Following the weekend’s news that Joe Biden is now president-elect of the U.S., plenty of focus is shifting to his plan for COVID-19. While positive news regarding Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine candidate came through this morning, the pandemic is still roaring on, with the U.S. hitting a record 128,000 new cases on Saturday as the […]
Contract Manufacturing
Report: Some nursing homes refuse to use COVID-19 rapid antigen tests
Many rapid COVID-19 tests are going unused in nursing homes as there reportedly remain concerns over accuracy in detecting the virus. The Wall Street Journal reports that a federal survey of nursing homes found that 30% of 13,150 facilities that had rapid testing equipment for at least two weeks did not use it to test […]
Hologic receives $119M contract from U.S. Air Force for COVID-19 molecular tests
Hologic (NSDQ:HOLX) announced that it received a $119 million contract from the U.S. government to expand production of its COVID-19 tests. Under the contract, Hologic will increase the production capacity of its Panther Fusion SARS-CoV-2 assay and Aptima SARS-CoV-2 assay, both of which possess emergency use authorization, according to a news release. The tests run on […]
DTW Podcast: Hear the future of AI, 3D, and Dx from Edwards, Stryker, Evercore, Checkable
In this week’s episode of DeviceTalks Weekly we review the Medical Design & Outsourcing’s Women in Medtech issue — bringing you insights through interviews with Katie Syzman, corporate VP and the GM of critical care at Edwards Lifesciences, Naomi Murray, Stryker’s director of advanced operations, and Patty Post, CEO of Startup Checkable Medical. Szyman […]
How SpaceX is helping Medtronic prepare for the next pandemic wave
As COVID-19 cases erupted around the globe earlier this year, Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) faced unprecedented demand for its ventilators. At first, Medtronic engineer Matt Phillips wasn’t sure how the company was going to supply enough ventilators to meet the surging global need. Then Elon Musk called with a proposal. Get the full story on our sister site, Medical […]
Steris to acquire Key Surgical for $850M
Steris (NYSE:STE) announced this week that it has agreed to buy Key Surgical, a manufacturer of disposable hospital and surgical products, for $850 million. Mentor, Ohio-based Steris said it expects that the acquisition will qualify for a tax benefit related to tax-deductible goodwill, effectively reducing the purchase price to approximately $810 million. Key Surgical, a portfolio […]
Olympus announces new endoscope reprocessing technology
Olympus (TYO:7733) announced today that it launched its OER-Elite next-generation automated endoscope reprocessor (AER) on the market. Center Valley, Pa.-based Olympus’ OER-Elite is designed to simultaneously clean and disinfect up to two endoscopes in 28 minutes with Acecide-C, a peracetic, acid-based disinfectant. It also includes a cleaning cycle with a combination of EndoQuick alkaline detergent and […]
CDC: Ethylene oxide may have more health effects than cancer
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention yesterday released a draft toxicity profile of ethylene oxide (EtO) that treats it as a more far-reaching health threat than the Environmental Protection Agency does. The EPA and the federal Department of Health and Human Services both consider EtO a human carcinogen. The medical device industry relies on […]
Federal rule on ethylene oxide now delayed until 2021
The final federal rule limiting ethylene oxide (EtO) emissions from commercial medtech sterilization plants is now set to come out in 2021, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, the EPA had expected to issue the rule in May 2020. The agency considers ethylene oxide a carcinogen, and EtO emissions have attracted national […]
Report: Canada to buy 7.9M Abbott COVID-19 tests
The Government of Canada announced today that it agreed to buy up to 7.9 million Abbott (NYSE:ABT) ID NOW rapid point-of-care COVID-19 tests. Canadian Minister of Public Services and Procurement Anita Anand, along with Minister of Health Patty Hajdu, announced the agreement for the tests, although the purchase still hinges on Health Canada authorization for the […]
Canada lining up millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccines
Sanofi (NYSE:SNY), GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) and Moderna (NSDQ:MRNA) have all agreed to supply Canada with a total of more than 90 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. Beginning in 2021, Government of Canada is set to receive up to 72 million doses of an adjuvanted COVID-19 vaccine from Sanofi and GSK, while the country also increased its confirmed […]