treat lung cancer.”
Robotically-assisted bronchoscopy represents a small but fast-growing segment of lung biopsy procedures in the U.S. The MONARCH Platform, the first robotically assisted bronchoscopy system to market, provides minimally invasive access to and visualization of airways to help clinicians biopsy suspicious lung nodules. Advances in RAB are important because nearly half of early-stage lesions are located in the periphery of the lung, which is difficult to reach with traditional bronchoscopy[ii]. The MONARCH Platform can aid clinicians in getting to an early, definitive diagnosis in lung cancer cases, which can help care teams get patients into the treatment pathway an average of three weeks faster[iii].
Additional information about the study and results can be found on the CHEST Journal website: https://journal.chestnet.org/article/S0012-3692(25)00548-3/fulltext.
About Surgical Solutions from Johnson & Johnson MedTech
Across Johnson & Johnson, we are tackling the world’s most complex and pervasive health challenges. For over 100 years, we have helped advance surgical care through our innovative portfolio across wound closure, adjunctive hemostats, surgical stapling and instruments, robotics and digital solutions. Together, with clinicians and healthcare experts around the world we are progressing what’s next in surgery to better solve patient needs in metabolic and cardiovascular disease, cancer, and aesthetics and reconstruction. For more, visit https://www.jnjmedtech.com/en-US/product-family/monarch.
About Johnson & Johnson
At Johnson & Johnson, we believe health is everything. Our strength in healthcare innovation empowers us to build a world where complex diseases are prevented, treated, and cured, where treatments are smarter and less invasive, and solutions are personal. Through our expertise in Innovative Medicine and MedTech, we are uniquely positioned to innovate across the full spectrum of healthcare solutions today to deliver the breakthroughs of tomorrow and profoundly impact health for humanity. Learn more about our MedTech sector’s global scale and deep expertise in cardiovascular, orthopaedics, surgery and vision solutions at https://thenext.jnjmedtech.com. Follow us at https://x.com/JNJMedTechand on LinkedIn. Auris Health, Inc. is part of Johnson & Johnson MedTech.
Indications for Use (United States)
The MONARCH™ Bronchoscope and the MONARCH™ Platform and its accessories are intended to provide bronchoscopic visualization of and access to patient airways for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Important Safety Information Complications from bronchoscopy may include breathing difficulty, vocal cord spasm, hoarseness, slight fever, vomiting, dizziness, bronchial spasm, infection, low blood oxygen, bleeding from biopsied site, or an allergic reaction to medications. More serious complications from bronchoscopy may include collapsed lung, respiratory failure, hemorrhage, burns, heart attack, or cardiac arrhythmia.
For more, visit https://www.jnjmedtech.com/en-US/product-family/monarch
Cautions Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding MONARCH’s TARGET study. The reader is cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations of future events. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or known or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could vary materially from the expectations and projections of Johnson & Johnson. Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: uncertainty of commercial success; challenges to patents; competition, including technological advances, new products and patents attained by competitors; manufacturing difficulties and delays; product efficacy or safety concerns resulting in product recalls or regulatory action; changes to applicable laws and regulations, including global health care reforms; changes in behavior and spending patterns of purchasers of health care products and services; and trends toward health care cost containment. A further list and descriptions of these risks, uncertainties and other factors can be found in Johnson & Johnson’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, including in the sections captioned “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and “Item 1A. Risk Factors,” and in Johnson & Johnson’s subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Copies of these filings are available online at www.sec.gov, www.jnj.com or on request from Johnson & Johnson. Johnson & Johnson does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information or future events or developments.
Footnotes
*Dr. Khan is a paid consultant for Johnson & Johnson MedTech.
1 Murgu S, Chen AC, Gilbert CR, Sterman DH, Pederson D, Rafeq S, Laxmanan B, Schwiers ML, Connelly J, Benz HL, Yasufuku K, Silvestri GA, for the TARGET Investigators, A Prospective, Multicenter Evaluation of Safety and Diagnostic Outcomes with Robotic-Assisted Bronchoscopy: Results of the Transbronchial Biopsy
Assisted by Robot Guidance in the Evaluation of Tumors of the Lung (TARGET) Trial, CHEST (2025), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chest.2025.04.022
2 Murgu S, Sterman D, Yasufuku K. Demographic and lesion characteristics in the first 443 subjects enrolled in a multicenter observational real-world robotic bronchoscopy study: interim results from TARGET. Poster presented at: American Association for Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology 2022 Annual Conference; August 11-13, 2022; Nashville, TN
3 Ost DE, Maldonado F, Shafrin J, et al. Quantifying the economic value of improvements in diagnostic accuracy of advanced bronchoscopy procedures. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2023;207:A4460
Media contact:
Lindsey Diaz-MacInnis
ldiazmac@its.jnj.com