Abbott (NYSE:ABT) said today that its FreeStyle Libre glucose monitoring system won Health Canada approval for adults with diabetes. The company’s disposable glucose monitoring device is worn on the back of the upper arm and senses glucose using a small filament that is placed under the skin. Every scan includes a real-time glucose reading, as well […]
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Medtech M&A: The 10 biggest deals so far in 2017
Over the past several years, the healthcare industry as a whole has experienced an abundance of mergers and acquisitions – major players are buying up their peers in deals ranging from millions to billions. The trend is continuing, and the healthcare playing field continues to be shaped by these mega-transactions. For the medical device industry, […]
Abbott warns on communication issue with HeartMate 3 pump
Abbott (NYSE:ABT) earlier this month warned physicians about a potential communication problem with its HeartMate 3 implantable cardiac pump. In a June 7 letter, Abbott said it received “limited” reports of communication errors between the HeartMate 3’s system controller and the pump itself, the next-generation left ventricular assist device that came to the company after its […]
India regulator wants price caps on more coronary, peripheral devices
Indian healthcare regulators reportedly reversed course and are now asking for a quartet of medical devices to be added to a list of products under price control. India’s National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority wants its list of price-capped products updated to include balloon and cardiac catheters, covered stents and peripheral stents, Reuters reported. If the government there approves, they […]
Abbott whistleblower Colquitt loses appeal in off-label lawsuit
The whistleblower behind a decade-old lawsuit against Abbott (NYSE:ABT) lost his bid for a new trial after a federal appeals court this week denied his appeal. Former Guidant sales rep Kevin Colquitt sued Abbott, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) and Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) in 2006 for $219.4 million, claiming that they marketed the use of biliary stents to treat peripheral artery disease. (The magistrate overseeing the lawsuit, […]
Boston Scientific, St. Jude Medical must face University of California patent suits
Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) and Abbott (NYSE:ABT) subsidiary St. Jude Medical must face lawsuits brought by the University of California alleging that their ablation catheters infringe a pair of patents covering atrial fibrillation treatments. The university’s regents sued the companies last October (a similar suit was brought against AtriCure (NSDQ:ATRC) the next month, according to court documents), accusing the companies […]
Abbott’s MitraClip can be implanted through the jugular vein, too
A Canadian cardiologist has successfully inserted Abbott Labs’s MitraClip through the jugular vein instead of the femoral vein, according to a recent report. Dr. Neil Fam inserted the Abbott Laboratories device into an 86-year old patient with severe mitral regurgitation. Because of the patient’s age, traditional surgery to repair her mitral valve was not an […]
Deaths prompt Abbott recall of Thoratec HeartMate II controllers
Abbott (NYSE:ABT) is recalling nearly 29,000 controllers for the HeartMate II implantable heart pump made by its Thoratec subsidiary after 26 patients died trying to change out the controllers on their own. The March 29 recall of 28,882 controllers for the HeartMate II left ventricular assist device follows 70 reports of “incidents in which the […]
EuroPCR Roundup: Bioresorbable stents show promise, but metallic drug-eluting stents remain standard
Abbott’s (NYSE:ABT) bioresorbable scaffold has been plagued with a myriad of troubling data, including a study that showed that the device is associated with an increase in thrombosis and target lesion failure. In April, Abbott pulled the stent from European markets. In response to widespread criticism of the technology, the EuroPCR team released a statement this […]
Abbott recalls heart catheters on balloon sheath issue
Abbott (NYSE:ABT) is recalling some 450,000 coronary catheters on the risk that removing a protective balloon sheath can damage the ballon during angioplasty procedures. In a March 22 letter to customers, Abbot said the recall affects its NC Trek RX and NC Traveler RX coronary dilatation catheters and the NC Tenku RX PTCA balloon catheter. “Product from the […]
HRS 2017 Roundup: Study pinpoints battery issue in Abbott’s Nanostim leadless pacer
A study of the Nanostim leadless pacemaker made by Abbott’s St. Jude Medical subsidiary pinpoints the cause of a battery depletion issue A study of the Nanostim leadless pacemaker Abbott acquired this year when it bought St. Jude Medical, presented last week at the annual Heart Rhythm Society conference, found that a battery depletion problem […]