MASSDEVICE ON CALL — Michael Orsinger, the J&J executive in charge of the recently formed DePuy Synthes unit, said "less than half of the necessary work" to incorporate Synthes is complete, according to an interview with Swiss business newspaper Finanz und Wirtschaft.
Orsinger noted challenges across the board – from streamlining IT and business platforms to new compliance regulators – but stressed that most of the angst is being felt by the merging companies and not by their customers.
However, he also told Finanzund Wirtschaft that his unit took some losses in their spinal implant business customer base and in thier R&D department. J&J began consildating the 2 companies’ spine business units after purchasing Synthes almost a year ago for a cool $19.7 billion.
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Business is booming for the tattoo removal industry, and Westford, Mass.-based Cynosure (NSDQ:CYNO) is touting an FDA-approved device that pulses light in trillionths of a second and cuts the number of docotr visits in half, according to The Boston Business Journal.
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GI tract scopes found with unsanitary "bio-dirt"
A review of hospitals accrosss the States showed that 3 out of 20 GI tract endoscopes had unacceptible levels of "bio-dirt" human cells and other organic material that can pose and infection risk to the next patient.
And GI scopes are not the only cleanliness culprit. The 3M Infection Prevention Division found that 30% of duodenoscopes and 24% of gastroscopes did not pass safety standards, adding to the growing contraversy surrounding cleaning procedures for surgical instruments at U.S. hopsitals, a topic currently up for discussion at the 40th annual Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Flor.
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ex-VA dept. chief says 8 nation-states are sponsoring cyber attacks
The former Chief Information Officer at the Veteran’s Affairs Department said the cyber attacks to the VA network come from 8 nation-state sponsored groups, including the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, according to Nextgov.com. Jerry Davis, who left his position as Chief in February, said attacks continue to this day and that called the VA department the worst he’s seen in terms of cyber security.
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Former senator Brown criticizes device tax, FDA approval process
Former Mass. Senator Scott Brown spoke out again against the 2.3% excise tax on medical device companies and criticized an the FDA approval process at ACG Boston’s Growth Conference 2013, during an interview with Mergers & Acquisitions. Brown repeated his concern that over-regulation will send device companies abroad and the U.S. will loose its foothold as a powerful leader in innovation.
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