The medical device tax set to take effect next year as part of the Affordable Care Act will see all medical device companies pay a 2.3% levy on U.S. sales. But the tax is likely to strike some companies a lot harder where it hurts the most: the bottom line.
Boston Scientific’s Alair asthma treatment gets a thumbs-up | Regulatory Roundup
Ortho market growth stable but low | Wall Street Beat
The market for hip and knee implants is stable but mired in a low-growth stage, according to analysts who attended the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons conference in San Francisco last week.
Although the abrupt departure of Stryker CEO Steve MacMillan drew the lion’s share of attention at the AAOS event, analysts from Barclays Capital and Leerink Swann agreed that the sector’s outlook calls for low-single-digit growth.
FDA wants new PMA from Merit Medical for altered coating on guidewires
The FDA warned Merit Medical Systems (NSDQ:MMSI) about distributing an adulterated device after the federal watchdog agency discovered modifications to the coating process for one of Merit’s guidewires.
Bioject CEO departs after layoffs | Personnel Moves
Needle-free drug delivery company Bioject Medical Technologies (OTC:BJCT) announced the departure of its president & CEO "for cost-cutting reasons" on the heels of major cuts to its workforce.
Ralph Makar, who took the corner office at Bioject four years ago, ceded his role to board member Mark Logomasini, who will serve as interim president & CEO, effective immediately.
Masimo plunges after missing Q3 earnings target | Earnings Roundup
Shares of Masimo Corp. (NSDQ:MASI) plunged more than 12 percent today after the patient monitoring device maker missed third-quarter earnings expectations and lowered its sales and earnings guidance for the rest of 2011.
MASI shares were trading at $19.61 as of about 1 p.m. today, down 12.1 percent.
Is nanotech the future of breast implants? | MassDevice.com On Call
MASSDEVICE ON CALL —Nanotechnology could hold promise for the next generation in breast implant material, said researchers.
Scientists at the University of Akron are currently developing an alternative to the standard silicone rubber implant, which according to them has a 20 to 30 percent complication rate.
The new material would be a nanostructed alternative to silicone that has the ability to deliver cancer drugs and minimize chemotherapy side effects in the 75 percent of post-mastectomy patients that choose breast reconstruction surgery.
Merit Medical gets on, off the hook with NASDAQ
Merit Medical Systems Inc. (NSDQ:MMSI) got a warning letter and a reprieve within the same missive from the NASDAQ exchange after the death of one of its board members.
James Ellis was a member of the company’s audit committee until his death August 20. That left a vacant seat on the audit committee, breaking one of the stock exchange’s requirements.
Baxter’s back into the black after 12 percent sales bump | Earnings roundup
Merit to increase share count by 25 percent in stock split | Funding roundup
Merit Medical Systems Inc. (NSDQ:MMSI) shareholders will soon get a 25 percent boost in the number of shares they own in the company after its board approved a 5-for-4 forward stock split, the company said today.
The split, which the company scheduled after market close on May 5, also corresponds to a proportionate reduction in equity and cash value per share. Boards often split their companies’ stock to make shares more affordable.
FDA approves two Medtronic pacemakers | Regulatory roundup
Medtronic Inc. (NYSE:MDT) launched two pacemakers that had been delayed by regulatory snafus for months, the company said today.
The Fridley, Minn.-based company resolved a Nov. 2009 warning letter that enabled the company to win FDA approval for the Consulta and Syncra cardiac resynchronization therapy-pacemaker (CRT-P) systems.