Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) has agreed to pay $188.6 million to 47 states and the District of Columbia to resolve claims that it deceptively marketed transvaginal surgical mesh devices, state AGs announced today. Pelvic mesh products have been one of the medical device industry’s worst failures so far in the 21st century. First cleared nearly two […]
Women's Health
Allergan must face breast implant class action
A federal judge in New Jersey has shut down part of a multi-district lawsuit against Allergan over its Biocell textured breast implants but kept most other parts of the litigation. Judge Brian Martinotti ruled on March 19 that some of the plaintiffs’ claims against Allergan (now part of AbbVie) were preempted by federal law while […]
10 Minnesota medtech startups you need to know
Medical device startups can use all the help they can get, including from government-sponsored investment funds. In Minnesota, one of the nation’s top three medtech hubs, the state Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) has distributed $1.6 million per year since 2019 in innovation grants to tech startups — many of them in the […]
N.J. appeals court tosses $83M pelvic mesh verdicts against J&J, Bard
A New Jersey appeals court yesterday threw out jury verdicts totaling $83 million in separate pelvic mesh lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson’s (NYSE:JNJ) Ethicon division and Becton Dickinson (NYSE:BDX) subsidiary C.R. Bard. In both cases, Bergen County, N.J. judges erred by disallowing evidence showing that each company’s mesh product had received FDA 510 (k) clearance, according […]
Boston Scientific to acquire Lumenis surgical business for $1.07B
Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) announced today that it entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the global surgical business of Lumenis for nearly $1.1 billion. Marlborough, Mass.–based Boston Scientific, entered into the agreement with an affiliate of Baring Private Equity Asia (BPEA) to acquire the privately-held company’s global surgical business, which develops and commercializes energy-based medical […]
Axonics, Micro Systems Technologies partners to make rechargeable SNM device
Axonics (NSDQ:AXNX) announced today that it entered into a strategic alliance with Micro Systems Technologies. Micro Systems Technologies (MST) manufactures printed circuit board assemblies for the Axonics r-SNM (sacral neuromodulation) system in Lake Oswego, Oregon, according to a news release. The newly minted strategic alliance expands the relationship between the two as the companies collaborate […]
FDA approves first robot-assisted system for transvaginal hysterectomy
The FDA announced today that it authorized marketing for Memic Innovative Surgery’s Hominis system for transvaginal hysterectomy. Hominis is the first FDA-approved robotically-assisted surgical device for performing transvaginal hysterectomy, with indication for performing benign hysterectomy with salpingo-oophorectomy, according to an FDA news release. Using minimally invasive surgical instruments inserted through the vagina and a video […]
Axonics acquires Contura and its Bulkamid bulking agent for $235M
Axonics (NSDQ: AXNX) announced today that it acquired Contura and its flagship Bulkamid product for up to $235 million. London-based Contura’s Bulkamid is a urethral bulking agent for women with stress urinary incontinence (SUI). It is a next-generation hydrogel injected into the urethral wall in a minimally invasive office or outpatient facility procedure to restore the natural […]
UK passes post-Brexit medical device regulation
The U.K. has enacted a new law governing medical devices and drugs, with a focus on patient safety. The Medicines and Medical Devices Act, introduced in July 2020, establishes the position of commissioner for patient safety to respond to public and patient complaints and concerns about drugs and medical devices. The law was necessitated by […]
Hologic completes Biotheranostics acquisition
Hologic (NSDQ:HOLX) announced that it completed its previously announced acquisition of Biotheranostics for $230 million. Marlborough, Mass.-based Hologic last month announced that it was set to buy Biotheranostics and its two molecular diagnostic tests for breast and metastatic cancers, the Breast Cancer Index and CancerTYPE ID. Both laboratory-developed tests are not required to be cleared by […]
Pfizer, BioNTech start trial to evaluate COVID-19 vaccine’s effect on pregnant women
Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and BioNTech (NSDQ:BNTX) announced today that it dosed the first participants in a trial of its COVID-19 vaccine for pregnant women. The companies, which developed one of the two COVID-19 vaccines to be authorized in the U.S. so far, are conducting a global Phase 2/3 study to evaluate the safety, tolerability and immunogenicity of the vaccine […]
