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MedTech 100 roundup: Industry reaches another high point

The medtech industry is continuing its massive 2021 boom, with the past week marking yet another record in the markets.

MassDevice‘s MedTech 100 Index — which includes stocks of the world’s largest medical device companies — finished last week (Aug. 27) at 121.05 points, representing a 1.2% rise from the 119.63-point mark set a week before. Following a slight dip earlier this month, the industry continues to tick up to new heights.

Medtech’s performance continues to reflect an overall rebound from the struggles brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, too. The industry remains well above the marks set around the height of the pandemic, having registered a 31.1% increase from the pre-pandemic high of 92.32 (set on Feb. 19, 2020). Moreover, it remains well ahead of the mid-pandemic low of 62.13 (March 23, 2020) as well, totaling a 94.8% ascent above that point.

The industry’s performance fell in line with the overall markets this past week as the S&P 500 I…

EU to investigate Illumina’s decision to close $8B Grail acquisition

The European Commission announced that it opened an investigation to assess Illumina’s (NSDQ:ILMN) recently completed acquisition of Grail.

Last week, Illumina completed its long-awaited, highly-scrutinized acquisition of the cancer detection company that spun out from Illumina nearly five years ago. The $8 billion acquisition was initially announced in September 2020.

Within the announcement of the transaction’s completion, San Diego-based Illumina said that it will hold Grail as a separate company as the European Commission conducts an ongoing regulatory review. A decision from the EU regulators is anticipated after the deal expires, but Illumina has said Grail has no business in Europe, which leads company officials to believe the review is out of the European Commission’s jurisdiction.

A day after the announcement of the acquisition’s completion, the European Commission said in a news release that it would open an investigation to a…

MedTech 100 roundup: On the rise again

After a slight hiccup disrupted weeks of improvement, the medtech industry again flexed its muscles over the last seven days.

MassDevice‘s MedTech 100 Index — which includes stocks of the world’s largest medical device companies — finished last week (Aug. 20) at 119.63 points, representing a 1.5% rise from the 117.92-point tally set a week prior.

The shift marks a quick rebound from the -1.2% dip observed in the previous week and the index now sits at its highest week-ending mark ever, having actually hit an all-time best of 119.72 points on Aug. 17.

Medtech’s performance continues to reflect an overall rebound from the struggles brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, too. The industry remains well above the marks set around the height of the pandemic, having registered a 29.6% increase from the pre-pandemic high of 92.32 (set on Feb. 19, 2020). Moreover, it remains well ahead of the mid-pandemic low of 62.13 (March 23, 2020) as well, totaling an 92.5% asc…

Illumina completes $8B Grail acquisition, companies remain separate amid European review

Illumina (NSDQ:ILMN) announced that it completed its long-awaited and much-scrutinized acquisition of cancer detection company Grail.

In September 2020, San Diego-based Illumina announced that it entered into an agreement to acquire Grail, a startup that spun out from Illumina nearly five years ago, for cash and stock consideration of $8 billion.

The announcement of the proposed merger was met with heavy scrutiny, with Illumina and Grail agreeing this past spring to postpone the planned purchase until after Sept. 20 while the FTC challenged the deal. The company in March stated that it disagreed with and will oppose the FTC’s challenge to the acquisition. However, in June, a U.S. judge has ruled in favor of an FTC petition to drop its case against the merger.

Illumina said in a news release that it will hold Grail as a separate company as the European Commission conducts an ongoing regulatory review. A decision from the EU regulators is projected after t…

MedTech 100 roundup: Rebound hits a snag

Two weeks ago, medtech was on the rise following a rough stretch, but the past week brought the industry slightly back down to earth.

MassDevice‘s MedTech 100 Index — which includes stocks of the world’s largest medical device companies — finished the week (June 4) at 106.96 points, producing a -1.4% dip from the 108.5-point mark set one week prior (May 28). It halts the progress made over a couple of weeks in which the industry produced an uptick, following its 1.4% rise from May 14 to May 21.

Having endured its largest slide of 2021 in recent weeks, the index is still in a better position to produce another upswing after demonstrating signs of picking up again when April brought the industry’s all-time best performance.

Even with setbacks that slowed the industry this past week, medtech’s performance continues to reflect an overall rebound from the struggles brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, too. The industry has registered a 15.9% rise from the pre…

Report: FTC drops Illumina-Grail court case

A U.S. judge reportedly ruled in favor of an FTC petition to drop its case against the proposed merger between Illumina (NSDQ:ILMN) and Grail.

The Financial Times reported that the ruling allows Brussels to investigate the merger while the deal remains blocked. In April the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition announced today that it will review Illumina’s proposed $8 billion acquisition of Grail.

Illumina and Grail agreed this spring to postpone the planned purchase until after Sept. 20 while the FTC challenged the deal. The company in March stated that it disagreed with and will oppose the FTC’s challenge to the acquisition of Grail, a cancer detection startup that spun out from the company four years ago.

