Say hello to MassDevice +3, a bite-sized view of the top three medtech stories of the day. This feature of MassDevice.com’s coverage highlights our 3 biggest and most influential stories from the day’s news to make sure you’re up to date on the headlines that continue to shape the medical device industry.
3. Ocular Therapeutix launches another pivotal for Dextenza eye drug-device combo
Ocular Therapeutix said today that it launched another pivotal trial for its Dextenza drug-device combination, its 2nd study of the treatment for an allergic conjunctivitis indication.
Bedford, Mass.-based Ocular Therapeutix has had mixed results with Dextenza, formerly known as OTX-DP, which is designed to deliver sustained dosage of dexamethasone over 4 weeks, using a hydrogel plug inserted into a tear duct. The plug then dissolves and is flushed from the body as tears. Read more
2. Report: Medicare proposal would broaden coverage for Boston Scientific’s Watchman
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services are reportedly considering broadening the coverage for Boston Scientific‘s Watchman anti-stroke device, according to an unidentified official with the federal health insurer.
Leerink Partners analyst Danielle Antalffy, citing a Bloomberg report, wrote today that the CMS official “clarified that CMS is proposing to pay for Watchman for a subset of the patients who currently would be eligible for the device under the FDA-approved label,” or patients at high risk for stroke and bleeding and/or contraindicated to long-term warfarin use. Read more
1. Mirowsky fights $6m legal tab in Medtronic spat
Mirowski Family Ventures, on the hook for a $6 million tab for Medtronic‘s legal costs, told a federal appeals court last week that a lower court misconstrued a 24-year-old deal with Eli Lilly.
The long-running case involves patents licensed to Boston Scientific. MFV represents the estate of Dr. Michel Mirowski, who helped invent the implantable defibrillator. The group, which controls several patents related to implantable cardioverter defibrillators and cardiac resynchronization therapy devices, has been pursuing patent infringement cases against Medtronic, Guidant and successor Boston Scientific for years. Read more