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.
7. Army cardiologist fined $12,700 in kickback scandal
Army cardiologist Major Jason Davis was hit with $12,700 in fees to settle allegations that he accepted illegal payments from Boston Scientific subsidiary Guidant, which paid $600,000 to settle its side of the charges in November 2010.
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6. The state of U.S. med-tech
The medical device sector was on the rebound in 2010 after a less-than-stellar 2009 performance, according to the latest report from industry lobby AdvaMed.
5. Conservative think tank blasts FDA
Conservative think tank Competitive Enterprise Institue took aim at the FDA’s program for reviewing medical devices, accusing the federal watchdog agency and public safety advocates of smothering new medical technology.
4. KCI to withdraw from patent beefs
Kinetic Concepts Inc (NYSE:KCI) says it plans to withdraw from all patent infringement cases involving intellectual property licensed from Wake Forest University after a federal judge ruled the patents invalid last year.
3. Thumbs up for Cook’s stent
After more than a year in the works, Cook Medical’s Zilver PTX stent got a unanimous boost from the FDA’s Circulatory Systems Devices Panel, putting it on track for U.S. market clearance in the next few months.
2. MDUFMA: FDA proposes user fee changes
The FDA proposes a raft of changes to its protocols for reviewing medical devices and diagnostics as part of the ongoing negotiations with industry over the re-authorization of the Medical Device User Fee & Modernization Act.
1. Whistleblowing doc fired from Northwestern University
Dr. Nalini Rajamannan, a Northwestern University cardiologist who sparked a federal investigation into fellow physician and inventor of the Myxo annuloplasty ring for allegedly implanting the device in patients without consent, is fired from Northwestern after being denied tenure.
