Say hello to MassDevice +3, a bite-sized view of the top three medtech stories of the day. This feature of MassDevice.com’s coverage highlights our 3 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.

 

3. Medtronic’s Q1 earnings beat The Street on modest sales bump

Medtronic eked out a 1-penny win over the consensus earnings estimate on Wall Street for its fiscal 1st-quarter earnings, reporting modest single-digit sales growth that also came in slightly ahead of the forecast.

Fridley, Minn.-based Medtronic reported profits of $871 million, or 87¢ per share, on sales of $4.27 billion for the 3 months ended July 25. That’s an -8.6% profit decline on sales growth of 4.7% Read more

2. Sunshine Act follies spark more concern

Physicians’ groups are up in arms about the looming launch of the a public database of industry-doctor relationships, citing concerns about errors in reporting and security breaches that appear to muddle the program’s credibility.

The public database, scheduled to go live September 30, will allow anyone with interest to peruse troves of data about the financial exchanges between doctors and manufacturers of drugs and medical devices, but the novel program has its share of issues. Read more

1. Medtronic’s Ishrak completes the ‘Ice Bucket Challenge’ for ALS research

The so-called Ice Bucket Challenge has reached the medtech sphere in a big way, with Medtronic CEO Omar Ishrak getting in on the viral video phenomenon with a short video showing him pouring a bucket of ice water over his head for charity.

Ishrak posted the video in response to a challenge from GE Healthcare exec Agnes Berzsenyi. In turn, he nominated Medtronic strategy & business development SVP Geoffrey Martha, former chairman & CEO Bill George and Aetna chairman, president & CEO Mark Betolini to do the same. Read more