From the Heart Rhythm Society member’s website today:
News Well
For states, health reform law may be the mother of invention
If “Obamacare” was a federal takeover of health care, states failed to get the memo.
Top Dems back Obama in court battle over healthcare reform
Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and a group of 21 other Democrats filed a “friend of the court” brief with the Sixth Circuit Jan. 21, supporting President Barack Obama’s landmark Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
The Senate majority leader and House minority leader’s amicus brief, filed Firday with a slew of other amicus briefs supporting the law, asserts the constitutionality of the so-called individual mandaterequiring all Americans to purchase health insurance by 2014.
Cardiac patient invents treatment – for himself
Cardiac patient invents treatment – for himself: British engineer Tal Golesworthy had developed an aortic enlargement as a consequence of having Marfan syndrome. Having a mind of a true tinkerer, Golesworthy devised a medical device of his own to treat his condition and had the help of University College London in perfecting and implanting it into him and 19 other patients.
Covidien and Bard split latest round of patent fight
Industry reports sound alarm on medtech innovation
PricewaterhouseCoopers, Moneytree, and the BioEnterprise delivered bad news for the medical device community this week: Investment has slipped, the United States’ dominance is eroding, and nimbleness in emerging markets poses a long-term threat to United States as the leader in developing new innovative medical devices.
Marching orders are clear and unsurprising. We need more innovation, talent, financial incentives, investment, and sleeker and faster regulation. The question is, even if can do all or most of these things well, will it be enough to compete with the speed of growth in countries like China, India and Brazil?
Appeals court dismisses stem cell research suit
A federal appeals court upheld a lower court’ dismissal of a lawsuit filed on behalf of all frozen human embryos in the U.S. that sought to halt federal funding of research using stem cells derived from the embryos.
FDA weighs in on electroshock therapy devices
MASSDEVICE ON CALL — FDA weighs in on electroshock therapy devices. The Food & Drug Administration is studying whether to downgrade the risk classification of electroshock devices, reinforcing what many psychiatrists consider a deepening acceptance of electroshock in modern therapy, reports The New York Times.
Baxter takes Irish dialysis solution plant offline on endotoxin risk
Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) told European regulators it can’t guarantee the safety of peritoneal dialysis solutions made in Ireland, saying it will temporarily shutter the facility while it runs down the problem.
The plant in Castlebar, Ireland, makes a trio of solutions used by dialysis patients. An advisory issued to European healthcare providers in December 2010 said the products (Dianeal, Extraneal and Nutrineal) might contain endotoxins, according to the EMA.
Acquisitions roundup: BAE throws down $86 million for Fairchild Imaging
Here’s a roundup of companies announcing mergers and acquisitions:
The MassDevice Weekly Checkup: January 25, 2011
Our Weekly Checkup takes the temperature of the medical device industry’s three largest U.S. clusters: Massachusetts, California and Minnesota.
The MassDevice Indices are weighted according to market capitalization, based on the number of shares outstanding for each company and each Friday’s closing share price.
The Massachusetts index for the week ended Jan. 21 closed at 6.24, up 2.0 percent compared with the prior week. Since Jan. 1, 2009, when we began tracking these companies, the index has risen 40.8 percent.