There were 113 Class I medical device recalls between 2005 and 2009, according to the Archives of Internal Medicine, meaning costly medical procedures and possible explantations for 10s of thousands of patients.

Insurance companies are increasingly looking to recoup those costs, Reuters reports, citing a 10-fold increase in mass tort cases over the last decade.

"[Insurers] are being more aggressive. The reason it gets so much more focus now is because there are so many cases," Mark Fischer, chairman of Rawlings & Assoc., told the news service, adding that his company, which pursues reimbursement from at-fault companies, has about 30 mass tort cases on its plate just now – up from about 3 each year just 10 years ago.

"There has been a drastic increase in the number of cases being pursued," Fischer said.

Even Medicare gets in on the act, spokeswoman Kathryn Ceja told Reuters, recovering a portion of the money it doles out for recall-related medical services.

Those costs can be significant. Take St. Jude Medical‘s (NYSE:STJ) recall of its Riata pacemaker leads last year. With the FDA recommending X-rays for each of the estimated 79,000 Riata patients, the end cost could reach $45.3 million, according to the news service.

 Boston Scientific moves all of its drug-eluting stent ops to Ireland
Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) has moved the remaining 40% of its drug-eluting stent production that wasn’t already being made in Galway, Ireland, according to the Irish Times. BSX employs about 5,000 workers in Ireland, roughly 2.1% of its 24,000-member global workforce.
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 Masimo wins 510(k), GE Healthcare nods
Masimo (NSDQ:MASI) said it won 510(k) clearance from the FDA for its uSpO2 universal pulse oximetry cable for use with GE Healthcare‘s (NYSE:GE) ApexPro telemetry systems. 
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 InVivo Therapeutics lands $2M loan from Massachusetts
InVivo Therapeutics (OTC:NVIV) said it landed a $2 million loan from the Bay State’s MassDevelopment bureau’s Emerging Technology Fund.
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 Funding Roundup

• Voalte raises $6M for iPhone-based clinical communications offering
• Topera Medical lands $4M for RhythmView "rotor" arrhythmia locator
• SafeShot hits on $3M round for safety syringe
• InSyte Medical reels in $2M for epidural anesthesia devices

 Analysts’ ups and downs

• Abbott (NYSE:ABT): Deutsche Bank reissues "buy" rating, sets $70 price target.
• Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH): ISI upgrades from "market weight" to "overweight" rating, sets $46 price target.
• Dexcom Inc. (NSDQ:DXCM): Leerink Swann maintains “market perform” rating, raises price target from $12 to ~$14.
• Endo Pharmaceuticals holdings (NSDQ:ENDP): Oppenheimer Holdings reiterates "outperform" rating, lowers price target from $46 to $42; Piper Jaffray & Co. reiterates "overweight" rating, lowers price target from $45 to $44.
• Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW): Leerink Swann maintains “outperform” rating, $112-$118 price target; Piper Jaffray lowers price target to $105 from $118, maintains "overweight" rating.
• Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ): Goldman Sachs downgrades from "neutral" to "sell" rating, sets $72 price target.
• Medtronic (NYSE:MDT): Oppenheimer raises price target to $48, sets "outperform" rating.
• NxStage Medical (NSDQ:NXTM): Feltl & Co. reiterates “hold” rating.