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The top cardiac care innovation news at Heart Rhythm 2023

The future of cardiac care was on display at the Heart Rhythm Society’s 2023 annual meeting.

Medical device companies showcased groundbreaking technologies at Heart Rhythm 2023, May 19-21 in New Orleans. The innovations presented during the event offer new avenues for diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of cardiovascular conditions, providing hope for patients worldwide.

Boston Scientific, Abbott, Medtronic, Philips, and iRhythm unveiled advances that have the potential to revolutionize the field of cardiology and improve patient outcomes.

The cardiology devices showcased at the Heart Rhythm 2023 hold promise for the future of cardiovascular care. As these innovations continue to advance, they have the potential to significantly improve the lives of patients worldwide. Stay tuned as we delve deeper into the details of these groundbreaking technologies and their impact on the field of cardiology.

Here’s a roundup of Associate Editor Se…

Boston Scientific won’t buy majority stake in M.I. Tech

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) will no longer be acquiring a majority stake in Korea-based medical device manufacturer M.I. Tech.

The Marlborough, Massachusetts-based company announced plans to acquire a 64% stake in M.I. Tech in June 2022. It valued the deal at approximately $230 million.

At the time, the company expected to close the transaction by the end of 2022. However, the deal remained contingent on certain conditions, including regulatory approvals. Those required approvals contributed to the termination of the agreement.

Boston Scientific will instead acquire a nearly 10% stake in M.I. Tech, according to a company spokesperson. M.I. Tech’s offerings include the Hanarostent family of conformable, non-vascular, self-expanding metal stents, which Boston Scientific has distributed the platform in Japan since 2015.

Stat News reported the change of plans on May 24. The Boston Scientific spokesperson provided the following statement on the …

Boston Scientific reportedly set to add 400 jobs in Ireland

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) is reportedly planning a new investment in Ireland that would create more than 400 jobs.

The Irish Examiner reports that the new investment in Clonmel, County Tipperary, totals $86.3 million (€80 million). Marlborough, Massachusetts-based Boston Scientific plans to expand its manufacturing and R&D capabilities at its existing Clonmel site, the report says.

According to the report, the company already began recruitment for new roles across “a variety of areas.” According to London-based recruitment firm Zenopa, Boston Scientific seeks candidates who specialize in engineering, manufacturing, supply, quality and discovery.

The new investment increases office and manufacturing space in Clonmel, according to the report. It also aims to transition the entire facility to source more than 90% of its energy needs from renewable sources.

“Our growth in the region has been possible thanks to our…

Boston Scientific reports positive Farapulse, Watchman FLX data

Part of the Farapulse pulsed-field ablation system, the Farawave single-shot catheter is designed to create durable and circumferential lesions. [Image courtesy of Boston Scientific]Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) announced data supporting its pulsed-field ablation (PFA) and left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) systems.

Studies backed the company’s key electrophysiology and cardiac rhythm management therapies, plus the Watchman FLX device. In addition to the LAAC device, the Marlborough, Massachusetts-based company shared data on its Farapulse PFA system, POLARx cryoablation system and the Emblem MRI subcutaneous implantable defibrillator (S-ICD).

Boston Scientific presented all data at Heart Rhythm Society’s (HRS) Heart Rhythm 2023 meeting in New Orleans.

“The data shared at this year’s Heart Rhythm meeting showcases the breadth and depth of our cardiology therapies, which spans from diagnosis to treatment of cardiac disease, and highl…

iRhythm faces another subpoena from the DOJ

Wearable cardiac monitor developer iRhythm (Nasdaq: IRTC) + disclosed its third subpoena in more than two years from federal investigators.

The news raised some questions from analysts, who were otherwise positive about iRhythm’s first-quarter earnings report yesterday evening.

San Francisco–based iRhythm said that on April 4, it received a subpoena duces tecum from the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch. Company officials told analysts that they were fully cooperating. They said it was too early to speculate on the nature or timing of the inquiry.

Analysts noted that Boston Scientific said in its most recent quarterly report that it received a subpoena from the DOJ on April 5 seeking documents and information relating to its ambulatory electrocardiography monitoring (AECG) business. Boston Scientific is also cooperating.

BTIG analysts stuck with their Buy r…

Boston Scientific profits nearly triple in Q1

Boston Scientific (Nasdaq:BSX) + today announced Q1 results that beat the overall consensus forecast on Wall Street.

The Marlborough, Massachusetts-based company reported profits of $314 million, or 21¢ per share, on sales of $3.4 billion for the three months ended March 31, 2023, for a bottom-line gain of 185.5% on sales growth of 12% compared with Q1 2022.

Adjusted to exclude one-time items, earnings per share were 47¢, 4¢ ahead of The Street, where analysts were looking for $3.16 billion in sales.

“I’m pleased with our excellent results this quarter, which highlight our team’s strong performance across each business and region,” CEO Mike Mahoney said in a news release. “With a robust pipeline in 2023 and beyond, I’m optimistic about our ability to continue to deliver differentiated financial performance and the opportunity to reach more patients with life-changing therapies.”

