Readers of this website, and this blog, are likely to have a special interest in the business impacts of healthcare legislative and regulatory initiatives. But when those initiatives are complex, with major societal implications and long implementation timelines, the likely effects on business operations, profitability and/or viability may not be obvious. When that is the case — as it most certainly is with this year’s healthcare reform legislation — it is often necessary to evaluate diverse perspectives and attempt to determine which among conflicting projections are more likely to be accurate. My personal prejudice? Be skeptical of those who are directly impacted; follow the people who follow — or supply — the money.
News Well
Report: Med-tech industry outpaces U.S. economy
A new report from the Advanced Medical Technology Assn. touts the medical technology industry’s fortitude through the recession.
The 28-page account, "The State Economic Impact of the Medical Technology Industry," considers the sector’s economic affect on each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
MassDevice Q&A: Boston Scientific co-founder John Abele
There aren’t many multi-billion-dollar companies that can say they got their start in the basement of a Catholic church rectory. Still fewer can claim a connection to a famous Czech mystic credited with pioneering research into human consciousness (and, not incidentally, with inventing the steerable catheter).
But according to co-founder John Abele, Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE:BSX) can. The Natick, Mass.-based medical device maker got its start with the steerable catheter invented by Itzhak Bentov, leveraging the platform into a family of catheter-based products that changed the way medicine is practiced.
MassDevice Q&A: Practice Fusion founder and CEO Ryan Howard
To raise the seed money for Practice Fusion, founder Ryan Howard sold his house and car.
“I was really going all in,” the 34-year-old CEO told MassDevice.
Howard might have made a smart bet. According to Practice Fusion, the company has the fastest-growing user base of any electronic medical record company in the country, at 40,000 members. Its offering is free for physicians, using a largely advertising-based business model.
J&J’s Mentor Corp. settles ObTape liability lawsuits
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) subsidiary Mentor Corp. agreed to settle a group of lawsuits filed against it over an allegedly defective device designed to treat female urinary incontinence.
Tornier Inc. readies $205 million IPO
By Thomas Lee
Tornier Inc. is planning to test the choppy waters of Wall Street with an estimated $205 million initial public offering, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The orthopedics firm in Edina, Minnesota, which specializes in devices to treat injuries to extremities and small bones, is the third local medical device company in two months to file for an IPO.
Philips Healthcare center to raise northeast Ohio’s imaging profile
By Mary Vanac
The Philips Healthcare Global Advanced Imaging Innovation Center could bolster northeast Ohio’s reputation as a hub for innovation in medical imaging technology.
The $38.4 million partnership of Philips, University Hospitals and Case Western Reserve University — supported by a $5 million Ohio Third Frontier grant — was announced last week. Philips, which is supplying $33.4 million of the funding, is also considering an investment of a similar amount in a second phase of the center.
Feds increase the heat on Medicare fraud
The federal government is bringing more heat to bear on would-be Medicare fraudsters — make that HEAT.
That’s the acronym for the Health Care Fraud Prevention Enforcement Action Team, a joint effort between the Dept. of Health & Human Services and the U.S. Dept. of Justice. In a letter from HHS secretary Kathleen Sebelius and U.S. attorney general Eric Holder, the cabinet heads ask the states attorneys general for help in cracking down on Medicare scams.
ProChon Biotech taps new regulatory VP
ProChon Biotech Ltd. hired of Brian Callahan for the role of executive vice president, regulatory and quality affairs.
Callahan’s last job was with EEC & Associates, a global compliance consulting firm for the medical device and pharmaceutical industries. At Prochon he’ll be the company’s liaison to regulatory agencies, including the Food & Drug Administration, European Medical Authorities and Israeli Ministry of Health, in addition to overseeing regulatory strategy, implementation and compliance.
Inverness extends tender offer – again
With about $2 million in unregistered bonds still in the hands of investors, despite a pair of deadlines already gone by the boards, Inverness Medical Innovations Inc. (NYSE:IMA) added another week for stragglers to exchange those notes for new, registered versions of the debt securities.
The new notes pay the same 7.875 percent annual yield and will mature in February 2016, just like the originals, but will allow the noteholders to sell them to other investors just like any other registered bond in the credit markets.
Hedge fund looks to derail Charles River Labs deal for WuXi PharmaTech
The largest individual shareholder of Charles River Laboratories International Inc. (NYSE:CRL) has deep reservations about the company’s proposed acquisition of WuXi (Cayman) PharmaTech Inc. (NYSE:WX) and they’re not shy letting their position be known.