President Trump announced today that he is invoking the Defense Production Act — a Korean War–era law that enables extraordinary government actions to boost needed supplies — “just in case we need it” to fight the coronavirus pandemic. There have been stories of healthcare providers across the United States facing shortages of everything from ventilators […]
Donald Trump
Trump orders more general use respirators for healthcare workers
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping the globe, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to increase the availability of personal respiratory devices for healthcare workers. In a memorandum released by the White House on March 10, Trump declared that public health experts anticipate shortages in the supply of respirators available for use by healthcare workers […]
President Trump signs $8.3b coronavirus emergency funding bill
President Donald Trump today signed an $8.3 billion emergency package to help address the ongoing outbreak of COVID-19, which is caused by the coronavirus. According to a report by Politico, about $7.7 billion of that $8.3 billion is slated for discretionary spending to improve vaccine development, research, equipment stockpiles and both state and local health budgets. […]
Trump nominates Dr. Stephen Hahn to head FDA
President Trump has nominated the chief medical officer at Houston’s M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Dr. Stephen Hahn, as the next commissioner at the FDA. Hahn supplanted other candidates, including acting commissioner Dr. Ned Sharpless, who will return to the National Cancer Institute, according to a report by The Hill. Dr. Brett Giroir, the current assistant […]
Medtech reporting would change under new opioid law
A section of the recently-passed bill to address the opioid crisis could have implications for medtech. The 250-page Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act (SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act) contains a provision that would require manufacturers of certain medical devices, drugs and biologics covered by Medicare, Medicaid, […]
Here are the top 5 medtech stories of mid-2018
A growing U.S. trade war with China and other countries casts a pall on medtech — and U.S. business in general — in mid-2018. The landscape of the medical device industry continues to evolve, though. There’s a major corporate spinout in the works, as well as a mega-merger that apparently was not to be. Read […]
Trump tariffs place nearly $1 billion in duties on the medtech industry
The U.S. medical device industry is facing nearly $1 billion in tariffs from the Trump administration, about $4 billion less than what was originally expected, according to AdvaMed. Customs and Border Protection began collecting the additional duties on July 6. The Trump administration announced in April that it intended to impose tariffs on $50 billion […]
Trump tariffs leave medical device companies in the dark
U.S. medical device industry representatives, for now, appear to be taking a wait and see approach as President Donald Trump’s administration wrangles over trade policy and threatens tariffs against China. The status of China tariffs on medical devices is unknown at this time as the Trump administration continues to make changes to its trade policies […]
Trump tariffs would take a $5B bite out of the medical device industry
The U.S. medical device industry could come out as a major loser if the Trump administration ends up fighting a trade war with China, according to experts following the situation. Out of the $50 billion in tariffs against imported Chinese goods that the U.S. Trade Representative is proposing, $5 billion involves medical device and technology […]
Tom Price is out as HHS secretary
Tom Price has resigned from his post as U.S. health and human services secretary after days of fending off criticism over chartered flights he took on the public dime. The announcement today out of the White House said Don J. Wright – presently assistant secretary for health and director of the Office of Disease Prevention and Health […]
Wisconsin biotech industry optimistic about state’s Foxconn win
Wisconsin’s biotech industry sees opportunity in Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn’s decision to spend $10 billion on a 3,000-employee plant in the state’s southeast. That’s because the 8K liquid crystal display (LCD) screens made at the new Foxconn campus could enable new medical solutions for surgical procedures, according to BioForward Wisconsin. “BioForward and Wisconsin’s biohealth community welcomes […]