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MedTech 100 roundup: Another high as stocks tick up

For the third consecutive week, stocks in the medtech industry reached heights not yet seen since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

MassDevice’s MedTech 100 Index — which includes stocks of the world’s largest medical device companies — sat at 89.65 points at the end of last week (Aug. 7). Overall, medtech stocks saw a 0.72% increase from the 89.01-point total at the same time a week prior (July 31).

On Aug. 5, the index reached 90.45 points, marking its highest point since that pre-pandemic high, with the previous mid-pandemic high (90.37) coming last week.

The most recent high mark represents just a -2% dip from the Feb. 19 high point of 92.32, marking the smallest margin of decline over the past five months.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Index saw a 2.5% increase from July 31 to Aug. 7, and the Dow Jones Index fared even better, positng a 3.8% rise over the same period of time.

Medtech’s lowest point during the COVID-19 pandemic remains at 62.13…

3M lays off another 1,700 workers

3M (NYSE:MMM) laid off another 1,700 workers during its second-quarter — with many of the jobs related to the company’s divested drug delivery business.

The layoff — announced as part of an SEC filing on July 28 — comes after the Maplewood, Minn.–based manufacturing conglomerate said early this year that it would lay off 1,500 workers — though a company spokesperson tells MassDevice that the number is now closer to 1,100 after some natural attrition.

3M announced in late 2019 that it would sell the drug delivery business to Altaris Capital Partners — completing the $617 million deal in May. Roughly 1,300 of the jobs in the second-quarter layoff round came amid restructuring of corporate functional costs and manufacturing footprint now that the deal is complete.

The company cut another 400 jobs to rein in expenses amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

3M had 96,000 employees globally at the end of 2019, according to its most recent annual report.

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MedTech 100 roundup: Industry hits another mid-pandemic high

Despite a minor regression week-over-week, the medtech industry’s stocks hit another milestone as the COVID-19 rebound remains in progress.

MassDevice’s MedTech 100 Index — which includes stocks of the world’s largest medical device companies — sat at 89.01 points at the end of last week (July 31). Overall, medtech stocks saw a -0.3% increase from the 89.29-point total at the same time a week prior (July 24).

On July 30, the index reached 90.37 points, marking its highest point since that pre-pandemic high, with the previous mid-pandemic high (90.11) coming last week.

The most recent high mark represents just a -2.1% dip from the Feb. 19 high point of 92.32, marking the smallest margin of decline over the past five months.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Index saw a 1.7% increase from July 24 to July 31, and the Dow Jones Index posted a -0.2% drop over the same period of time.

Medtech’s lowest point during the COVID-19 pandemic remains at …

3M dips on missed Q2 projections

3M (NYSE:MMM) shares took a hit today on second-quarter results that came up short of the consensus forecast.

The St. Paul, Minn.-based company posted profits of $1.3 billion, or $2.22 per share, on sales of $7.2 billion for the three months ended June 30, 2020, for a 14.5% bottom-line gain on a sales decline of -12.2%.

Adjusted to exclude one-time items, earnings per share were $1.78, 2¢ behind Wall Street, where analysts were looking for sales of $7.3 billion.

3M, a major producer of personal protective equipment, namely the N95 respirator mask that has been highly sought-after during the COVID-19 pandemic, attributed some of its financial shortcomings to the ongoing pandemic.

The company noted that COVID-19 affected its EPS with an associated restructuring charge of $58 million. While market demand remained high in personal safety, home improvement, general cleaning, semiconductor, data center and biopharma filtration, markets like healthcare e…

3M, MIT working on paper-based, rapid COVID-19 test

The 3M COVID-19 test team works at at the pilot lab facility at 3M’s Minnesota headquarters. (Image courtesy of 3M)

3M (NYSE:MMM) announced today that it is working with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers to develop a paper-based, rapid test to detect the virus that causes COVID-19, with the potential to manufacture millions of tests per day.

The test would detect viral antigens and deliver “highly accurate results within minutes” via a paper-based device, according to the Maplewood, Minn.-based company. It could be administered at the point-of-care and would not need to be sent to labs for testing.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) selected the rapid COVID-19 test for accelerated development and commercialization support, after review by an expert panel, 3M added. Researchers received $500,000 in validation funding from the Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostic…

3M resolves N95 fraud case in Indiana

3M (NYSE:MMM) announced today that it has resolved a federal court lawsuit in Indiana against an entity called ZeroAqua, halting a fraudulent N95 scheme involving the promise of billions of nonexistent N95 respirators.

The lawsuit was among a handful that 3M filed nationwide more than two months ago — part of a larger legal effort in which the Maplewood, Minn.–based manufacturing giant is combatting price-gouging related to the masks. The respirators are an important piece of protective equipment for healthcare workers treating people suffering from COVID-19.

3M has said all damages from its price-gouging lawsuits will go toward nonprofits helping people cope with the pandemic.

Defendants in the Indiana lawsuit resolved the case through a consent judgment, a court-entered permanent injunction, and a payment to 3M for donation to a COVID-19 related charity.