In…

Boston Scientific cuts back former Preventice workforce in Houston

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) is reducing operations at a Houston facility it acquired as part of its $1.225 billion purchase of Preventice Solutions.

A layoff notice filed with the Texas state government in February says 120 jobs are affected, with the reductions starting on April 23 and continuing through June 25.

In a statement shared with MassDevice, the company said it is moving some of the work performed in Houston to its facility in Arden Hills, Minnesota. The transferred operations support the company’s mobile cardiac health tech.

The statement continued:

“This change will help us meet anticipated market demand for the products. Transferring work among our facilities helps us align our products, capabilities, technologies and resources to support our business strategies, and deliver value to our customers as well as life-changing medical solutions to patients. We initially informed employees of the intent to transfer this work i…

The biggest cardiology tech stories from ACC.23

Medtronic, Abbott, iRhythm and more presented new data at a major cardiology conference, ACC.23. [Images courtesy of Medtronic, Abbott and iRhythm] Major medtech players presented a range of intriguing studies at a gathering of some of the biggest names in the cardiology tech space.

Some of the hottest topics were covered this past week at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session Together With the World Congress of Cardiology (ACC.23/WCC) in New Orleans.

Ablation, cardiac implants, monitors and imaging technology represented a handful of the technologies on display. Medtronic, Abbott, Boston Scientific, Edwards and more offered new data on their innovative technologies in these areas.

Here are some of the biggest stories that came out of the cardiology conference.

Excitement builds around using pulsed-field ablation to treat AFib

Medtronic, Boston Scientific and Johnson & Johnson MedTech’s Biosense Webster all released new…

How these engineers make DeviceTalks Boston go!

We love engineers of all types — here are a just a few you’ll meet at DeviceTalks Boston.

We love engineers here at DeviceTalks.

It’s obvious why. Engineers are the straw that stirs medtech’s drink (apologies to Reggie Jackson). Nothing happens — financing, manufacturing, approval, help for patients — without a well-conceived product.

And engineers often transcend their typical design roles. They grow into business leaders, technology evangelists, startup CEOs, and yes, some stay to lead ground-breaking research and development groups.

So I’m thrilled to be bringing engineers of all types into the agenda of DeviceTalks Boston. We’ll have engineers from Abbott, ZimVie, Philips, Boston Scientific, Stryker and many other companies on hand to talk about being an engineer.

But we’ll also hear from engineers who have followed their careers into other parts of the medical device industry.

In this column, we’ll walk you through some of their …

Boston Scientific promotes from within for chief medical officer

Dr. Ken Stein, Boston Scientific’s global chief medical officer [Image courtesy of Boston Scientific]Boston Scientific’s new global chief medical officer is already well-known in cardiovascular device space circles.

Dr. Ken Stein joined Boston Scientific in 2009 as SVP and chief medical officer of its Rhythm Management business. He became chief medical officer for the entire company on Feb. 13.

Stein takes over for Dr. Ian Meredith. CEO Mike Mahoney announced during an October 2022 earnings call that Meredith would retire from the global CMO job this April. Mahoney thanked Meredith — who has been global CMO since 2017 — for his “dedication to patients, clinical science and meaningful innovation, and his great sense of humor.”

As he takes over the global CMO post, Stein remains excited about pulsed-field ablation and the company’s Farapulse system.

“The emerging field of PFA has shown promise in improving both the s…

New medtech to watch for in 2023: boosting health outcomes

[Image from Pixabay]As earnings season is upon us, we’re receiving a clearer view of what new medtech could be launching this year in the medical device space.

Companies still feel hamstrung by macroeconomic pressures, supply chain issues and more. However, many pointed out that 2023 has plenty to look forward to. Several quarterly reports and earnings calls included positive outlooks for the year ahead, with plenty of companies banking on significant revenue growth and other successes.

For many, that comes down to some new medtech product launches. Here are a few picked out from earnings calls and other announcements that you might want to look out for:

Abbott

On Abbott’s earnings call last month, CEO Robert Ford pointed to product launches as a major part of its outlook for 2023.

Abbott said it expects to log adjusted EPS of between $4.30 and $4.50. Excluding COVID-19-related sales, the company expects high-single-digit revenue growth.<…

FDA clears single-use ureteroscope system from Boston Scientific

The LithoVue Elite system. [Image courtesy of Boston Scientific]Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) announced today that it received FDA 510(k) clearance for its LithoVue Elite single-use ureteroscope system.

Marlborough, Massachusetts-based Boston Scientific plans a limited U.S. launch for the digital, flexible ureteroscope system in the coming weeks.

The company said in a news release that it’s the first ureteroscope system that can monitor intrarenal pressure in real-time. Its built-in pressure sensor allows urologists to make informed, pressure-related clinical decisions.

“Multiple studies have shown the importance of understanding intrarenal pressure during ureteroscopy procedures to mitigate potential complications, but until now, urologists have lacked an easy way to measure pressure in real-time,” said Dr. Ben Chew, associate professor, University of British Columbia. “This device represents an important and needed advancement in si…