Say hello to MassDevice +5, a bite-sized view of the top five medtech stories of the day. This feature of MassDevice.com’s coverage highlights our 5 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.
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5. FDA clears BrightWater Medical’s ConvertX nephroureteral stent
Ureteral medical device company BrightWater Medical said today it won FDA 510(k) clearance for its ConvertX nephroureteral stent system designed for treating ureteral obstructions.
The ConvertX System is designed as a single device intended to replace a series of devices and procedures used to treat severe obstructions of the ureter. Traditional interventions require an implanted nephrostomy catheter to externally drain urine and a second procedure to implant a nephroureteral stent to circumvent blockage. Read more
4. Teleflex puts up $1B for Vascular Solutions
Teleflex said today it will pay approximately $1 billion to acquire Vascular Solutions.
Through the deal, Teleflex will pick up all outstanding shares of Vascular Solutions at $56 per share, in cash. Boards of both companies have approved the deal, which is expected to close during the 1st half of 2017. Read more
3. Echo Therapeutics faces uncertain future in whistleblower case
Echo Therapeutics said today that its future may be in jeopardy after getting hit with a restrictive injunction related to a whistleblower case alleging securities violations, theft of trade secrets and more.
The company said it is facing a case in the U.S. District Court for Southern New York related to “various violations of the securities laws, theft of trade secrets, breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty,” in a regulatory filing posted today. Read more
2. PTAB tosses out Covidien patent in surgical shears spat with J&J’s Ethicon
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has thrown out Medtronic subsidiary Covidien‘s patent on electrosurgical shears in a spat between the company and Johnson & Johnson‘s Ethicon Endo-Surgery subsidiary, according to court documents released this week.
The patent relates to a bipolar electrosurgical shearing instrument used to seal and cut blood vessels or vascular tissue, designed to use “both mechanical clamping action and electrical energy to coagulate, cauterize and/or seal tissue,” according to court documents. Read more
1. Retractable Technologies plummets after appeals court tosses $352m win over Becton Dickinson
Shares in Retractable Technologies lost nearly half their value last week after a federal appeals court overturned its $352 million anti-trust win over Becton Dickinson.
A 3-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruled Dec. 2 that RTI’s claim that BD violated a section of the Sherman Antitrust Act was “infirm as a matter of law.” Read more
