Top Device Companies

Abbott Considers More Buys In Israel On Heels Of $123 Million Purchase

Abbott Laboratories is looking for more acquisitions in Israel even as it moves to complete its purchase of StarLIMS. Abbott is paying $123 million for the Israeli company, part of more than $7 billion it spent on acquisitions in 2009. Abbott’s executive vice president for diagnostics, Edward Michael, said the firm was interested in Israeli companies in the fields of medical devices and diagnostics as well as pharmaceuticals and nutrition products, but also would look at new fields of related industries. (Click here for more)

“After StarLIMS, Abbott Seeks More Israeli Acquisitions” – Globes (1/26/10)

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J&J CEO Says Device, Diagnostics Division Led Sales In 2009

Johnson and Johnson CEO Bill Weldon says the company expects sales to pick up this year after 2009 proved to be its worst year since the 1930s’ Depression. J&J’s medical devices and diagnostics unit outsold its pharmaceutical unit to lead the rest of the company’s divisions. Weldon said the device and diagnostics division helped give the firm the broad base of business it needed to insulate J&J from an even worse year. (Click here for more)

“Johnson & Johnson CEO: Business Picking Up, But Industry’s Troubles Aren’t Over” – Los Angeles Times (AP) (1/26/10)

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J&J’s Navistar Heated Catheter Said Better Than Drugs For Irregular Beats

Johnson & Johnson’s new catheter ablation device, Navistar ThermoCool, outperformed drugs in some patients with irregular heartbeats, a study said. The study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association said Navistar eliminated recurring irregular beats in 66 percent of patients given the catheter procedure. They were patients who had failed to respond to previous treatments with at least one drug. The J&J catheter is heated to burn away heart tissue at fault. (Click here for more)

“J&J Heated Catheter Better Than Drugs For Irregular Heartbeats” – Bloomberg (1/26/10)

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Kimberly-Clark Pain Pumps Linked to Chondrolysis In 150-Plus Suits

Kimberly-Clark’s I-Flow pain pumps and similar devices have been linked in lawsuits with chondrolysis, the death of cartilage in human joints that allows bones to grind on each other. More than 150 suits have been filed around the country, one of them culminating in a $5.5 million judgment awarded in an Oregon court. Lawyers for plaintiffs aver that makers of the pumps disregarded safety in bringing their products to market. I-Flow acknowledges it has been named in 191 cases involving 412 patients, 80 of which were dismissed. (Click here for more)

“Studies Link Rare Ailment To Pain Pumps” – New York Times (1/26/10)

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Medtronic To Buy Europe’s Invatec For Heart-Device Business

Medtronic says it intends to buy Italy- and Switzerland-based Invatec for $500 million to boost the American company’s European presence. Invatec makes medical devices for cardiovascular diseases, an industry segment worth about $10 billion a year worldwide. Invatec produces stents, angioplasty balloons and other devices for treating heart problems. The purchase agreement calls for Medtronic to make a $350 million payment up front, the rest in milestones to Invatec, a supplier and a distributor. (Click here for more)

“Medtronic To Buy Invatec For Up To $500 Million” – New York Times (AP) (1/25/10)

JUST PUBLISHED: Medical Device Market 2009: Interventional Cardiology - Find out who’s going beyond catheters and drug-eluting stents in this vibrant space with this 86-page Special Report previously published in IN VIVO: The Business & Medicine Report. Order yours now!

Medtronic Gets FDA Okay For Heart Valve Implanted Through Catheter

Medtronic has won FDA approval for its implantable replacement heart valve. The Melody transcatheter pulmonary valve is the first approved device to be implanted through a catheter, obviating the need for open-heart surgery. The FDA gave Medtronic a humanitarian-treatment exemption because it is indicated for use in fewer than 4,000 patients in the United States annually. (Click here for more)

“Medtronic Heart Device Is Approved” – New York Times (1/25/10)

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Covidien, GE Work Under U.S. Grants On New Source Of Medical Isotopes

Covidien and General Electric are engaged in federally backed research into more efficient ways of producing radioactive isotopes used to diagnose medical conditions. Covidien is partnered with Babcock & Wilcox, which received a $9 million U.S. grant to produce the isotopes in a tiny reactor under development. GE got a $2.3 million grant and is partnering with Hitachi to find a new way to produce Moly-99 from naturally occurring Moly 98 for use in making the isotopes. The radioactive material is used to diagnose cancer, heart disease and kidney ailments, but there is a worldwide shortage of the material. (Click here for more)

“Energy Grants Seek Reliable Source For Diagnostic Aid” – New York Times (1/25/10)

JUST PUBLISHED: Medical Device Market 2009: Interventional Cardiology - Find out who’s going beyond catheters and drug-eluting stents in this vibrant space with this 86-page Special Report previously published in IN VIVO: The Business & Medicine Report. Order yours now!

Abbott Loses U.S. Appeal Of Patent-Infringement Case Against BD

Abbott Laboratories lost its federal appeal of a lower-court ruling it could not sue Becton Dickinson and Nova Biomedical for patent infringement. A District Court jury ruled in 2008 that a patent for Abbott’s glucose-monitors was invalid and an Appeals Court now has affirmed the ruling. Abbott said it was considering its options, which include an appeal to the U.s. Supreme Court. The original case involved BD’s Test Strips. (Click here for more)

“Judge Upholds Abbott’s Loss Over Glucose Monitor Claim” – Daily Herald (1/25/10)

Hot Off the Presses: Medical Device Market 2009: Interventional Cardiology - This 86-page Special Report from IN VIVO identifies the most important trends in cardiology devices in recent years, teases out the critical decisions that drove those developments, and takes you behind the scenes and into the minds of the architects of these new technologies and business strategies. Find out more...

Zimmer, DePuy, Stryker Seen Key To Orthopedic-Device Turnaround

Zimmer Holdings, Johnson & Johnson’s DePuy unit and Stryker are seen as bellwethers for an improved sales year for makers of orthopedic devices. Analysts said the three companies should be the first to demonstrate increased demand because of their hip and knee replacements. The slow economy last year caused patients to cut back on elective and other expensive surgeries. The patient response ran counter to expectations hip and knee replacements were not considered elective. (Click here for more)

“Shaky Orthopedic Device Market Set To Rebound” – Reuters (1/25/10)

JUST PUBLISHED: Medical Device Market 2009: Interventional Cardiology - Find out who’s going beyond catheters and drug-eluting stents in this vibrant space with this 86-page Special Report previously published in IN VIVO: The Business & Medicine Report. Order yours now!

Smith & Nephew Wins Move Of U.S. Suit From Texas To Memphis Home

Smith & Nephew, based in Memphis, won a court ruling moving a lawsuit against it from Texas. Three sales agents sued Smith & Nephew in a U.S. court in Texas last year, alleging they were wrongfully fired. The maker of orthopedic reconstruction and trauma devices lost an effort to get the suit dismissed outright. The sales reps said they were fired for visiting a strip club with a physician client. Smith & Nephew and other device makers had entered into an agreement with the Justice Department in 2007 over perks to physicians. (Click here for more)

“Smith & Nephew ‘Gentlemen’s Club’ Lawsuit Moved” – Memphis Daily News (1/25/10)

Hot Off the Presses: Medical Device Market 2009: Interventional Cardiology - This 86-page Special Report from IN VIVO identifies the most important trends in cardiology devices in recent years, teases out the critical decisions that drove those developments, and takes you behind the scenes and into the minds of the architects of these new technologies and business strategies. Find out more...