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. Replace aortic valve in a timely fashion: researchers
Patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis who need aortic valve replacement should have the surgery as soon as possible, new research suggests.
“Our research highlights the importance of treating aortic stenosis in a timely fashion. Delays lead to unnecessary risk and patients should ideally have an aortic valve replacement within a month of diagnosis,” Dr. Chris Malaisrie of Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, in Chicago, Illinois, told Reuters Health by email. Read more
2. Analyst: Boston Scientific could take CRM lead
Boston Scientific might lack a truly leadless pacemaker, unlike rivals Medtronic and St. Jude Medical, but it still might be in the best position to gain share in the cardiac rhythm management market, according to Leerink Swann analyst Danielle Antalffy.
Traditional pacemakers are inserted adjacent to the heart and use “leads” to deliver impulses to maintain regular heartbeat. St. Jude acquired a “leadless” pacemaker when it acquired Nanostim in October 2013, with Medtronic seeking approval for its own Micra version of the the technology. Read more
1. The pharma trend that should scare the crap out of medical device sales reps
The number of pharmaceutical sales reps, once ubiquitous in doctor’s offices, has been cut in half since 2005 as a result of consolidation, reduced access to prescribing doctors and changes in the way healthcare is delivered, according to a new report in the Wall Street Journal based partly on data from consulting firm ZS Associates.
In 2005, pharmaceutical companies had more than 102,000 sales representatives in the field selling to physicians but by the middle of this year, those numbers were around 63,000, according to ZS Associates. Further, those reps that were in the field reported dramatic drops in access to physician decision makers. Read more