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. InVivo Therapeutics touts case study in 1st spine scaffold implant
InVivo Therapeutics this week touted a case study of the 1st implantation of its spinal scaffold, a bioresorbable device designed to help treat traumatic spinal cord injuries.
The study, published in Neurosurgery, the journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, involved a 25-year-old man with an American Spinal Injury Assn. Grade A spinal cord injury sustained in a motocross accident. Dr. Nicholas Theodore, of the YY, implanted an InVivo spinal scaffold directly into the traumatic cavity. Read more
4. U.K. launches study of Dune Medical’s MarginProbe breast cancer device
Dune Medical Devices said this week that the U.K.’s National Health Service is launching a study of its MarginProbe device, which is designed to spot cancerous cells on the margins of breast tumors.
Paoli, Pa.-based Dune said the NHS’s National Institute of Health Research arm is funding a study to see whether MarginProbe reduces the need for further re-excision procedures after lumpectomy procedures. Read more
3. Life Spine’s foot & ankle division, Centric Medical, wins FDA nod for flatfoot implant
Centric Medical, the foot & ankle division of Life Spine, said yesterday that it won 510(k) clearance from the FDA for its subtalar arthroereisis implant for treating flatfoot deformities.
The device is a 1-piece titanium implant designed to block forward, downward and medial displacement of the talus to allow normal articulation of the subtalar joint. The device is slated for limited release at the end of this year, with a full product launch expected in the 1st quarter of 2017, the company said. Read more
2. Arkis BioSciences lands $3m Series A for neurosurgery tools
Arkis BioSciences said today that it raised a $3.4 million Series A round for its line of neurosurgical tools, led by Innova Memphis.
Angel Capital Group, the Lighthouse Fund and private investors also participated, Knoxville, Tenn.-based Arkis said. The proceeds are earmarked for further commercialization of its tunneling guidewire and Auto Shunt devices, plus the forthcoming launch of the Entrexo anti-thrombogenic ventricular catheter it licensed from AngioDynamics, the company said. Read more
1. Johnson & Johnson wants Pinnacle bellwethers stayed after $500m loss
A Johnson & Johnson subsidiary wants a federal appeals court to hit the pause button in the multi-district litigation over its Pinnacle metal-on-metal hip implant to give it enough time to appeal a $500 million jury verdict.
In March, a Texas federal jury slapped DePuy Orthopaedics with a $500 million judgment in favor of a quintet of plaintiffs who blamed the Pinnacle implant for their injuries. After a 2-month trial, jurors found that the Ultamet metal-on-metal version of the Pinnacle hips were defectively designed and that DePuy failed to warn patients about the risks, awarding $130 million in total compensatory damages and $360 million in punitive damages. DePuy won the 1st bellwether trial in the MDL, in October 2014. Read more