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. Braeburn pulls the plug on $150m IPO, citing market conditions
Braeburn Pharmaceuticals pulled its plans for a $150 million initial public offering yesterday, citing unstable market conditions.
The Princeton, N.J.-based company 1st announced plans to go public in late December and in mid-January, Braeburn said it planned to raise $150 million by offering 7,692,308 shares of its common stock at $18.00 to $21.00 apiece. Read more
4. ConMed slides on Q4 earnings miss
ConMed shares are off some 6% this week after the medical device company missed expectations with its 4th-quarter earnings.
Utica, N.Y.-based ConMed posted a -14.6% profit decline to $6.7 million, or 24¢ per share, on sales growth of 6.8% to $204.1 million for the 3 months ended Dec. 31, compared with Q4 2015. Adjusted to exclude 1-time items, earnings per share were 54¢, 2¢ below the consensus forecast on Wall Street, where analysts were looking for sales of $203.5 million. Read more
3. Johnson & Johnson seeks new trials after $1B Pinnacle hip implant loss
Johnson & Johnson subsidiary DePuy Orthopaedics wants a federal judge to grant new trials after it lost a $1 billion judgment to 6 plaintiffs who sued over its metal-on-metal Pinnacle hip implant.
A Dallas jury in December found that the metal-on-metal pinnacle hip implants were designed defectively and that the companies failed to appropriately warn patients of the risks associated with the devices, awarding $32 million in compensatory damages and more than $1 billion in punitive damages to the 6 co-plaintiffs. But Judge Ed Kinkeade of the U.S. District Court for Northern Texas, as he did with a similar, $500 million verdict in a previous Pinnacle lawsuit, again slashed the verdict nearly in half. The plaintiffs have appealed that ruling, according to court documents. Read more
2. QT Vascular inks Chocolate PTA distro deal with Medtronic
QT Vascular said today it inked a definitive agreement with Medtronic to distribute QT’s Chocolate PTA catheter for 5-years.
The deal between Singapore-based QT Vascular and Fridley, Minn.-based Medtronic will be automatically renewable for 2 additional 1-year periods, and both companies will continue to negotiate other aspects of their relationship. Read more
1. Edwards pauses CardiAQ Valve clinical trial enrollment
Edwards Lifesciences said this week it paused enrollment in the clinical trial of its CardiAQ transcatheter mitral valve implant while it performs design validation testing on the device.
The Irvine, Calif.-based company said during an earnings conference call that it “saw something it wanted to go back and take a look at” and that it would be running internal tests associated with that before it moved forward with the trials. Read more