Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) CEO Geoff Martha has no intention of slowing the medtech giant down amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Speaking during the Fridley, Minn.-based company’s “Investor Day” virtual presentation, Martha made one thing clear: “We are going on the offensive,” Martha said at the start and echoed throughout the program. About six months into his tenure as […]
Edwards Lifesciences
Medtronic launches head-to-head TAVR study against Edwards
Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) today announced it will begin a randomized, head-to-head study comparing two transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) systems in patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis (ssAS), primarily in women. The postmarket SMART trial will compare valve safety and performance of the self-expanding Medtronic Evolut PRO and PRO+TAVR Systems against Edwards Lifesciences’ (NYSE:EW) balloon-expandable SAPIEN 3 and […]
MedTech 100 roundup: New peak for industry
Stocks in the medtech industry continue to impress as, over the past week, they set a new benchmark amid the COVID-19 pandemic. MassDevice’s MedTech 100 Index — which includes stocks of the world’s largest medical device companies — finished last week at 95.05 (Oct. 9), marking a 5.9% gain from the 89.73 points registered at the […]
AI could boost Edwards’ critical care business
Critical care comprises nearly 20% of Edwards’ revenue. Its continued growth is connected to the prominence of the company’s heart valve business. Katie Szyman spent 23 years at Medtronic, a giant in the Medtech industry, but a patient-focused outlook became a driving force behind a change for her. Wanting to work for a California-based company […]
Moody’s sees higher earnings, increased demand for medical device companies
Moody’s Investors Service announced today that it is changing its outlook for the medical device industry to positive — up from stable. The COVID-19 pandemic previously caused a suspension of non-urgent medical care, but procedure numbers have bounced back, said Moody’s, which expects the positive trend to continue as a result of pent-up demand and […]
Which TAVR device is the best? It depends, researchers say
Researchers published a paper in the Journal of the American Medical Association citing insufficient evidence regarding the superiority of TAVR devices. Currently, only three TAVR devices are commercially available in the U.S., belonging to Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW), Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) and Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX), although several others are being used in clinical trials to evaluate safety and efficacy. Get the full story at our […]
CMS agrees to cover ‘breakthrough’ medical devices
Medicare patients will have coverage for medical devices the FDA designates as breakthrough technology under a proposed rule released this morning. Once the Medicare Coverage of Innovative Technology (MCIT) final rule goes into effect, national Medicare coverage will begin on the date a breakthrough device’s FDA market authorization would begin and continue for 4 years. […]
TAVR sales growth was flat in July, Jefferies reports
Jefferies equity research reported that sales of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) are better than the previous quarter with flat growth. Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) reported among its second-quarter results that TAVR sales had taken a -12% hit for the three months ended June 30, 2020. When the company reported its quarterly results, it noted that it […]
Medtech and COVID-19: 7 things you need to know
When COVID-19 set upon the U.S. in March, medtech executives only had a month at most to explain to analysts in quarterly calls how the pandemic was hitting their companies — not nearly enough time to understand the long-term impact. Three more months have passed since those quarterly calls, and we’re now wrapping up a […]
DTW Podcast: 10 ways medtech is finding its footing amid COVID-19
When COVID-19 set upon the U.S. in March, medtech executives had a month at most to tell Wall Street analysts how the pandemic had hit the industry’s largest companies. We heard about short-term hits in revenues, procedures and employee headcounts, but uncertainty clearly ruled the day. Over the past few weeks, medtech executives from several […]
Dems seek to force EPA action on ethylene oxide monitoring
Democrats in both houses of Congress have introduced legislation that would force the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to better monitor emissions of ethylene oxide (EtO) from plants that manufacture the toxic gas or use it to sterilize medical devices. The Public Health Air Quality Act of 2020, sponsored by Sen. Tammy Duckworth (Ill.) and Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester […]