MassDevice

The Medical Device Business Journal — Medical Device News & Articles | MassDevice

Home » BREAKING: Second Sight Medical laying off most of its workers, winding down

BREAKING: Second Sight Medical laying off most of its workers, winding down

By

Second Sight MedicalSecond Sight Medical (NSDQ:EYES) announced today that it will wind down its operations amid the financial shock of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Los Angeles–based company will lay off 84 of its 108 employees and will retain an adviser experienced in winding down operations to guide the board on the next steps. Company officials expect additional layoffs.

Founded in 1998, Second Sight over the years has pioneered neuromodulation devices to treat blindness. Its Argus II retinal prosthesis system is an FDA-approved device able to provide visual aid to people with severe to profound retinitis pigmentosa, but the company last year turned its focus to its Orion cortical implant.

Second Sight in a news release said the need to wind down was due to the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on its ability to secure financing.

The board has appointed board member Matthew Pfeffer to serve as acting CEO during the wind-down period — versus board chair Greg Williams, as was previously announced.

In case you missed it

RSS From Medical Design & Outsourcing

  • What’s next for Jennifer Fried after leaving Explorer Surgical?
    Explorer Surgical co-founder Jennifer Fried has resigned from the company after selling it to Global Healthcare Exchange in October. Fried announced her departure last week on LinkedIn, saying she’s preparing for her next professional chapter. “It’s bittersweet — I’m so proud of everything our team has built and accomplished,” Fried wrote. “The time has flown… […]
  • The 24 best medical device innovations of 2022
    The Galien Foundation recently announced its nominees of medical device innovations for its 2022 Prix Galien USA awards. There are 24 medical technologies nominated for the annual award this year, up from 18 nominees in 2021. The Galien Foundation’s annual Prix Galien awards highlight devices, biotechnology and pharmaceutical products designed to improve the human condition.… […]
  • FDA issues new COVID-19 testing guidance to avoid false negatives
    COVID-19 testing should be repeated following a negative result on any antigen test, the FDA said in a move that could increase demand for diagnostics manufacturers. The latest guidance from the federal health agency is for negative COVID-19 antigen test results regardless of the presence or absence of symptoms. The federal agency said recent studies… […]
  • Confluent Medical expands Costa Rica manufacturing footprint for nitinol, complex catheter production
    Confluent Medical Technologies this week announced the opening of its new addition to its Costa Rica manufacturing facility. The expansion adds 66,000 sq. ft to its large-scale manufacturing center of excellence in Alajuela, Costa Rica to expand Confluent’s capacity for nitinol component processing and complex catheter manufacturing. “Confluent has experienced consistent and strong growth in… […]
  • FDA’s breakthrough medical device designations tally nears 700
    Stewart Eisenhart, Emergo Group The US Food and Drug Administration has granted almost 700 designations over the past seven years under a voluntary program for expedited regulatory review of medical devices and combination products that facilitate more effective treatment or diagnosis of serious diseases. According to recent metrics published by FDA, the agency has issued a total of… […]
  • Lifecore Biomedical’s owner plans to go all-in on contract development and manufacturing
    Lifecore Biomedical parent company Landec Corp. (Nasdaq:LNDC) plans to take the subsidiary’s name, leadership and headquarters as its own and sell off food businesses to focus on contract development and manufacturing. Santa Maria, California-based Landec said it will rename itself as Lifecore Biomedical “in the near future” and change its Nasdaq ticker to LFCR. Landec… […]
  • COVID-19 immunity test developers at MIT seek diagnostic manufacturer
    MIT researchers have developed a device for predicting an individual’s COVID-19 immunity and are looking for a diagnostic company to get it manufactured in large numbers and approved by the FDA. The lateral flow test uses the same technology as at-home rapid antigen COVID-19 tests to measure neutralizing antibodies for SARS-CoV-2 in a blood sample,… […]
  • GE Healthcare picks AI imaging startups for inaugural Edison Accelerator
    GE Healthcare and Nex Cubed have selected seven companies focused on artificial-intelligence-augmented medical imaging for the first cohort of the Edison Accelerator in Canada. The companies will be matched with mentors and test their technologies with GE’s new Edison Digital Health Platform over the next three months. The program will end with innovation showcase presentations… […]
  • Boston Scientific whistleblower launches corruption investigation
    Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) is investigating claims that the company violated the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in Vietnam. Marlborough, Massachusetts–based Boston Scientific disclosed receipt of a whistleblower’s allegations in its latest filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. “In March 2022, the company received a whistleblower letter alleging Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations in Vietnam.… […]
  • 5 essential leadership lessons from Cathy Burzik for medtech’s next generation of women leaders
    Cathy Burzik, a seasoned senior executive in the healthcare industry, has successfully led major medical device, diagnostic, diagnostic imaging and life sciences businesses. Cathy Burzik, CFB Interests (as told to MedExecWomen co-founder Maria Shepherd) One key to being a successful women leader in MedTech: “Play nice, but play to win.” Cathy Burzik, who received a… […]
  • Stratasys plans to buy Covestro’s additive manufacturing business
    Stratasys (Nasdaq:SSYS) said today that it has a deal to purchase the additive manufacturing materials business of Covestro. The deal includes R&D facilities and activities, global development and sales teams across Europe, the U.S. and China, a portfolio of approximately 60 additive manufacturing materials, and hundreds of patents and patents pending, Stratasys said in a… […]