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. Mazor unveils Maxor X robotic spinal surgery platform
Mazor Robotics today unveiled its Mazor X robotic spinal surgery system, designed to combine analytical tools, precision guidance, optical tracking and intra-operative verification into a single, spinal surgical aid system.
The Mazor X is slated to launch during the North American Spine Society’s annual meeting in Boston in October, the Israeli company said. Read more
4. TransMedics adds $13m to $51m funding round
TransMedics said yesterday that it added $12.5 million to the $51.2 million equity round it closed in May, taking its total raise to more than $63.7 million.
Andover, Mass.-based TransMedics developed the Organ Care System, which is designed to perfuse donor organs with warm, oxygenated blood and monitor its status until transplantation. Read more
3. Burberry poaches Smith & Nephew CFO Brown
Smith & Nephew said yesterday that CFO Julie Brown is leaving the company in January 2017 after 4 years on the job at the British healthcare products giant.
Brown, who was named finance chief in November 2012 and assumed the role in February 2013, is moving to British luxury brand Burberry as its chief operating & financial officer. Burberry also said that Marco Gobbetti would succeed Christopher Bailey as CEO next year. Read more
2. Abiomed sues Maquet over Impella patents
Threatened with a patent infringement lawsuit if it didn’t agree to a licensing deal with Maquet, Abiomed responded by asking a Massachusetts judge for a judgment of non-infringement last May.
Maquet, a division of Getinge, sent a letter to Danvers, Mass.-based Abiomed in December 2015, alleging infringement of a trio of patents by the Impella line of transcatheter heart pumps and seeking a licensing deal – and threatening a patent infringement action in the alternative. Read more
1. FDA officials want a national review system for medical devices
A pair of top officials at the FDA are advocating for a national oversight system for medical devices that would combine pre- and post-market clinical studies with adverse event reporting and electronic health records.
FDA commissioner Dr. Robert Califf and Dr. Jeffrey Shuren, head of the agency’s Center for Devices & Radiological Health, wrote in the Journal of the American Medical Assn. that their vision would incorporate “ecosystem stakeholders such as patients, health care professionals, health care organizations, payers, the medical device and digital health industries, and the government.” Read more
