
MASSDEVICE ON CALL — Incoming Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) CEO Alex Gorsky will have a full plate when he takes the corner office in April.
Amid ongoing recalls and related lawsuits, Gorsky has his work cut out for him in restoring consumer faith in health care giant.
Recurring issues have driven down business in some of the company’s divisions and the New Brunswick, N.J.-based titan’s reputation dropped out of the top tier of the Harris Poll Reputation Study for the first time in 13 years, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Usually in the top 3, J&J fell from 2nd in 2011 to 7th, while competitors like Pfizer and private-label medicines gained share.
Some industry insiders speculated that Gorsky may hire an outsider to run J&J’s consumer group. He might also try to hold on to Sheri McCoy, once his main competition for the CEO seat and a likely target for poaching by other companies, by moving her into a position such as chief operating officer, according to the paper.
MelaFind touts study results for melanoma detection
Dermatologists using Mela Sciences’ (NSDQ:MELA) MelaFind system detected melanoma with 94% sensitivity, a significant bump from the average 69% sensitivity demonstrated without the device, according to a new study touted by the Irvington, N.Y.-based device maker.
Canadian cardiologists accused of taking bribes from patients
A pair of Montreal cardiologists were accused of taking bribes from patients who wanted to skip ahead in line for publicly funded health services, TheHeart.org reported.
HHS overrides CDRH decision on mercury-based dental amalgams
An uncovered email exchange between an Oklahoma attorney and executive secretary Michael Adjodha of the Center for Devices & Radiological Health revealed that the Dept. of Health & Human Services intervened to block a CDRH decision regarding the safety of dental amalgams, FDANewsAlert.com reported.
Meaningful Use Stage 2 rule proposal released
Among the shenanigans at the HIMSS conference this week, Dr. Farzad Mostashari, national coordinator for the Health Information Technology office of HHS announced that new proposed Meaningful Use requirements had been published, HISTalk2.com reported.