Mar 11, 2019

MassDevice Edwards Lifesciences gets in on Corvia, Mitralign March 11, 2019 Edwards Lifesciences  (NYSE: EW ) said today that it made a pair of strategic bets on the structural heart space, paying $35 million for the right to acquire Corvia Medical and paying an unspecified amount for some of mitral valve repair device maker Mitralign ‘s assets. Tewksbury, Mass.-based Corvia is developing an interatrial shunt to treat heart failure by creating a small opening between the left and right atria to lower blood pressure in the left atrium and lungs. The device has CE Mark approval in the European Union and a pivotal U.S trial aimed at winning a nod from the FDA is under way, Edwards said. The Irvine, Calif.-based company also said it bought “certain” Mitralign assets, including intellectual property and associated clinical and regulatory experience. Mitralign, also based in Tewksbury, is developing an annuloplasty system for treating functional mitral and tricuspid regurgitation. Edwards said the transactions are not expected to affect its financial outlook for 2019. Women hold more executive leadership roles in the medtech industry today than they did 20 years ago, but there’s still a long way to go. There is still a women’s leadership gap in the U.S., though. According to a report from the Centers for American Progress, women hold 52% of professional jobs in the U.S.… […] FDA said today that it has received more than 41,000 adverse event reports — including 366 deaths — associated with surgical staplers and staples for internal use, and that it may require stricter product review of the devices. The agency’s ongoing analysis of stapler- and internal-staple-related adverse event reports from Jan. 1, 2011 to March… […] Shares in Stratasys (NSDQ:SSYS) rose today after the 3D-printing giant met expectations on Wall Street with its fourth quarter and full year 2018 earnings release. Minneapolis- and Rehovot, Israel-based Stratasys posted profits of $6.3 million, or 12¢ per share, on sales of $177.1 million for the three months ended December 31, seeing a swing from red ink… […] Integrated Computer Solutions announced that it will offer BlackBerry’s QNX software as part of its touch-enabled devices. “Committed to developing high-quality software devices, ICS is pleased to expand our ability to deliver comprehensive solutions by joining the BlackBerry QNX Channel Partner Program,” Peter Winston, CEO of ICS, said in a press release. “Our long history… […] A new study has found that NeurOptics’ NPi-200 pupillometer, which provides an automated assessment of the pupillary light reflex, may give an early warning of delayed cerebral ischemia, enabling preemptive care. The study was published in the Journal of Neurosurgery. The study analyzed 56 patients diagnosed with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage and admitted to the neuro-intensive… […] A new study will investigate whether Eko’s digital stethoscopes and artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms can interpret heart sounds accurately to help screen for pathologic heart murmurs and valvular heart disease. Eko’s Duo portable cardiac device won FDA clearance in 2017. The hand-held system combines a digital stethoscope with an electrocardiogram to give cardiologists insight into… […] Accenture (NYSE:ACN) has agreed to acquire Enterprise System Partners (ESP), a consulting and manufacturing services provider for the life sciences industry. Headquartered in Cork, Ireland, ESP will join Accenture’s digital manufacturing arm, Industry X.0, to boost Accenture’s efforts to transform manufacturing for pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device clients globally. ESP has long-standing experience in planning… […] The Hahn Group scooped up the IP and trademarks for the Sawyer collaborative robot and Intera software less than one month after Rethink Robotics Inc. shut down in October 2018. The German automation and robotics specialist, which has 30-plus years of automation experience, recently gave The Robot Report an exclusive look at how it plans to revitalize the Sawyer brand around… […] Qosina recently turned to Evonik’s Cryolite G-20 Hiflo acrylic-based copolymer compound to make its own specialized luer lock connector. “Delays in manufacturing were creating issues for us in terms of meeting customer demand in a timely fashion,” Geri Trautman, product development manager at Qosina, said in a March 4 news release. “So, after we started… […] Weiss-Aug recently announced that it has added a Laser Lab Technology Center to its surgical products division in Fairfield, N.J. The new laser-cutting and etching machines expand the company’s ability to meet product development demands. A precision metal-stamping, insert-molding and assembly company, Weiss-Aug said that precision laser cutting is faster, requires shorter setup, can process… […]