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. AirXpanders lands $34m private placement
AirXpanders said today that it has commitments from investors in a private placement to raise A$45 million, or $34 million USD. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company said that its investors committed to subscribe for 16.3 million shares of common stock at ¢70 apiece.
The company plans to use the funds to bring its breast tissue expansion device to the U.S., including building inventory for the U.S. market and hiring a sales force. AirXpanders also said it plans to complete its expansion of commercial manufacturing capacity in Costa Rica. Read more
4. C.R. Bard’s Q4 sales, earnings beat estimates
C.R. Bard beat the consensus forecast with its 4th-quarter results yesterday, with both sales and earnings growing at a double-digit clip.
The Murray Hill, N.J.-based healthcare giant posted profits of $159.6 million, or $2.11 per share, on sales of $967.1 million for the 3 months ended Dec. 31, 2016. That amounts to profit growth of 17.1% on an 11.1% sales gain. Read more
3. Appeals court upholds $3m verdict against J&J’s Ethicon in pelvic mesh case
A federal appeals court yesterday upheld a $3.3 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Ethicon in a product liability lawsuit brought over its TVT-O pelvic mesh.
A jury in the U.S. District Court for Southern West Virginia awarded Jo Huskey and her husband damages of $3.3 million, finding in September 2014 that the TVT-O transvaginal sling caused her injuries and that the company failed to warn about the stress urinary incontinence treatment’s risks. A federal judge later shot down Ethicon’s bid to overturn the verdict and denied the company’s move for a new trial; Ethicon then appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. Read more
2. Judge pares $20m verdict in doc’s patent spat with Medtronic
A federal judge in Texas reduced a $20.3 million verdict against Medtronic by $2.6 million this week, ruling that Dr. Mark Barry did not present sufficient evidence that the company infringed 1 of its patents overseas. The judge from the District Court for Eastern Texas upheld that the company infringed 2 device patents in the U.S. and that the patents are valid.
Barry sued Medtronic in February 2014, alleging infringement for 3 patents covering a “system and method for aligning vertebrae in the amelioration of aberrant spinal column deviation conditions.” Read more
1. Trump and medtech: What people in the industry think
Many MassDevice and Medical Design & Outsourcing readers think permanent medical device tax repeal should be a top priority for President Donald Trump and the Republican Congress. Many say the new administration will be good for medtech, too.
Those were two of the major takeaways among nearly 100 MassDevice and MDO readers responding to an online survey. Read more