According to the FT report, Illumina CEO Francis deSouza claims that the U.S. regulators are employing “time-wasting” maneuvers and that the companies want the FTC to operate with a sense of urgency to get the case to…

MedTech 100 roundup: New heights reached again

One week after recording its all-time best performance, the medtech industry once again topped itself, storming even further ahead.

MassDevice‘s MedTech 100 Index — which includes stocks of the world’s largest medical device companies — has been on the rise since April began, with last week’s mark of 112.25 (April 16) representing an all-time best, topping the previous high of 110.96 set on Feb. 15.

Just one week later, the index has already bested itself again, reaching 114.58 to end the week on April 23, marking an increase of 2.1% from the previous week.

The rapid improvement continues to shine a light on the strong position the industry has maintained more than a year on from the height of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on medtech. The industry has produced a 24.1% rise from the pre-pandemic high of 92.32 (set on Feb. 19, 2020), plus an 84.4% increase from the mid-pandemic low of 62.13 (March 23, 2020).

The overall markets fared di…

EU to look into Illumina’s proposed acquisition of Grail

The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition announced today that it will review Illumina’s proposed $8 billion acquisition of Grail.

The move, covered in media reports, comes weeks after the companies delayed the deal until after Sept. 20 while the U.S. Federal Trade Commission challenges the deal.

Grail is one of several companies competing to develop liquid biopsy tests, which rely on DNA sequencing of blood or other bodily fluids to detect cancer early. Illumina, which previously spun out Grail in 2016, is a provider of DNA sequencing and array-based technologies. Regulators worry that Grail’s competitors in the multi-cancer early detection test space have too much reliance on Illumina technology.

Illumina officials said today that they are sticking by plans to proceed with the deal.

“Reuniting GRAIL and Illumina will allow us to bring Grail’s breakthrough early detection multi-cancer test to patients across the wo…

MedTech 100 roundup: Heading back to previous heights?

Although March brought on tough times for top stocks in the medtech industry, April is already showing signs of a rebound.

The year’s strong start, during which MassDevice‘s MedTech 100 index notched an all-time best of 110.96 points (Feb. 15) came to an end later that month and carried over into March, with the index hitting its lowest recent point on March 8 (102.16), marking a fall at a level not seen since October.

Even after a handful of slight improvements over the month of March, the industry never quite found its footing, ending the month below the 105-point mark.

The first week of April has already presented positive movement, though, with the industry rising to 106.26 points as the week ended on April 2, a 1.3% rise from the 104.87-point mark set the week prior on March 26.

Improvements highlight the secure position the industry has nestled into a year on from the height of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on medtech, as the industry…

DTW Podcast: Earnhardt shares how Abbott shifted gears to counter pandemic; Grail still looks to upend oncology

This week, we’ll talk with Lisa Earnhardt, executive vice president, medical devices at Abbott about how the life sciences giant pivoted during the pandemic.

Earnhardt shares what programs were given greater priority when the impact of the lockdown became clear and why the company performed so well in one of its key businesses.

We also explore this week’s news that the FTC will oppose Illumina’s acquisition of Grail.

First, we talk with Dr. Christopher Keir, vice president of medical affairs at Grail, about the great potential of the company’s diagnostic technologies. The interview was recorded last month prior to the FTC’s decision.

Then we talk to Vijay Kumar, senior managing director at Evercore ISI, about why the FTC is making a strong case to block the deal.

And, of course, Chris …

Report: Illumina will postpone $8B Grail deal

Illumina (NSDQ:ILMN) is reportedly set to delay the closing of its proposed $8 billion acquisition of Grail amid a challenge by the FTC.

According to a report by Law360, the company has agreed to postpone the planned purchase until as late as September of this year while the FTC attempts to quash the deal.

News of Illumina’s agreement to delay the purchase of the cancer detection startup that spun out from the company four years ago follows an announcement by the company just days ago that it disagreed with and will oppose the FTC’s challenge to its acquisition of Grail. San Diego-based Illumina called the FTC’s challenge to the proposed transaction “a marked departure from longstanding antitrust precedent.” The company said it planned to pursue all legal options to complete the acquisition.

Illumina announced in September that it entered into an agreement to acquire the cancer detection startup that spun out from the company four years ago for cash and…

Illumina vows to pursue Grail purchase despite FTC challenge

Illumina (NSDQ:ILMN) announced today that it disagrees with and will oppose the FTC’s challenge to its acquisition of Grail.

San Diego-based Illumina announced in September that it entered into an agreement to acquire the cancer detection startup that spun out from the company four years ago for cash and stock consideration of $8 billion.

founded in 2016, Grail spun out as a standalone company powered by Illumina’s NGS technology for developing data science and machine learning for enabling multiple cancers in early detection tests. It raised approximately $2 billion to support its platform and develop the Galleri multi-cancer screening test, which is set to commercially launch this year.

Illumina said in a news release that it will pursue its right to proceed with the transaction so it can adopt the multi-cancer early detection blood test from the company it founded and a company with which it does not compete.

Through the acquisition, Illu…