Say hello to MassDevice +5, a bite-sized view of the top five medtech stories of the day. This feature of MassDevice.com’s coverage highlights our 5 biggest and most influential stories from the day’s news to make sure you’re up to date on the headlines that continue to shape the medical device industry.
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5. 3 enduring leadership lessons to boost your medtech success
This one is for the caffeine-addled world-changers out there, who consume leadership memes on Linkedin for breakfast, searching for inspiration with the same passion as a bigfoot truther.
For the past 6 years, I’ve interviewed the most successful men and women in the medical device industry at DeviceTalks, a conference I founded in 2011. (It continues as 3 annual events in Boston, Minnesota and Orange County, Calif. DeviceTalks Minnesota is June 26–27 in St. Paul.) Over those years, which I’ve come to think of as my own personal MBA (with an open bar), I’m often asked if there’s a common thread that connects the CEOs of giant companies like Allergan, Medtronic and Boston Scientific. Read more
4. Stealthy Murj breaks cover with $5m Series A round
Murj said today that it raised a $4.5 million Series A round for the platform it’s developing to manage data from implanted cardiac devices.
Santa Cruz, Calif.-based Murj said the round was led by True Ventures, joined by Social Capital and investors from a seed round. True Ventures co-founder Jon Callaghan is slated to join the Murj board in connection with the funding round, Murj said. Read more
3. Cardiovascular Systems recalls saline pumps
Cardiovascular Systems launched a voluntary recall yesterday of its 7-10014 saline infusion pump, telling customers that they can continue to use the device until they receive a replacement.
The pumps provide saline and lubricant infusion during orbital atherectomy procedures and electrical power to the orbital atherectomay device. The company found that electromagnetic interference from the hospital environment can cause the pumps to switch to standby mode during use, at which time the pump must be reset before continuing treatment. Read more
2. Johnson & Johnson logs Q1 earnings beat, sales miss
Johnson & Johnson topped Wall Street’s earnings forecast with its 1st-quarter results, but missed the sales expectation by more than a quarter billion dollars.
Still, the New Brunswick, N.J.-based healthcare conglomerate raised its outlook for the rest of the year based on the impact of its pending $30 billion acquisition of Swiss biotech firm Actelion. Read more
1. Medtronic deals patient monitoring & recovery biz to Cardinal Health for $6B
Medtronic said today that it agreed to deal a portion of its patient monitoring & recovery business to Cardinal Health for $6.1 billion in cash, confirming months of speculation that the world’s largest medical device maker was looking to slim down.
Rumors that the Fridley, Minn.-based company wanted to divest the supplies business, gained as part of its $50 billion Covidien acquisition, 1st emerged in early February. In March several companies were said to be interested, Dublin, Ohio.-based Cardinal Health among them; earlier this month Cardinal was said to be closing in on a deal. The medical supplies business, which employs more than 10,000 workers, threw off earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of approximately $500 million last year. Read more