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. Relievant Medsystems raises $36m
Relievant Medsystems said today that it raised a $36 million equity round to support clinical trials for its Intracept intraosseous nerve ablation system.
The Intracept system is designed to use radio frequency energy delivered through specially designed instruments during a minimally invasive surgical procedure to access and ablate the basivertebral nerve. Read more
4. Synaptive Medical raises $3.7m
Synaptive Medical last week told the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission that it raised $3.7 million in an equity round.
Toronto-based Synaptive, which makes brain imaging products, did not respond to requests for comment from Massdevice.com on the funding. Read more
3. Titan Medical CEO Hargrove is out
Titan Medical said today that it’s looking for a new CEO after the resignation of John Hargrove as it looks to get back on track with the development program for its Sport robot-assisted surgery platform.
Toronto-based Titan said board member John Barker is slated to fill Hargrove’s shoes on an interim basis as he leads the search for a successor. The company also said it named Kerbel Group CFO Martin Bernholtz as chairman. Read more
2. iRhythm Technologies sets terms for $75m IPO
iRhythm Technologies last week set the terms on its forthcoming initial public offering, saying it plans to float 5.35 million shares priced between $13.00 and $15.00 apiece.
At the midpoint, the IPO would fetch $74.9 million. San Francisco-based iRhythm has said it plans to use the proceeds to expand the commercial and clinical footprint of its Zio wearable cardiac monitor. Read more
1. St. Jude Medical warns on CRM battery depletion issue
St. Jude Medical today warned of the possibility that a battery issue could disable its high-voltage cardiac rhythm management devices, saying the problem is associated with 2 deaths among the nearly 400,000 patients implanted with affected devices.
The news broke last night with a Twitter post by notorious short-selling firm Muddy Waters Consulting containing a copy of the letter St. Jude sent today detailing the problem. Muddy Waters and a cybersecurity firm in August alleged that major flaws in St. Jude’s CRM devices exposed them to a cybersecurity risk, but only after taking short positions on STJ’s stock. St. Jude later sued Muddy Waters and the hacking shop behind the report, after the sides traded accusations about its accuracy (which independent researchers found had “major flaws” – but not before STJ shares lost about 5% of their value, although the stock had mostly recovered as of the market’s close last week). Read more
