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Smith & Nephew is using vibrating bracelets to encourage social distancing

(Image courtesy of Tharsus)

Smith & Nephew (NYSE:SNN) having its employees wear devices made by Tharsus to help with social distancing as they return to the office.

A report in The Telegraph outlines how the London-based medtech company is providing vibrating bracelets from Blythe, England-based Tharsus to keep the six-foot (two-meter) distance widely recommended for preventing the spread of COVID-19.

Smith & Nephew held a three-week trial for Tharsus’ Bump system, which provides a “gentle, non-intimidating” vibration if two employees get too close, according to the report. The system was put to use in Smith & Nephew’s laboratories, warehouses and on its manufacturing floor.

One additional function for the Bump system includes collecting data to allow companies to monitor behavior and identify potential hotspots where social distancing may prove difficult. H…

Smith & Nephew is using vibrating bracelets to encourage social distancing

(Image courtesy of Tharsus)

Smith & Nephew (NYSE:SNN) having its employees wear devices made by Tharsus to help with social distancing as they return to the office.

A report in The Telegraph outlines how the London-based medtech company is providing vibrating bracelets from Blythe, England-based Tharsus to keep the six-foot (two-meter) distance widely recommended for preventing the spread of COVID-19.

Smith & Nephew held a three-week trial for Tharsus’ Bump system, which provides a “gentle, non-intimidating” vibration if two employees get too close, according to the report. The system was put to use in Smith & Nephew’s laboratories, warehouses and on its manufacturing floor.

One additional function for the Bump system includes collecting data to allow companies to monitor behavior and identify potential hotspots where social distancing may prove difficult. H…

Ventec, GM complete HHS ventilator contract

(Image courtesy of Ventec)

Ventec Life Systems and General Motors announced today that they completed their government contract to produce 30,000 ventilators.

The two companies kicked off mass production of Ventec’s V+Pro critical care ventilator at GM’s Kokomo, Ind., plant in April, having received a $489.4 million contract from the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services to deliver 30,000 ventilators by the end of August amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Following yesterday’s shipment to complete the delivery, GM has formally turned over operational control of the Kokomo manufacturing operation to Ventec, which will produce its VOCSN multi-function critical care ventilators there and in Bothell, Washington, to continue to meet demand for ventilators as the COVID-19 pandemic roars on.

Ventec’s monthly ventilator production increased by 80 times during the pandemic, the compan…

Philips ends ventilator distribution deal with HHS

Royal Philips (NYSE:PHG) announced today that the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Servies partially terminated its ventilator manufacturing contract.

Amsterdam-based Philips received the termination notice from HHS after agreeing to a contract in April to deliver 43,000 bundled EV300 ventilator configurations to HHS through December 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

News of the contract termination follows a congressional report from July accusing the Trump administration of bungling plans to obtain ventilators early in the coronavirus pandemic, claiming that federal officials squandered more than $500 million in a contract with Philips.

The company will complete its deliveries for August, which will result in 12,300 total bundled ventilator configurations supplied to the Strategic National Stockpile, falling in line with the stipulations of the contract. The remaining 30,700 ventilators the company was contracted to manufacture will not be supplied to the…

Thermo Fisher opens plant to make COVID-19 testing supplies

(Image courtesy of Thermo Fisher)

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) announced today that it has opened its $40 million manufacturing facility in Lenexa, Kan.

The facility is dedicated to viral transport media (VTM) but will continue to expand to meet expected demand for COVID-19 testing, according to a news release.

In May, Thermo Fisher received a U.S. government contract to provide a significant quantity of highly specialized VTM for COVID-19 sample collection. The company said it ramped up production in Lenexa from 50,000 units per week to more than 8 million per week since the facility began production in early July.

Thermo Fisher said in the release that the new facility has created more than 300 new full-time jobs as it added 120,000 ft2 of manufacturing capacity.

Get the full story on our sister site, MassDevice.

Thermo Fisher opens plant to make COVID-19 testing supplies

(Image courtesy of Thermo Fisher)

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) announced today that it has opened its $40 million manufacturing facility in Lenexa, Kan.

The facility is dedicated to viral transport media (VTM) but will continue to expand to meet expected demand for COVID-19 testing, according to a news release.

In May, Thermo Fisher received a U.S. government contract to provide a significant quantity of highly specialized VTM for COVID-19 sample collection. The company said it ramped up production in Lenexa from 50,000 units per week to more than 8 million per week since the facility began production in early July.

Thermo Fisher said in the release that the new facility has created more than 300 new full-time jobs as it added 120,000 ft2 of manufacturing capacity.

“Thermo Fisher is proud to support virtually every aspect of the global COVID-19 response and our colleagues i…

Large study of rapid COVID-19 tests concludes with plea for more studies

[Photo by Fusion Medical Animation on Unsplash]

A large review of the results from rapid point-of-care COVID-19 tests found inconclusive evidence of their accuracy and led to a plea for more studies.

