AFib-treating cardiac ablation, surgical robotics, nitinol and diabetes treatment tech lead among this year’s top medtech stories.
Meanwhile, medical device companies have been seeking more tuck-in M&A — and continuing to refocus and boost operational efficiency — to better prepare for whatever the future brings.
Here are the top medtech stories that caught the attention of MassDevice readers and editors in 2024:
Top medtech story No. 10: Mergers and acquisitions picking up
According to Bank of America analysts, the medical device industry saw 19 acquisitions of note with around $25 billion in disclosed deal price. Top deals included Johnson & Johnson’s $13 billion buy of Shockwave Medical, BD’s $4.2 billion acquisition of Edwards’ Critical Care business and Boston Scientific’s $3.7 billion purchase of Axonics. Travis Steed, Stephanie Piazzola, Craig Bijou and Enjia Cao at Bank of America see more medtech M&A deals coming: “We see the potential for a pickup in medtech M&A in 2025 with a more favorable regulatory environment, lower financing cost, more normalized end market growth rates, and even more time since peak [small-to-midcap] valuations.”
Here is all of MassDevice’s M&A coverage >>
Top medtech story No. 9: AI reality check
Two years after the launch of ChatGPT and its generative AI created a huge amount of popular buzz, some of the hype appears to be wearing off. Medical device companies, however, continue to find uses that matter, incorporating a wide range of artificial intelligence into their products and services. It seems as though MassDevice is covering medtech with AI on a weekly and sometimes daily basis. As our Medical Design & Outsourcing site explained early this year, Medtronic alone has AI products catching colon cancer, assisting surgeons and more. Medtronic Endoscopy Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer Ha Hong described medtech as the most exciting fields for applying AI because “it directly affects the patient’s life.”
Read all of our coverage about artificial intelligence in medtech >>
Top medtech story No. 8: Preparing for a second Trump administration
The medical device industry is preparing for what may come as Donald Trump returns to the White House. Medtech leaders say they take Trump’s threats to institute tariffs seriously, and Trump’s nominees for healthcare leadership positions have promised a major overhaul at FDA, even questioning the user fee system that pays for medtech regulation. Outgoing FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf has said industry support will be the biggest factor in keeping talented employees at the FDA under Trump. We’ll stay on top of the news at MassDevice.
Find out more about Trump’s nominee to replace Califf >>
Top medtech story No. 7: Ensuring that medtech innovation helps everyone
Medtech companies this years have shown more focus on women’s health initiatives. For example, companies including Abbott and Medtronic have sought to contribute to health equity with clinical trial diversity initiatives. Companies also continue to boost diversity among the people involved in medtech creation. Said Abbott EVP and Medical Devices Group President Lisa Earnhardt: “It’s imperative for us as an industry to increase the number of women in medtech. We collectively are underrepresented.”
Top medtech story No. 6: More medtech layoffs
Major established medtech companies continue to refocus and reorganize amid a host of economic, healthcare system and supply chain uncertainties, and that, unfortunately, includes layoffs. Layoffs at Medtronic, Johnson & Johnson, Philips, and Edwards Lifesciences were among the stories that received much attention on MassDevice. More layoffs are coming at the end of the year. In fact, MassDevice’s homepage was recently full of layoff stories involving companies ranging from Solventum to Smith+Nephew.
Here is our roundup counting more than 22,000 medtech job cuts since 2022 >>
Top medtech story No. 5: A wide range of medtech innovations are rolling out
The medtech generating a lot of news and attention this year included pulsed field ablation (PFA) for treating AFib, surgical robotics, and diabetes treatment tech. (Read more about these spaces below.) There’s intravascular lithotripsy (IVL), which uses sonic pressure waves to break up calcium deposits in blood vessels. Neuromodulation/neurostimulation and brain-computer interfaces are also generating much excitement.
Read more MassDevice neurotech coverage >>
Top medtech story No. 4: More treatment options for type 2 diabetes
Companies such as Abbott, Dexcom, Insulet, Medtronic and Tandem Diabetes Care that have brought innovations including continuous glucose monitors and insulin pumps to the type 1 diabetes populations are turning their attention to people with type 2. It was a key theme at the American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions in Orlando, Florida over the summer. Expect it to be a common talking point in 2025. Other major diabetes treatment tech stories this year included a partnership between Abbott and Medtronic to connect CGM and insulin delivery systems, Embecta’s discontinuation of its insulin patch pump program, and more potential patch pump entries.
Drug Delivery Business News has you covered on diabetes treatment tech news >>
Top medtech story No. 3: Huge demand for nitinol
The nickel-titanium alloy, with its superelasticity and shape memory properties, has seen a big year amid the U.S. launches of pulsed field ablation technologies that use nitinol in their delivery catheters. “With an increasing trend to treat patients using minimally invasive procedures, nitinol has become a popular choice of material due to its ability to return to its original shape after being mechanically deformed or after heat is applied,” the FDA said in a nitinol guidance document. When you look at the biggest medtech acquisitions, regulatory authorizations and device launches of this year, nitinol is key to so many of them.
MDO has extensive coverage of nitinol, its uses and the supply chain >>
Top medtech story No. 2: Intuitive’s next-gen da Vinci system
Intuitive’s launch of its next-generation da Vinci 5 system further widened the moat for the dominant soft-tissue surgical robotics company. As giants including Medtronic and Johnson & Johnson MedTech advance their own systems, will they be able to compete to install systems in U.S. hospitals, or will non-Intuitive robotic innovation be more about the host of companies seeking to offer answers in ambulatory surgery center settings?
Keep up to date on surgical robotics news here >>
Top medtech story No. 1: The rise of pulsed field ablation
Pulsed field ablation really took off in the United States this year, with Boston Scientific and Medtronic rolling out systems after receiving FDA approval. Johnson & Johnson MedTech won approval for its own system in November 2024, and many other companies — from Abbott to Field Medical — are advancing PFA technology. Pulsed field ablation is a non-thermal method for cardiac ablation to treat AFib. It reduces the risk of damage to surrounding structures.
Experts at major medtech companies discuss the various shapes of their PFA catheters >>
Managing Editor Jim Hammerand, Senior Editor Danielle Kirsh and Associate Editor Sean Whooley contributed to this report. This story originally ran on Dec. 10, 2024.
Our editorial team discussed the top medtech trends during our most recent DeviceTalks Weekly podcast episode:
