Sanofi-Aventis
Shire adds Pervasive Therapeutics to regenerative portfolio | Wall Street Beat
Boston Scientific launches Pluromed’s BackStop kidney stone treatment | Wall Street Beat
Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) launched its BackStop kidney stone treatment product in the U.S. and certain international markets this week.
Sanofi snags hydrogel maker Pluromed for an undisclosed amount
French health care giant Sanofi (NYSE:SNY) signed a definitive agreement to acquire hydrogel maker Pluromed for an undisclosed amount.
Sanofi plans to commercialize Woburn, Mass.-based Pluromed’s LeGoo polymer plug, an injectable gel used during surgical procedures in place of a clamp or snare.
Diabetes: WSJ’s Mossberg raves about Telcare’s web-friendly glucose monitor
Telcare Inc. got high marks for its cellular-enabled glucose monitor from the Wall Street Journal’s personal technology columnist, Walt Mossberg.
While he didn’t love the outdated look of the device, which he describes as looking like a "thick, old cellphone," he called the Telcare system "a leap ahead of nearly all glucose meters."
The Telcare BGM is a 3G wireless-enabled glucose meter that can sent instantly send readings to a password-protected website, which can then be shared with doctors or family members, or to an iPhone app.
MassDevice.com +7 | CMS targets med-tech, Infinity recall, Philips’ bribe charges, Joe DeVivo, iPhone glucose meter, TFX sells aerospace arm, CardioMEMS CEO on FDA ruling
Say hello to MassDevice +7, a bite-sized view of the top seven med-tech stories of the week. This latest feature of MassDevice.com’s coverage highlights our seven biggest and most influential stories from the week’s news to make sure you’re up to date on the headlines that continue to shape the medical device industry.
If you read nothing else this weekend, make sure you’re still in the know with MassDevice +7.
Diabetes: FDA clears iPhone glucose meter | MassDevice.com On Call
MASSDEVICE ON CALL — Sanofi’s (NYSE:SNY) iPhone glucose meter, the iBGStar, landed 510(k) clearance from the FDA, making it the first iPhone glucose meter to win a nod from the federal watchdog agency.
The company’s website describes the meter as "is the first available blood glucose meter that seamlessly connects to the Apple iPhone and iPod touch for the flexibility to manage your diabetes whenever, wherever."
Defendants in $200 million Medicare scam plead guilty
MASSDEVICE ON CALL — Three Miami residents pleaded guilty to playing roles in the $200 million Medicare scam, the largest mental-health clinic con in U.S. history.
Joseph Valdes, 30, a marketer for the company, and James Edwards, 65, a recruiter, admitted to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and illegal kickbacks to patients.
A third defendant, Adriana Mejia, 40, pleaded guilty to money-laundering conspiracy.
Mixed results for stents in two clinical studies looking at strokes
A pair of clinical trials comparing whether stents or carotid surgery is more effective at preventing strokes have yielded markedly different results.
Findings released Feb. 26 from a study sponsored by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, with funding from Abbott Laboratories Inc. (NYSE:ABT), indicate that using stents to open clogged arteries in the neck is equally effective at preventing stroke as surgical procedures, where fatty deposits are “stripped” from the primary artery leading to the head and brain.