Corza Medical set to take on “almost monopolistic” surgical giants

Corza Medical, a new venture backed by the financial firepower of private equity giant GTCR, is looking to build a surgical tools supplier that its Executive Chairman Greg Lucier says can compete with “almost monopolistic” leaders in the space.

To mount the challenge, Corza acquired Surgical Specialties Corp., a supplier of surgical sutures and ophthalmic knives. Corza will use this beachhead in Westwood, Mass. to build a pipeline of acquired assets including TachoSil, a surgical patch product line Corza had acquired from Takeda Pharmaceuticals last year.

In an interview with the DeviceTalks Weekly podcast, Lucier, the former CEO of spinal company Nuvasive and diagnostic leader Life Technologies, says management believes “there is an opening for a pretty good-sized surgical tools and technologies company to compete against the Ethicons and the Medtronics of the world.”

Lucier said the two Goliaths have reached a size that makes them “almost monopolistic …

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J&J’s Ethicon touts surgical stapler study

The Echelon powered stapler with gripping surface technology (GST) [Image courtesy of Ethicon]

Ethicon — part of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) — is highlighting new study results in which its Echelon powered stapler with gripping surface technology (GST) had a lower rate of bleeding-related complications than a competing Medtronic product.

Ethicon funded the peer-reviewed study, which appears online in Medical Devices: Evidence and Research. The study compared the Echelon stapler with Medtronic’s Signia stapling system with Tri-Staple among patients undergoing laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy for obesity.

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

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J&J’s Ethicon wins FDA breakthrough nod for microwave ablation tech

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) subsidiary Ethicon announced that it received FDA breakthrough device designation for its microwave ablation technology.

The transbronchial microwave ablation technology, which is currently under development, utilizes robotic-assisted bronchoscopy. Johnson & Johnson’s acquisitions of NeuWave Medical and Auris Health allowed the company to bring the robotic surgical and microwave ablation technology together to develop the new breakthrough device, according to a news release.

Ethicon’s NeuWave microwave ablation system treats soft tissue lesions, having already performed more than 45,000 procedures to date. Meanwhile, the Monarch platform — the first robotic-assisted bronchoscopy system introduced in the U.S. — offers reach into the periphery of the lung with continuous real-time vision, precision and control.

“Through our commitment to transform patients’ lives, Johnson & Johnson is advancing innovativ…

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