Zachary Puznak, a defendant in the case, testified that the architects of the scheme deceive…

Report: Trump fundraiser tried to cash in on N95 masks

N95 respirator [Image from the FDA]

The co-founder of a political action committee that has raised funds for President Donald Trump may have attempted to profit from N95 respirators made by 3M (NYSE:MMM), according to a report by CBS News.

The report said that, shortly after Trump invoked the Defense Production Act to obtain 3M’s respirators, Great America PAC (which raised more than $40 million in support of Trump) co-founder Eric Beach formed Colt International, touting connections with 3M despite having no known experience in supplying medical goods.

CBS News cited a letter sent to prospective customers and signed by Beach that claimed Colt International would work directly with 3M and its distributors and offering Beach’s contact information. Another letter claimed that Colt’s ties to 3M would provide local governments, hospitals and first responders access to a stock of “sever…

MedTech 100 roundup: Another rebound as markets continue to fluctuate

Medtech stocks rebounded from a significant dip earlier in June last week, continuing to highlight the topsy-turvy nature of the markets during the COVID-19 pandemic.

MassDevice’s MedTech 100 Index — which includes stocks of the world’s largest medical device companies — sat at 85.00 points at the end of last week (June 19). That total represents a 3.5% increase from the 82.12-point total at the same time a week prior (June 12), demonstrating another uptick after a -6% drop-off just one week before.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Index experienced a 1.9% increase from June 12 to June 19, and the Dow Jones Index fared slightly worse with a 1% increase over the same period of time. Both indexes mirrored medtech’s rebound, having posted -4.8% and -5.6% decreases, respectively, the week before.

Medtech’s lowest point during the COVID-19 pandemic remains at 62.13 on March 23. Since then, the industry’s stocks have experienced 36.8% growth in total. Stocks i…

COVID-19 lessons learned: 2 manufacturers, a healthcare system and a logistics company share their wisdom

The COVID-19 pandemic put medtech contract manufacturers, OEMs, distributors and healthcare providers in situations for which they were unprepared, particularly with their supply chains. What they learned will undoubtedly help them all going forward, especially if the world faces a second wave or another novel virus.

Here are some supply chain lessons learned by a small manufacturer of a critical device for COVID-19 patients, a major manufacturer of respirators for frontline workers, a health system administrator and a logistics company that recently entered the medical supply business. They participated in a webinar hosted Wednesday by Minnesota’s Medical Alley Association trade group.

Get the full story on our sister site, Medical Design & Outsourcing.

3M settles N95 price-gouging suit

3M (NYSE:MMM) has reached a settlement ending one of its lawsuits against companies selling marked-up N95 respirator masks amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the filing, dated June 18, 3M moved to dismiss its case against TAC2 Global, a Clearwater, Fla.-based company that “specializes in an extensive selection of specialized tactical gear, ballistic protection and apparel,” according to its website.

In federal court in Tampa, Fla., 3M originally sued TAC2 Global LLC for allegedly trying to sell the Florida Department of Management Services State Emergency Operations Center 5 million to 10 million N95 respirators and hand sanitizer at highly inflated prices. TAC2 falsely claimed to be a 3M supplier, according to 3M.

The companies reached a settlement, for which details were not released, and filed a notice to cancel a preliminary injunction hearing scheduled for today.

TAC2 Global was one of five companies that 3M announced it was suing for…

3M announces sizable sales dips in May

3M (NYSE:MMM) announced today that it experienced a -20% sales decline year-over-year for the month of May as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact business.

The St. Paul, Minn.-based company’s 20% dip brought sales down to $2.2 billion, with organic local-currency sales dropping -21%, although acquisitions and net of divestitures increased sales by 2%. Foreign currency translation reduced sales by -1%, according to a news release.

3M’s total sales dropped -11% in healthcare, -12% in consumer, -17% in safety & industrial and -30% in transportation and electronics. The total sales were hit hardest by a -26% drop in Europe, the Middle East & Africa, with a -21% overall decline in the Americas and a -15% dip in Asia Pacific.

This decrease across segments follows an announcement from 3M that its health care revenue was up 5% year-over-year for the month of April. Since January, 3M has doubled its global output of respirators to 1.1 bi…

3M sues seller of fake and damaged N95 respirators

3M (NYSE:MMM) announced that it filed a legal action in federal court alleging that a seller on Amazon inflated prices of fake, defective and damaged N95 masks.

N95 masks have been in high demand as the COVID-19 pandemic roars on. In April, the U.S. Defense Dept. awarded a $76 million contract to 3M to produce the respirators under the Defense Production Act (DPA) and the company announced two more DoD contracts last month.

The lawsuit alleges that Mao Yu and affiliated companies defrauded customers by charging the inflated prices for the fake and damaged respirators, falsely advertising as third-party sellers under the 3M brand. The company alleges that the defendants charged unsuspecting customers more than $350,000 when they responded to false listings claiming to be selling authentic N95 masks.

3M’s allegations state that the defendants charged prices that exceed as much as 20 times the list prices for 3M’s N95 respirators. Amazon learned…