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. Rox Medical’s Coupler hypertension stent fares well in pivotal trial

A stent-like device designed to treat high blood pressure fared well in a pivotal trial comparing it with treatment with drugs alone.

Rox Medical’s Coupler device significantly lowered blood pressure in 44 patients, according to new research by Queen Mary University and others. Stanford University spinout Rox Medical funded the study, which was published in The Lancet. Read more

2. With Q1 healthcare profits down 13%, Siemens shakes up management

Siemens shook up the management deck at its healthcare division yesterday after reporting a fiscal 1st-quarter profit slide of nearly 13%, ousting Siemens Healthcare CEO Hermann Requardt “to enable a generation change at the launch of the new healthcare company,” according to a press release.

Siemens said it tapped a new team to lead its hopefully revitalized healthcare unit, effective Feb. 1, promoting imaging & therapy systems leader Bernd Montag to CEO, Michael Sen to CFO and diagnostics CEO Michael Reitermann as a member of executive management. Read more

1. Medtech slams gov’t report on medical device tax

Medtech executives last week bashed a newly updated report from the Congressional Research Service refuting claims that the medical device tax kills jobs and hampers innovation.

The 2.3% excise tax, enacted in 2010 as part of the Affordable Care Act, went into effect at the beginning of 2013. It applies to all U.S. sales of prescribed medical devices. The medtech industry has fought the tax tooth and nail since even before its inception, as Democrats crafted the healthcare reform bill that became Obamacare. Read more