Low Medicare EKG device draft slams iRhythm, stock price sinks by over 30%

Wall Street analysts questioned whether the lower-than-expected rates are final and what the prospects are for renegotiation. Shares of market leader iRhythm fell over 32% on Friday.

By Ricky Zipp • Updated Feb. 1, 2021

CGM, insulin pump players look to 2021 as watershed year for diabetes wearables market

Insulet, Dexcom and Medtronic have product launches set for this year, and all look to capitalize on the recent skyrocketing of virtual care due to the coronavirus pandemic.

By Ricky Zipp • Jan. 29, 2021

Explore the Trendline➔

Medical device industry continues to turn to AI

While the industry continues to embrace artificial intelligence, there are still questions about how the new technologies need to be regulated and if they are effective.

By MedTech Dive staff

New iRhythm CEO on national pricing setback, Medtronic market expansion lessons

Michael Coyle will try to build off the cardiac monitoring company's recent success amid a telehealth boom. Shares have jumped by over 175% in the last 12 months.

By Ricky Zipp • Jan. 28, 2021

Hospitals lost $20B by pausing electives last year

The slowdown in elective care also hurt medtechs like Abbott and Johnson & Johnson. The industry expects declines to continue into 2021 after procedure volumes dropped again in the fourth quarter due to the virus resurgence.

By Shannon Muchmore • Jan. 28, 2021

Edwards' US TAVR sales fall as COVID-19 disrupts referrals

Analysts expected U.S. transcatheter aortic valve replacement sales to be flat in the fourth quarter but they fell by mid-single digits. Still, the company maintains guidance for global TAVR growth of 15-20% this year. 

By Nick Paul Taylor • Jan. 28, 2021

Stryker falls short of Q4 sales amid electives pullback, robotics a bright spot

Double-digit growth in China was offset by hits in business in the U.S. and Europe. CEO Kevin Lobo told investors after volumes rebounded through October, large declines began in November and December.

By Ricky Zipp • Jan. 27, 2021

Biden invokes DPA to combat supply shortages, but experts say it's no 'magic wand'

AdvaMed early in the pandemic urged against using the Defense Production Act's powers, though some companies were more open. The device lobby last week asked the administration to coordinate with industry before taking action.

By Matt Leonard • Jan. 27, 2021

England's NHS moves to boost access to Quidel, Roche, other medtech products

To be a part of the National Health Services' MedTech Funding Mandate, companies must be able to make the claim that their products generate net savings in their first year of use.

By Nick Paul Taylor • Jan. 27, 2021

Abbott Q4 beat driven by COVID-19 test demand, devices come in flat

CEO Robert Ford said the company exited 2020 with "tremendous momentum" and forecast 35% growth for this year. 

By Greg Slabodkin • Jan. 27, 2021

Surmodics drug-coated balloon on par with Medtronic's in study

The medtech is looking to distinguish itself from rivals with a lower dose, after a 2018 meta-analysis found a mortality risk for patients treated with paclitaxel-coated balloons or stents in the femoropopliteal artery of the leg.

By Susan Kelly • Jan. 26, 2021

Ventilators, imaging drive GE healthcare profits up 27% as procedures even out

"Regionally, public healthcare markets such as Europe and China have been stronger than private markets, particularly the U.S., India and Latin America," CFO Carolina Dybeck Happe told investors.

By Nick Paul Taylor • Jan. 26, 2021

J&J misses Wall Street on hips, knees and spine amid global elective care slowdown

CEO Alex Gorsky predicted challenges to persist in 2021 but suggested that improvement is in sight. "The resiliency and the ability of hospital systems to continue with elective surgeries has improved quite significantly," he said.

By Ricky Zipp • Jan. 26, 2021

Philips beats Q4 expectations as COVID-19 boosts connected care, slows procedures

The Dutch conglomerate will continue to be active on the M&A front, CEO Frans van Houten told investors, after striking two deals in the space over the past month worth more than $3.4 billion.

By Nick Paul Taylor • Jan. 25, 2021

Abbott, Edwards focus on mitral valve as market projected to rival TAVR

Companies have zeroed in on TAVR in recent years, but in 2021 and beyond, experts and industry are looking to the mitral market for the next big structural heart splash.

By Ricky Zipp • Jan. 25, 2021

Healthcare funding shatters records in 2020, helped by COVID-19

Medical device startups raised roughly $6 billion in the fourth quarter, a high point over the last three years, according to a CB Insights report.

By Rebecca Pifer • Jan. 22, 2021

Intuitive braces for bumpy 2021 as COVID-19 resurgence hits robotics

The company, which gave details on its fourth quarter, is not giving guidance for the year amid uncertainty. Shares fell nearly 5% Friday morning.

By Nick Paul Taylor • Jan. 22, 2021

4 key trends for payers and providers in 2021

The COVID-19 crisis may spur speedier adoption of value-based care and partnerships between health systems and payers in the year ahead.

By Samantha Liss • Jan. 22, 2021

Boston Scientific bets on cardiac wearables with $925M Preventice buy

The deal is the latest in the fast-growing space, coming on the heels of Hillrom's $375 million BardyDx buy on Tuesday and Philips' $2.8 billion purchase of BioTelemetry last month.

By Ricky Zipp • Jan. 21, 2021

Haemonetics inks $510M Cardiva takeover to expand hospital business

The blood products medtech contends the deal will strengthen its portfolio in interventional cardiology and electrophysiology markets.

By Nick Paul Taylor • Jan. 21, 2021

FDA breakthrough nods go to Alzheimer's devices, cardiovascular products

Cognito and Boston Scientific-backed Functional Neuromodulation picked up agency designations, positioning them for speedy reviews as they work to get their Alzheimer offerings to market.

By Nick Paul Taylor • Jan. 20, 2021

Hillrom makes cardiac monitoring play with $375M BardyDx buy

The deal fits Hillrom's existing heart portfolio and efforts to connect devices to the internet, analysts said, but one raised concerns about Medicare reimbursement.

By Susan Kelly • Jan. 20, 2021

CMS expands transcatheter mitral coverage, boosting Abbott's MitraClip device

Wall Street analysts said the national coverage determination could triple the patient base eligible for Abbott's MitraClip device, adding fuel to a growing and under-penetrated market.

By Ricky Zipp • Jan. 20, 2021

Forging trust in AI, sustaining the virtual care boom and other CES takeaways

"You can't just set a piece of software in front of somebody and say 'trust me,'" Christina Silcox, digital health fellow at the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy, said at the consumer tech conference.

By Rebecca Pifer • Jan. 19, 2021

Philips to acquire Capsule Technologies in $635M deal, growing patient data capabilities

The move follows the medtech giant's $2.8 billion acquisition of cardiac monitoring company BioTelemetry in December, one of 2020's largest deals.

By Ricky Zipp • Jan. 19, 2021

Neuromod portfolios advance at Medtronic, Boston Scientific, Abbott

The flurry of activity is further evidence of the medtech industry’s latest attempts to make progress in a sector criticized as stagnant just one year ago.

By Nick Paul Taylor • Jan. 15, 2021