In Japan, they’re dealing with a death toll sure to rise above 10,000, rolling blackouts and a nuclear disaster of as-yet-undetermined proportions. On Wall Street, investors in medical device makers are contending with issues of their own, as share prices slide and the long-term impact of the Japan earthquake remains unknown.
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Advantage Capital Partners, Ironwood Capital back NovaTract Surgical | Funding roundup
Venture capital shop Advantage Capital Partners and investment management company Ironwood Capital are backing a trio of COnnecticutt companies, including NovaTract Surgical, with $150,000 “pre-seed” investments.
The financial firms credited a jobs creation bill in the Nutmeg State for prompting it to back the companies, which also include Greenleaf Biofuels and Floop Inc.
Corindus begins robotic-assisted stent trial | Research Roundup
Corindus Vascular Robotics began the clinical trial of its CorPath 200 system for placing coronary stents with a pair of procedures in New York and Boston.
The Natick, Mass.-based company said the first procedures in the 154-patient trial, called the Percutaneous Robotic-Enhanced Coronary Intervention Study, were performed at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center in New York and St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Boston.
Covidien taps Almeida to succeed Meelia as CEO
Covidien plc (NYSE:COV) announced a succession in its corner office, tapping the leader of its medical device unit to become its new president and CEO in July, replacing the retiring Richard Meelia.
The Mansfield, Mass.-based medical products conglomerate said José Almeida will become president and CEO of the company after Meelia steps down July 1. Almeida, a 16-year Covidien and Tyco Healthcare veteran, has been president of the company’s medical device division, its largest, since 2006. He’ll also become a member of Covidien’s board in July.
Former Best Medical execs escape lawsuit against Accuray
A federal judge tossed the charges against four former Best Medical International Inc. executives accusing them of stealing trade secrets, but let stand patent infringement charges against Accuray Corp. (NSDQ:ARAY).
Accuray CEO: TomoTherapy integration starting to take shape
Accuray Inc.’s (NSDQ:ARAY) nearly $300 million deal to buy TomoTherapy Inc. (NSDQ:TOMO) isn’t closed yet, but the integration of the two companies is already underway.
Accuray CEO Euan Thomson wrote in an email to employees that the company isn’t officially beginning the process until the deal closes, but the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based CyberKnife radiosurgery device maker is already taking steps to ensure a smooth transition.
Boston Scientific: 75 percent of senior management has “changed out” in past year
Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE:BSX) is shedding more light on a top-down restructuring that has seen it re-align or replace more than 75 percent of its top 50 senior managers in the past year.
“We’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what the senior management team needs to be,” BSX CFO Jeff Capello said at the Barclay’s Capital 2011 Global Healthcare Conference. “The senior management team that’s rejuvenated is in place.”
Stem cells: Athersys, Pfizer start MultiStem clinical trial for inflammatory bowel disease
Stem cell therapy developer Athersys (NSDQ:ATHX) and partner Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) have begun enrolling patients in a Phase II clinical trial for inflammatory bowel disease.
The trial marks an “important milestone” for Athersys because it’s the first time the company’s MultiStem treatment has advanced to a Phase II trial, CEO Gil Van Bokkelen said in a conference call with analysts to discuss the company’s quarterly financial numbers.
Japan earthquake: Medical device companies donate millions for relief efforts
Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) will donate more than $3 million to the victims of last week’s disastrous earthquake in Japan through its philanthropic foundation, the company said today.
Johnson & Johnson names new DePuy Spine president
Namal Nawana is the new president of DePuy Spine, succeeding Gary Fischetti, who was named chairman of the DePuy group in January by its corporate parent, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ).
Nawana, a 13-year vet at the New Brunswick, N.J.-based medical products conglomerate, pulled stints in several areas, including engineering, marketing, sales and general management in Europe, Canada, Australia and the Asia Pacific, according to a press release.
FDA holds Innovation Initiative meeting today
The FDA is holding a public meeting today on the “Innovation Initiative” it announced last month, which is aimed at fostering breakthrough medical technologies.
The federal watchdog agency also said it will convene a workshop today in Silver Spring, Md., on how to create a database of medical device labeling and pictures without revealing any device makers’ proprietary information.
Watch a video of CDRH head Dr. Jeffrey Shuren explaining the Innovation Initiative