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. HRS 2014: MDT’s cardiac rhythm implants fail 1st in head-to-head longevity studies
Medtech giant Medtronic fell last in an independent study comparing the longevity of rival CRT-D devices, researchers reported today during Heart Rhythm 2014, the Heart Rhythm Society’s 35th Annual Scientific Sessions in San Francisco.
Danish researchers looked at data from the nation’s ICD Register, spanning nearly 2,800 devices that were introduced to the market between 2007 and October 2013. The results didn’t look good for Medtronic’s cardiac resynchronization therapy implantable cardioverter defibrillators, which were most often the 1st to fail compared with CRT-Ds made by Boston Scientific, St. Jude Medical and Biotronik. Read more
2. Boston Scientific discloses HHS probe into Cognis, Teligen ICDs
Boston Scientific said it received a subpoena from the U.S. Health & Human Services Dept. over its Cognis and Teligen implantable cardiac defibrillators.
The May 5 subpoena from HHS “seeks information relating to the launch of the Cognis and Teligen line of devices in 2008, the performance of those devices from 2007 to 2009, and the operation of the Physician Guided Learning Program,” Boston Scientific said in a regulatory filing yesterday. Read more
1. Medtronic exec: Google looms large as next great rival
“Our arch-competitor in 20 years will not be Boston Scientific, or St. Jude Medical, or Covidien, or HeartWare. It will be Google. I am certain of it,” Dr. Stephen Oesterle, Medtronic’s senior vice president for medicine and technology, told the audience at MassMEDIC’s annual conference this week in Boston.
“We spend $1.5 billion a year on R&D at Medtronic – and it’s mostly D,” Oesterle said. “Google is spending $8 billion a year on R&D and, as far as I can tell, it’s mostly R.” Read more