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 approves longer version of Medtronic’s In.Pact Admiral drug-coated balloon
Medtronic said today that the FDA approved a longer version of its In.Pact Admiral drug-coated balloon for treating peripheral artery disease.
The 150mm-lenth device is available in 4mm, 5mm and 6mm diameters, the Fridley, Minn.-based company said. The FDA originally cleared the In.Pact Admiral DCB in January 2015, about 6 years after it won CE Mark approval in the European Union. Read more
4. Value-based healthcare: Evolent Health to pay $145m for Valence Health
Evolent Health said today that it agreed to put up roughly $145 million to acquire value-based administration, population health and advisory services provider Valence Health.
The deal calls for Evolent, which took itself public in a $195.5 million offering last year, to pay $35 million in cash and another 5.84 million in EVH shares, which closed at $18.68 apiece yesterday (the stock was up 10.0% to $20.54 per share in mid-morning trading today as investors reacted to news of the buyout). Read more
3. Zimmer Biomet to close $1B LDR Holding buyout later today
Zimmer Biomet said today that it expects to close its $1 billion acquisition of LDR Holding later today, after its $37-per-share tender offer reaped about 88.9% of LDR’s outstanding shares.
The deal, which last month cleared the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, isn’t expected to affect Zimmer Biomet’s sales outlook, with adjusted earnings per share likewise unaffected until accretion kicks in after 2017. The company has said it plans to issue updated guidance once the acquisition closes. Read more
2. Cardiovascular Systems clears federal false claims suit after $8m settlement
A federal court this week dismissed a False Claims Act lawsuit brought against Cardiovascular Systems based on allegations from a former sales rep that the company ran kickbacks and an off-label marketing scheme to boost sales of its orbital atherectomy devices.
The $8 million settlement, 1st announced in March, includes a corporate integrity agreement and calls for the St. Paul, Minn.-based company to pay $3 million up front and the remaining $5 million in 11 quarterly installments beginning in January 2017. The company will pay a 1.8% annual interest rate on the unpaid portion of the settlement, CSI has said. Read more
1. Anti-trust regulators want more on Abbott’s pending, $25B St. Jude Medical buyout
Abbott and St. Jude Medical said yesterday that U.S. anti-trust regulators want more information about their proposed $25 billion merger.
The Federal Trade Commission’s requests mean that the waiting period on the deal is extended by 30 days “unless the period is extended voluntarily by the parties or terminated sooner by the FTC,” the companies said in separate but identical securities filings. Read more
