3m Archives - Medical Design Sourcing

3M to invest nearly $150M to boost biopharma filtration tech capabilities

3M (NYSE: MMM) today announced today that it will invest $146 million dollars to expand its capabilities to further support the fast-growing biotech manufacturing sector.

The investment will include facility and equipment improvements and 60 new full-time positions in 3M manufacturing facilities in Europe.

3M said the new investment will accelerate its development and delivery of vital filtration equipment designed for bioprocessing, biological and small molecule pharmaceutical manufacturing applications. The equipment will enable more innovation when it comes to therapies to treat conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and certain cancers. Filtration and purification is essential in manufacturing biopharmaceutical drugs.

The process uses a unique filter material that captures impurities while allowing the necessary drug substances to pass through.

“Our investment further demonstrates 3M’s continued market leaders…

3M layoffs include 1,100 at its Minnesota HQ campus

3M (NYSE: MMM) + notified the state of Minnesota of its plans to lay off approximately 1,100 employees connected to its headquarters.

News of these specific layoffs come hand-in-hand with last month’s announcement that 3M planned to reduce its headcount by 6,000 employees. That followed a previous announcement of 2,500 layoffs in January.

It remains unclear how many of the job cuts come from the 3M’s Health Care business, which remains on track for a spin-off. The total 8,500 jobs getting cut represent nearly a tenth of the manufacturing giant’s global workforce. 3M expects the restructuring initiative to save the company $700–900 million a year before taxes.

The cost-reduction plans include reducing the size of the company’s corporate center, simplifying the supply chain, streamlining the company’s geographic footprint and reducing management layers. 3M also plans to streamline its go-to-market mode…

FDA clears Veraflo therapy dressings from 3M

The Veraflo Cleanse Choice Complete dressing and V.A.C. Veraflo Cleanse Choice dressing. [Image courtesy of 3M]3M (NYSE:MMM) announced today that it received FDA clearances for its Veraflo therapy with two different dressings.

The clearances cover the Veraflo Cleanse Choice Complete dressing and V.A.C. Veraflo Cleanse Choice dressing. 3M said they received the first-ever FDA clearance for hydromechanical removal of infectious materials, non-viable tissue and wound debris. This reduces the number of surgical debridements required. It also promotes granulation tissue formation, creating an environment that promotes wound healing.

“Veraflo Therapy gives wound care clinicians a proven tool to facilitate healing and reduce the need for surgical intervention,” said Dr. Ronald Silverman, 3M Health Care SVP of clinical affairs and chief medical officer. “This FDA clearance highlights 3M innovation at its best – using science to help improve patient outc…

3M is laying off thousands of additional workers

3M (NYSE: MMM) + announced today that it will reduce its headcount by 6,000 — on top of the previously announced 2,500.

It was unclear how many of the jobs are in the company’s Health Care business, which 3M remains on track to spin off. The total 8,500 jobs getting cut represent nearly a tenth of the manufacturing giant’s global workforce.

3M officials expect the restructuring initiative to save the company $700–900 million a year before taxes. They plan to save money by reducing the size of the company’s corporate center, simplifying the supply chain, streamlining the company’s geographic footprint and reducing management layers. 3M will also streamline its go-to-market models to more closely align with customers’ needs.

“We’re confident that these are the right actions about positioning us for growth and profitability as we go forward. And it’ll help us navigat…

11 of the biggest medtech earnings stories from Q4 2022

(From Ishant Mishra on Unsplash) Layoffs, growth and more — the biggest medtech companies in the world experienced a range of outcomes in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Over the past two months, many of the largest medtech companies across the globe reported their financial results for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2022 (with a handful of exceptions due to different operating calendars).

Some companies offered reasons to feel good about the direction of the medtech industry. Others went in the opposite direction, enforcing workforce reductions and cost-cutting efforts. MassDevice compiled a list of layoffs across the industry, which have now affected more than 19,000 workers.

As layoff news mounted across the industry over the past month, MassDevice‘s MedTech 100 Index declined 2.6%. That was slightly worse than the S&P 500, which was down 2%.

Here are some of the biggest stories from the most recent quarter, all coming from companies within the…

Layoffs in medtech: These companies recently reduced their workforce

[Image courtesy of Nastuh Abootalebi on Unsplash] The workforce reduction trend has swept the economy recently, and unfortunately, the medtech space is not immune to layoffs.

You’ve probably read about the ongoing layoffs sweeping the tech industry, media and more.

For instance, Yahoo, Disney, Zoom and more all reported workforce reductions as companies across industries grapple with economic pressures. Think inflation, supply chain challenges and more.

Medtech has shown some resilience in the present environment. Some major medical device companies released positive earnings. However, others announced headcount reductions, citing macroeconomic headwinds. Others felt the weight of regulatory issues and restructuring efforts.

Here are a few companies across medtech that enacted layoffs over the past several months.

