Say hello to MassDevice +3, a bite-sized view of the top three medtech stories of the day. This feature of MassDevice.com’s coverage highlights our 3 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.
3. Medtech in the OC: Checking in with OCTANe’s Matt Jenusaitis
OCTANe, the industry council responsible for promoting the innovation climate in Orange County, Calif., existed before Matthew Jenusaitis arrived, but he has put his mark on the organization’s impact on one of the world’s largest med tech clusters.
Jenusaitis’ medtech pedigree, which includes 15 years at Boston Scientific in numerous executive marketing and general management positions, has helped the organization build 1 of the medical device world’s better meetups, the annual OCTANe Medical Device Investor Forum, slated to kick off Oct. 21 in Irvine. Read more
2. FDA launches cybersecurity initiative
The FDA is asking medical device manufacturers to submit documentation about cybersecurity controls they have in place to mitigate the threat of hackers accessing devices, including ongoing software patches and updates to operating systems.
The FDA issued the recommendations in a document to be released in full Thursday titled “Content of Premarket Submissions for Management of Cybersecurity in Medical Devices,” after having released a draft version last June. On Tuesday, the agency stated it found no indication that specific devices or systems have been purposely targeted by hackers, but remains concerned about device-related cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Read more
1. Medical device, drug companies paid $3.5B to docs, hospitals in 2013
U.S. doctors and teaching hospitals received $3.5 billion from medical device makers and pharmaceutical companies in the last 5 months of 2013, according to the most extensive data trove on such payments ever made public.
The payments, disclosed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, include consulting and speaking fees, travel, meals, entertainment and research grants. The names of the recipients of about 40% of the payments reported by companies were withheld because CMS had concerns about data inconsistencies. Read more