Say hello to MassDevice +7, a bite-sized view of the top seven med-tech stories of the week. This latest feature of MassDevice.com’s coverage highlights our seven biggest and most influential stories from the week’s news to make sure you’re up to date on the headlines that continue to shape the medical device industry.
7. Medtech trends: The most talked about device makers in May 2013
During the last month the medtech titans were flush with news from conferences, court rooms and Wall Street. MassDevice.com looked at some of the most talked-about medical device companies, based on trends in Google searches for the last 30 days.
6. Kentucky cardiologist confesses to unnecessary stenting
Kentucky cardiologist Dr. Sandesh Rajaram Patil admits that he lied about a patient’s heart health in order to merit Medicare reimbursement for a stent implant.
5. M&A: Zimmer picks up German extremities & trauma co. for undisclosed sum
Orthopedic giant Zimmer isn’t revealing the price it paid for Germany-based foot & ankle and hand & wrist devices maker NORMED Medizin-Technik GmbH.
4. Becton says former engineer planned to flee to India with trade secrets
The FBI arrests a former Becton Dickinson engineer who is accused of stealing thousands of confidential blueprints and attempting to flee to India to illegally mass-produce a Becton drug injection device.
3. Swedish regulators recommend preventative removal of PIP breast implants
Swedish healthcare regulators recommend that all women with breast implants manufactured by Poly Implant Prothèse have them removed after French investigators discovered they were filled with industrial-grade silicone.
2. FDA analysis: 510(k) is here to stay, says medtech attorney
The FDA’s 510(k) "substantial equivalence" test for medical device review is strong, safe and here to stay, according to an analysis by medtech attorney Jeffrey Shapiro.
1. Intuitive Surgical faces shareholder class action lawsuit
Intuitive Surgical shareholders file a class action lawsuit accusing the company of hiding negative information while reaping hundreds of millions through "fraud-inflated" stock, even as the company gains some Wall Street favor by releasing new surgical shears to replace the ones that were the subject of a recent warning over their potential to develop "micro-cracks."