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. FDA leverages big data via cloud computing
Last year, I worked with a group of colleagues throughout the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on a project that is critical for the agency’s future: the modernization of our information technology platforms to prepare for the influx of “Big Data” – the enormous data sets we receive daily from manufacturers, health care providers, regulatory bodies, scientists and others.
These data sets are not only larger than ever before, they are also arriving more frequently than ever and varying enormously in format, and quality. Read more
2. Medtronic, Covidien merger: Good or bad for medtech innovation?
Let’s be honest – the headlining acquisition of Covidien by Medtronic may go down as the most boring deal of 2014, unless of course you are an international tax accountant. The swirling buzzwords are inversion, offshore cash, G&A, and hospital contracts. Please wake me up when it’s over. Yet it may be the unintended consequences of this deal that are the real story, in particular the implications for med tech innovators. The real story won’t really be known for months or even years, despite Omar Ishrak’s reassuring pronouncements that the merger will “accelerate” investments in R&D.
We at S2N decided an old-fashioned pro-con debate was in order. Question: Is the big fat marriage of MDT and COV good for Innovation? Read more
1. Medtronic’s medical device tax bill was $112M
Medtronic said today that it paid out $112 million for the medical device task during fiscal 2014, representing a nearly 4% hit to the bottom line.
The world’s largest pure-play medtech company shelled out $21 million during fiscal 2013, according to regulatory filings. Medtronic’s fiscal year closes near the end of April. Read more