In 3M’s fourth-quarter earnings report, the company announced that it plans to reduce its global manufacturing workforc…

3M faces more hurdles over earplug lawsuits strategy

Lawyers representing present and former U.S. military members want a U.S. bankruptcy judge to dismiss 3M subsidiary Aearo Technologies’ Chapter 11 filing.

The tort claimants committee filed a motion to dismiss in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Southern Indiana on Feb. 3. They’ve long claimed that having Aearo file for bankruptcy was a strategy to deny the present and former servicemembers the relief they seek from hearing loss caused by allegedly defective earplugs. 3M potentially faces billions of dollars in losses from the more than 230,000 lawsuits.

Now the lawyers filing the lawsuits want Aearo’s bankruptcy case dismissed.

A ‘Texas two-step’ like J&J’s case?

Their dismissal motion came just days after Johnson & Johnson lost an appeal over an arguably similar “Texas two-step” type of strategy in which a spun-out LLC called LTL Management had filed for Chapter 11. In J&J’s case, the company fa…

3M has a new medical adhesive that lasts for up to 28 days

[Shutterstock stock art courtesy of 3M]

3M (NYSE:MMM) today announced the launch of a medical adhesive that can stick to the skin for up to 28 days.

The news comes less than a year after 3M launched a 21-day adhesive skin tape. Prior to 2022, the standard medical adhesive wear time was up to 14 days, according to the Maplewood, Minnesota–based manufacturing giant.

The new 3M Medical Tape 4578 can provide longer wear time for a wide array of health monitors, sensors, and long-term medical wearables. Think glucose and heart monitors — and much more.

“Our 3M scientists created a technology and then pushed that tech to its boundaries without compromising skin health,” Chad Reed, director of global business for 3M Medical Materials and Technologies, said in a news release. “Medical wearables are a cornerstone for the future of health care, and we’re committed to unlocking its po…

Johnson & Johnson, 3M stocks down on ‘Texas two-step’ decision

[Image from Unsplash]Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) stock dropped more than 3% in value today after a federal appeals court rejected its complex legal maneuver to shield itself from liability in talc-related lawsuits.

3M (NYSE: MMM) — which has also been seeking to do a “Texas two-step” to shield itself from liability in military earplug lawsuits — was down more than 2%. (MassDevice‘s MedTech 100 Index, which includes stocks of the world’s largest medical device companies, was up more than 9%.)

Critics alleged that J&J seeks to shield itself from billions of dollars worth of lawsuit payouts involving people who claim J&J’s talc-based baby powder caused them to develop cancer.

A New Yorker expose last year detailed how J&J created a new LLC called LTL Management and then moved the talc liability over to LTL. The new LLC then filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Calling the bankruptcy a “shell game,” plaintiffs in …

3M announces mixed Q4 results, will reduce manufacturing workforce by 2,500

3M (NYSE:MMM) today announced fourth-quarter financial results that missed the consensus earnings per share (EPS) forecast.

The company also announced that it plans to reduce its global manufacturing workforce by 2,500. 3M Chair and CEO Mike Roman attributed the decision to a need to align with adjusted production volumes.

MMM shares dipped 4.5% at $117.11 apiece before the market opened this morning. They dropped even further after the market opened, falling 5.7% at $115.63 apiece. MassDevice‘s MedTech 100 Index, which includes stocks of the world’s largest medical companies, was up more than 9%.

The St. Paul, Minnesota–based company posted profits of $541 million. That amounts to 98¢ per share on sales of $8.08 billion for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2022.

3M posted a 59.6% bottom-line slide on a sales decline of 6.2%.

Adjusted to exclude one-time items, earnings per share came in at $2.28. That fell 8¢ short of Wall Stree…

3M Oral Care launches custom matrix for restorative procedures

3M Oral Care today launched its Filtek Matrix restorative solution for composite placement.

Dental composites are used to restore or improve the esthetics of a patient’s smile, but the gold-standard process can be long and complicated, according to 3M. Filtek Matrix uses a digital restoration design to create a patient-specific matrix that helps clinicians transfer the digital design to the patient’s teeth using dental composites.

Filtek Matrix uses additive composite techniques that require little to no tooth reduction. In one clinical evaluation, 3M said dentists reported that using the matrix increased their confidence and delivered predictable and esthetic results while also saving chair time.

“This product brings together leading material science and digital innovation to enable clinicians to predictably and efficiently transform patient smiles,” global portfolio director of 3M Oral Care Andrew Milder said in a news release. …

4 ways to usher in next-gen medical device design

[Photo courtesy of 3M]

The future of medical device design is in our hands. Here’s what it’ll take to get there.

Tony Kaufman, 3M

It’s an exciting and challenging time in medical device history. From tracking vital signs to enabling more informed conversations with health professionals, device users can take control of their health in new and powerful ways.

But the rapid acceleration and advancement of data is only just beginning. What lies ahead is a complex web of questions that one person, one team, one company alone can’t solve.

For example, how can we further prioritize user experience from the start of the device’s development? How can we keep pushing the bounds of wear time? What have we learned from COVID that we can bring forward?

To unlock continued innovation that improves lives, all of us from across the device development process must come toge…