The researchers at Cochrane sought to determine if rapid point-of-care antigen and molecular tests for COVID-19 are accurate enough to replace RT-PCR tests, which require laboratory analysis to diagnose infection.

They reviewed 22 publications reporting on 18 study cohorts with 3,198 unique samples, of which 1,775 had confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. Ten of those studies took place in North America, with two in South America, four in Europe, one in China and one conducted internally.

The results came from eight commercial tests (four antigen and four molecular) and one in-house antigen test. They included considerable variation between the outcomes of the antigen tests and how well they detected COVID-1…

The top 5 MassDevice stories of the week — August 28, 2020

As earnings season concludes and the COVID-19 pandemic roars on, medtech companies continue to find new ways to make waves.

This week’s top five MassDevice stories showcase how companies are operating in the “new normal,” as they look toward the post-pandemic future, whenever that may arrive. Strong quarterly earnings, big funding rounds and new innovations in COVID-19 treatment comprise some of this week’s list.

Want to hear more about the week’s top news? Executive editor Chris Newmarker and Tom Salemi will discuss during our DeviceTalks Weekly podcast. Without further ado, here’s this week’s MassDevice Top Five:

5. Medtronic’s recovery ‘faster than expected’ during Q1

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) shares ticked up after the medtech giant came in well ahead of Wall Street projections for both earnings and revenues while posting profits of $491 million. Read the full story.

4. FDA clears Pelvital pelvic floor device

Pelvital announ…

AstraZeneca denies it’s seeking an EUA for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate

AstraZeneca has denied news reports it’s involved in talks with U.S. authorities about an emergency use authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

The denial comes after recent news reports claiming the Trump administration is eyeing a plan to fast-track the vaccine candidate, AZD1222, before the upcoming Nov. 3 presidential election.

“AstraZeneca has not discussed emergency use authorization with the U.S. government, and it would be premature to speculate on that possibility,” AstraZeneca spokesperson Brendan McEvoy told MassDevice’s sister site Drug Discovery and Development via email.

Get the full story on Drug Discovery and Development.

AstraZeneca denies it’s seeking an EUA for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate

AstraZeneca has denied news reports that the British pharmaceutical company is involved in talks with U.S. authorities about an emergency use authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

The denial comes after recent news reports claiming the Trump administration is eyeing a plan to fast-track the vaccine candidate, AZD1222, before the upcoming Nov. 3 presidential election.

“AstraZeneca has not discussed emergency use authorization with the U.S. government, and it would be premature to speculate on that possibility,” AstraZeneca spokesperson Brendan McEvoy told Drug Discovery and Development via email..

While AstraZeneca has denied these discussions, that didn’t stop shares of the company to climb following news of the current U.S. presidential administration’s interest in securing the emergency use authorization for its vaccine.

According to a report from The Financial Times, members of the Trump team, including White House chief of staff Ma…

BREAKING: U.S. to reportedly pay Abbott $750M for new COVID-19 tests

Multiple reports have said President Trump will announce a $750 million deal with Abbott (NYSE:ABT) for 150 million of its rapid COVID-19 antigen tests.

As first reported by Politico before being confirmed by other outlets, a White House official said that Trump will announce the deal tonight, using his speech at the Republican National Convention to confirm the news.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services confirmed the reports in a news release late Thursday. Trump spoke for more than an hour at the RNC but did not make an announcement related to the deal with Abbott.

“This is a major development that will help our country to remain open, get Americans back to work, and kids back to school,” White House communications director Alyssa Farah said in a statement to CNBC. “The Trump Administration is proud to partner with Abbott Labs to make this purchase possible to help the American people.”

“The introduction of Abbott’s antigen test is a…

Abbott wins EUA for COVID-19 test that runs off a card

Abbott’s BinaxNow COVID-19 Ag Card [Image courtesy of Abbott]

FDA has announced an emergency use authorization for Abbott’s BinaxNow COVID-19 Ag Card — a speedy antigen test for the virus that can be directly read off the testing card.

The agency in the announcement yesterday evening compared the test’s design to some pregnancy tests. A healthcare provider swabs the patient’s nose and twirls the sample on a test card with a testing reagent added. After waiting 15 minutes, the card displays a result: one line for a negative result and two for a positive result.

Abbott (NYSE:ABT) stock is up nearly 9% today, trading at more than $112 per share in afternoon trading. Stocks of other major companies in the COVID-19 testing space took a big hit — including Quidel (NSDQ: QDEL), –26%; Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) –7.6%; and Hologic (NSDQ:HOLX), –6%. Abbott’s announcement could wipe out at …