Companies

Massachussetts medtech companies Pavilion Medical Innovations L.L.C. and STD Med, Inc. are jointly forming a new entity, Saphena Medical, Inc. Saphena will progress its platform Endoscopic Vein Harvesting technologies, its OnePass™ system achieving single-step, minimally-invasive harvesting of veins used for coronary artery bypass grafting.

Presentation of neurological data confirms patients in the device group had fewer, smaller strokes that were less likely to originate from blood clots passing through the PFO

Interventional Neurology’s on-off relationship with mechanical thrombectomy might be back on with this solid looking data from Covidien’s STAR study into the safety and efficacy of the Solitaire FR device in AIS patients.

Device company Biosensors International Group, Ltd., has announced financial results for its third fiscal quarter (“Q3 FY13”) and nine months ended 31 December 2012. In a newly announced arrangement the company will now co-promote its Nobori stent in Japan with Terumo, replacing the original distribution arrangement.

Thoratec Corporation, famous for its Heartmate ventricular assist device, has reported its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2012. Sales of Heartmate are growing nicely and rumours abound that a major shareholder wants to cash in its chips.

St. Jude Medical, Inc. has announced the first patient implant of its 25 mm Portico™ Transcatheter Aortic Heart Valve using the Transfemoral Delivery System in its ongoing European trial.

Update on proceedings between “vasculopath” Loren Kransky and J&J (DePuy), centring on whether the company poisoned the plaintiff.

Ethicon Endo-Surgery says its ENSEAL® advanced bipolar devices are strong on sealing, yet gentle on tissue. And now with a new Articulating iteration these benefits can be exploited in the most difficult-to-access anatomies.

We’re always on the look-out for technologies that nudge the state of play forward. Medtronic’s next-generation Evera® ICDs offer patients proven treatment performance, increased longevity, improved comfort and are now CE marked.

DePuy staff are still sounding defiant, but it’s not looking like the engineering group looked under every rock in establishing the safety and longevity of their ASR device. And then, when warned of issues, the claim is that the company didn’t act quickly enough.

Zimmer Holdings, Inc. has reported financial results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2012 showing a modest year on year increase of 2.1% on a constant currency basis. Full-year net sales were $4.47 billion, an increase of 0.4% reported and 2.3% constant currency over the prior year.

Medtronic is trumpeting the European introduction of the first and only implantable neurostimulation systems indicated for use in the treatment of chronic back and/or leg pain that are designed for full-body MRI scans under specific conditions.

St.Jude will be hoping that a new study of different degrees of hypertension may expand the indication for its EnligHTN renal denervation technology for hypertension to new patient populations.

More coverage from the trial between Kransky and DePuy has the all-metal hip maker feeling the heat from revelations that it hid the building concerns of orthopaedic surgeons about its device for a long time before the eventual recall.

Zimmer Holdings, Inc. has introduced the Zimmer V2F Anterior Fixation System, a new implant system for the treatment of thoracolumbar burst fractures, tumors, disc degeneration and other pathologies of the anterior spine. The system represents Zimmer’s first lateral plate system for the spinal trauma segment.

The only FDA approved ureteral access sheath that has two options for placement is now available in the United States. The Flexor® Parallel™ Rapid Release™ Ureteral Access Sheath allows urologists to use a single wire guide that functions as both a working wire and a safety wire.