C.R. Bard (NYSE:BCR) said today that it agreed to pay $181 million to acquire Liberator Medical (NYSE:LBMH), a direct-to-consumer distributor of durable medical equipment. The deal, expected to close during the 1st quarter next year, calls for Murray Hill, N.J.-based Bard to pay $3.35 per share for Liberator. The bid is a 36% premium over Liberator’s […]
Direct-to-Consumer
Samsung: Health tech is ‘single greatest opportunity of our generation’ | MassDevice.com On Call
Samsung dives into digital health with wearable sensor, $50M fund
LG enters mHealth with heart rate earphones
Consumer technology titan LG Electronics (KRX:066570) entered the healthcare game for the 1st time with the announcement of its heart-rate-monitoring earphones that combine music with wearable fitness monitoring and smartphone-based record-keeping.
Stryker hits a 52-week high | Wall Street Beat
Shares of Stryker (NYSE:SYK) hit a 52-week high yesterday, peaking at $64.46 apeice before closing at $63.88, down 0.2% on the day.
STK shares are up about 3% since the medical device company reported 4th-quarter and 2012 results Jan. 24. Stryker said yesteday that it plans to issue a 26.5¢ dividend to shareholders.
Invisalign trailblazes a path direct to the consumer| A conversation with Align Technology CEO Tom Prescott
Crooked-toothed teens may want to consider sliding a picture of Tom Prescott next to that fading "Twilight" poster on the wall.
FDA warns home genetic test makers on medical claims
The FDA formally warned three providers of direct-to-consumer DNA tests about medical claims the companies make that the federal watchdog agency hasn’t approved.
The FDA wants the companies; American International Biotechnology Services, Lumigenix Inc and Precision Quality DNA — to either furnish evidence of device approval or make a case that their products don’t fall under the FDA’s purview.
Plastic surgery: Syneron launches DTC hair-removal and teeth whitening systems
Syneron Medical Ltd. (MKT:ELOS) consolidated its consumer business into a new spinout called Syneron Beauty.
The subsidiary of the Yokneam, Israel aesthetic device company will conduct the sales, marketing and distribution of all of Syneron’s consumer products. That includes Syneron’s home-use partnership with Procter & Gamble, the Tända light therapy products, the Mē hair removal system and the Fluorinex teeth whitening system.
The new unit will be led by Fabian Tenenbaum, who previously served as Syneron’s CFO.
FDA defends Shuren over accusations that he misled Congress
Shuren
The FDA is standing behind comments made by the chief of its medical device arm, Dr. Jeffrey Shuren, during testimony before a U.S. House committee last summer on direct-to-consumer genetic tests.
The remarks, made during a House Energy & Commerce Committee hearing on whether DTC genetic tests should be regulated by the Food & Drug Administration, passed un-noticed for the better part of a year until a video posted on FDAblog.org drew the attention of genetics researchers and bloggers this month.
FDA panel: Doctors should supervise at-home genetic test use
An independent FDA panel is advising more caution with the use of personal genetic tests.
The federal watchdog agency asked the advisory committee to consider whether it should introduce tougher restrictions on direct-to-consumer genetic tests due to public health and social issues.
The panel said results from such tests, which can be ordered online, can be vague or misleading.
FDA looks at tougher regulations for at-home genetic tests
The FDA may tighten regulations on at-home genetic tests and will ask an outside panel of experts to weigh in on the pros and cons of gene-based tests that consumers can order from their own home.
Though the FDA believes the biggest risks of direct-to-consumer tests are false positive or false negative results, the watchdog agency said the "DTC model has created public health and social quandaries" because the general public can have tests for serious medical issues delivered to their doorstep without consulting a physician.
