Medical Devices Today

Top CMS Job Remains Empty Despite Big Medicare Changes On The Horizon

Full article reprinted from "The Gray Sheet" - November 30, 2009

Health care policy experts are largely resigned to waiting until health care reform legislation passes to learn who the next CMS administrator will be, but some are dismayed that 10 months into a new administration, no permanent appointee has been named to lead the world's largest and most influential health care payer. Read more...

Device Firms Want Two Years To Comply With Electronic MDR Rule

Full article reprinted from "The Gray Sheet" - November 30, 2009

Covidien, AdvaMed and the Medical Imaging and Technology Alliance are asking FDA to give device manufacturers two years to comply with an upcoming rule requiring adverse event reports to be submitted to the agency electronically. Read more...

Medtronic, Zimmer, Boston Sci CEOs Cite Jobs Industry-Tax Proposal

• Medtronic, Zimmer, Boston Sci CEOs Cite Jobs Industry-Tax Proposal
• Kimberly-Clark Completes I-Flow Buy, Unit To Try For Rest Of Shares
• Siemens CT Scan System Ids Heart Disease In 3,500-Year-Old Mummies
• Medtronic Fees To Device Professor Spurs University Changes
• Zimmer, DePuy, Biomet Lead Orthobiologics From Same Small Town
• Boston Scientific Gets Approval For Throat Stent In U.S., E.U.
• Boston Scientific Joins J&J, BSN Medical In Exit From Florida Area
• Johnson & Johnson iPhone App Seen A Fit For Diabetic Student Device
• Medtronic Chases Edwards Leadership In Transcatheter Heart Valves
• Zimmer, Smith & Nephew, J&J, Stryker Likely Licensers Of Fusion Device
• Smith & Nephew Wins U.S. Defense Research For New Bone Putty
• Smith & Nephew President Among Device CEOS Who See Turn-Around
• BD Completes $275 Million Buy Of HandyLab Diagnostics Maker
• Medtronic Allies With Vital Images To Market 3-D Views Of Veins
• Medtronic Gets FDA Warning Letter Concerning CRM Division

Sonova pays $489mm cash for Advanced Bionics

Deal summary reprinted from Strategic Transactions - November 2009

Sonova Holding AG has acquired private company Advanced Bionics for $463.5mm up front plus $25.5mm to be held in escrow, or a total of $489mm, paying just over four times what the fellow hearing systems maker achieved in revenues last year. Read more...

AHRMM 2009: Hospitals Raise Bar on Purchasing Decisions

Article preview reprinted from Medtech Insight -September/October 2009

The task of selling into the tough-to-crack hospital market is likely to become even more challenging for device manufacturers in the future as more hospitals toughen policies regarding the introduction of new products to their increasingly cash-strapped facilities. Materials managers from around the industry have pointed messages about what it will take for suppliers to make the sale, from providing better data to proving your company's financial stability. Read more...

Investing In China: Views from Windhover's PharmAsia Summit

Full article reprinted from Start Up - October/November 2009

A recap of the first annual PharmAsia Summit, outlining current views on the opportunities and risks associated with investing in China. Read more...

Neurostim Companies Defend Their Role in Obesity

Article preview reprinted from IN VIVO -  October/November, 2009  

In early October, EnteroMedics announced the preliminary results of its pivotaltrial on its vagal nerve blocking approach to obesity. The verdict: the study did not meet primary or secondary end points. This was the second neuromodulation company working in obesity (Medtronic was the first) to experience a disappointment in pivotal clinical trials after early results looked so good. Several neurostimulation companies are still targeting obesity. Should their investors be worried? Is this troubling news for the field of neuromodulation at large? Not surprisingly, executives from two neurostimulation companies--IntraPace and Leptos Biomedical--answer the questions simply: no and no. Read more...

Double-digit expansion is projected in many surgical procedures over the next five years.

Learn more with Medtech Insight market intelligence....

 

Surgical Procedure Volumes (SPV) Reports - Europe France, Germany, Italy, Spain, & The U.K.

Over the next five years, double-digit expansion is projected in many surgical procedures, including adrenalectomy, joint replacement, minimally-invasive spinal fixation, prostate disease/disorder management, and total disc replacement.

 

This new series of Medtech Insight reports includes the procedure volumes forecasts for open and laparoscopic surgery in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the U.K. from 2008 to 2013. Topics covered by these reports include an overview of European healthcare and regulatory policies, technological advancements in minimally-invasive surgery, and trends in healthcare funding and reimbursement… [Read More]

 

Firms Advised To Focus On Comparative Effectiveness Study Methodology

Full article reprinted from "The Gray Sheet" - November 23, 2009

The device industry has a critical role to play as the federal government fine-tunes the methodology it uses for comparative effectiveness research, according to speakers at a recent reimbursement conference hosted by the Medical Device Manufacturers Association in Washington, D.C. Read more...

Health Reform Taxes: Senate Reduces Device Fee, Adds Cosmetic Surgery Tax

Full article reprinted from "The Gray Sheet" - November 23, 2009

Consensus on Capitol Hill is centering on a total tax to the device industry of $20 billion over 10 years to help cover health care reform spending, but the structure of the tax and how it will be allocated remain up in the air. Read more...