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. Your fitness tracker could be misleading you
Your heart rate may be accurate on your fitness tracker, but the number of calories burned is significantly wrong, according to new research from Stanford University.
The researchers suggest that although the heart rate measurements are pretty much accurate, energy expenditure measurements are probably significantly wrong. Read more
4. Sirtex hops after Aussie court dismisses shareholders injunction
Sirtex Medical said yesterday that Australia’s Federal Court dismissed a lawsuit filed by shareholders alleging it breached continuous disclosure obligations and engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct.
The lawsuit alleges that the double-digit growth outlook for dose sales for its fiscal year 2017, which the company announced on Aug. 24 last year, “has no reasonable grounds.” Yesterday the Australian company said the Federal Court dismissed the shareholders’ bid for an injunction, freeing Sirtex to plan a June 7 share repurchasing plan worth $22.4 million (A$30 million). Read more
3. Stimwave Tech wins CE Mark for SandShark neurostim anchor system
Stimwave Technologies won CE Mark approval for its SandShark percutaneous injectable anchor system designed to be used in conjunction with its wireless neurostimulator devices to treat chronic pain, according to its distributor Freedom Neuro BV.
The SandShark anchor system is designed to affix the neurostimulator device once the stimulator has been injected. The system slides down over the device and presses the anchor into the tissue, where it is secured to the stimulator and the stimulator is secured to surrounding tissue to prevent migration. Read more
2. Potential Alcon sale worries Novartis investors
Novartis CEO Joe Jimenez’s consideration of the sale of the Alcon subsidiary has investors worried that the influx of cash – Alcon’s surgical devices and contact lens business could fetch as much as $35 billion – will result in another misguided acquisition.
The Swiss drugmaker paid $52 million for Alcon in 2011, but the division’s sales and earnings have been on the schneid for the past 2 years, prompting Jimenez to mull a sale. Also in play is a $ 14 billion stake in pharma rival Roche and a $10 billion over-the-counter drug joint venture with GlaxoSmithKline. Novartis faces a March 2018 deadline to exercise its put option for its 36.5%, with GSK said to be a willing buyer. Read more
1. Medtronic increases stake in Saluda Medical
Saluda Medical said it raised nearly $40 million (A$53 million) for the Evoke closed-loop neuromodulation device it’s developing to treat axial back pain.
The round was led by a new investor, GlaxoSmithKline‘s Action Potential Venture Capital, joined by existing backer Medtronic, Artarmon, Australia- and Bloomington, Minn.-based Saluda said. Read more
