Smith & Nephew (NYSE:SNN) sued Hologic (NSDQ:HOLX) yesterday, the same day the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office granted its patent application for a "Surgical Endoscopic Cutting Device And Method For Its Use."
Legal News
Contact lenses with real-time info display | MassDevice.com On Call
MASSDEVICE ON CALL — Researchers unveiled the first prototype of a contact lens capable of displaying information updates that the wearer can see.
The concept device only displayed one pixel, but has applications in gaming, navigation and even health readings, according to researchers at the University of Washington in conjunction with Aalto University Finland.
Is the era of off-label promotion over?
The question arises in the wake of yesterday’s news that the government and GlaxoSmithKline settled a string of lawsuits charging the company with illegal promotion of prescription drugs for unapproved uses. The $3 billion settlement represented just a small fraction of the sales to patients for whom the off-label prescriptions either caused harm or did little or no good.
UPDATE: 3 Synthes execs get prison time, fourth awaits sentencing after lawyer’s collapse
Three former Synthes executives received prison sentences for their roles in the unauthorized human trials of an experimental bone cement that left three patients dead.
Former North America president Michael Huggins and former executive VP Thomas Higgins each got 9 months in federal prison followed by probation, as well as $100,000 in fines apiece.
John Walsh, the former director of regulatory and clinical affairs, got 5 months in federal prison for his complicity. His sentence was pushed off by a week to allow him to attend his daughter’s birthday party.
Budget talk failures may mean big cuts in doc payments | MassDevice.com On Call
MASSDEVICE ON CALL — Physicians may face cuts in Medicare reimbursements by nearly one-third of current levels if Congress can’t come to terms on a deficit cutting plan.
Physician stand to lose 27.4 percent of their reimbursement payments at the end of the year, an accumulation of gradual cuts that have been delayed by Congress in a series of efforts colloquially called the "doc fix."
MassDevice.com +3 | St. Jude’s implant effective in study, Synthes execs get 9 months, Covidien nabs Barrx for $325 M
Say hello to MassDevice +3, a bite-sized view of the top three med-tech stories of the day. This latest feature of MassDevice.com’s coverage highlights our three 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.
If you read nothing else today, make sure you’re still in the know with MassDevice +3.
UPDATE: Two Synthes execs gets 9 months
Former Synthes Inc. North America president Michael Huggins and former executive VP Thomas Higgins were sentenced to 9 months in federal prison each for roles in unauthorized Norian bone cement trials in which three patients died during surgery.
The decision was handed down today by U.S. District Court Judge Legrome Davis today. Two other former Synthes executives still await sentencing.
FLASH: Synthes exec gets 9 months
Former Synthes Inc. North America president Michael Huggins was sentenced to 9 months in federal prison for his role in unauthorized Norian bone cement trials in which three patients died during surgery.
The decision was handed down today by Judge Legrome Davis of the U.S. District Court for Eastern Pennsylvania. Three other former Synthes executives still await sentencing.
Huggins’ looming incarceration marks the first sentence handed down under the 1975 Park Doctrine, whereby executives may be held accountable as "responsible corporate officers" whether they intended to break the law or not.
Too many robots in the OR? | MassDevice.com On Call
MASSDEVICE ON CALL — Extra robot hands in the operating room may not be conferring much benefit compared to the increased cost in some cases, according to University of Louisville professor Dr. Resad Pasic.
While robot-assisted surgery has boomed in the 6 years since it was approved for gynecological procedures in 2005, the debate about whether the extra cost is really worth it has heated up as well.
MassDevice.com +7 | Strkyer launches lawsuits, Zimmers acquires Xtrafix, Fresenius sues supplier, FDA seeks reclass comments, Over-stenting doc, MDT vs. ABT, GOP grills Shuren
Say hello to MassDevice +7, a bite-sized view of the top seven med-tech stories of the week. This latest feature of MassDevice.com’s coverage highlights our seven biggest and most influential stories from the week’s news to make sure you’re up to date on the headlines that continue to shape the medical device industry.
If you read nothing else this weekend, make sure you’re still in the know with MassDevice +7.
Olympus shareholders sue over bookkeeping scandal
It took a month for shareholders of Olympus Corp. (TYO:7733) to file a lawsuit over a bookkeeping scandal that’s put the endoscope maker’s share price in the cellar.
Olympus has admitted to a decades-long scheme to conceal losses using fictitious payments to dummy merger & acquisition consultants. The scandal has cost a series of high-level executives their jobs and pared 6 3.5 percent from Olympus shares since the scandal broke Oct. 14, after the firing of then-CEO ( and current whistleblower) Michael Woodford.